Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: fiction

  • What advice would you give to your teenage self?

    What advice would you give to your teenage self?

    I open the door and there is a woman in my closet. She raises a finger to her lips to signal me, “Hush,” as my mouth opens in a silent scream.

    “Your mom doesn’t know I’m here, Cassie,” she says as she steps out of the closet. “You won’t get in trouble.” Her eyes pan briefly to my desk. “It’s the night before the big test. Oh, you hated that class so much. You’ll be punished for getting a stupid B+ in that class. What a tragedy. The only class where you don’t get an A.”

    “Who are you?” I ask in a voice one notch above a whisper.

    “I am Cassie Chen,” says the woman.

    I stare at her in confusion. “But I’m Cassie.”

    “It won’t always be this bad,” she says. “You’ll finish high school, move out, get a job, and have a fabulous career. You won’t be a doctor or lawyer, though. Ha! Do what you love, not what your mom wants you to be.”

    “My mom will stop calling me a failure? She’ll be proud of me?”

    “Oh no,” the woman says nonchalantly. “She’s not going to change. But you will. You’ll get out of here. This life-“ she waves her arm to encompass the bedroom that is my prison – “won’t last forever.” She grabs my hand and sits us down on the bed.

    “You’re married?” I ask. Her rings sparkled when she waved her hand. She looks like she’s thirty. Beautiful makeup, earrings, and necklace. Stuff I’m not allowed to wear. I see her for the first time. She does look like me. But older.

    “I’m forty,” she says. “We have a nice house and a good career. Mom doesn’t approve. Of course, but she can’t do much now. That’s not what I came here to tell you. I came here to say that I believe in you. You’re smart and talented and–”

    I burst into tears. No one has ever said that before.

    “I know, I know,” the woman says, and hugs me. “I need to go now. Mom is coming.”

    “Am I going to see you again?”

    “Of course. One day you’ll look in the mirror and you’ll see me. You’ll make it through this.” She returns to the closet. “Gotta go back to my own time. Remember I love you.” She blows me a kiss and shuts the door.

    I hear footsteps coming down the hallway, but I rush to the closet and open it. My future self is gone but I can’t stop smiling.

  • Fashion Tips and Trends for Writers

    Fashion Tips and Trends for Writers

    Part 2: An update.

    Most writers I know are introverts: shy and unseen. You read about them and their work. Unlike news reporters, teachers, actors, or nurses, you don’t see them while they’re working. So does it matter what writers wear?

    Of course, writers wear clothes, but what are this elusive group’s fashion trends and preferences? The mystery is about to be solved. Here are some fashion tips and trends for writers… and anyone who wants to dress like a writer.

    What should a writer wear?

    A search through Google images showed me a wide range in fashion: a suit and tie (while standing in front of the stereotypical bookshelf, because what is a writer without books, right?), a dress with a newsprint pattern (why read the paper when you can wear it), and frumpy clothes (these are the work from home writers).

    These days, I rarely see anyone in a shirt and tie. I’ve never met a writer wearing a scarf and sunglasses, or a newsprint dress.

    In some of my writer groups, people write about lounging around the house in gym wear or PJs while they sip a glass of wine at their computer.

    Some easy fashion tips

    A Google search gave this result: “Writers can wear anything, as long as they wear it with confidence. You can start with black clothing, a basic uniform for many writers.” Uniform? Writers have uniforms? (If you’re a writer and wear a uniform, raise your hand.)

    When I’m writing, I like to dress incognito. The clothes I wear around the house when I’m working blend in with the crowd when I go shopping, walk at the park, or hang out at the coffee shop. If you’re observing people to write about them in your stories or blogs, it helps to mix in with your surroundings.

    If you write genre fiction, you can dress like a famous person if you write history, an alien if you write sci-fi, or a vampire if you like horror. Then, wait for the reactions of your friends and fans as they ask about your latest book. You can also reuse your costume at your next Halloween party—or book promotion, where you dress up as your protagonist.

    The possibilities are endless.

    If you’re a writer, what pieces of clothing define you? What clothing characterizes you so that when you’re famous, your fans can recognize who you are with one single glance?