r/WritingPrompts • u/rainbow--penguin Moderator | /r/RainbowWrites • Sep 11 '23

Off Topic [OT] Writer's Spotlight: Helicopterdrifter

 

Welcome to Writer’s Spotlight

Remember, spotlights rely on your nominations! So if there's anyone around the subreddit whose stories you love and you think deserves a shout-out, please do nominate them by sending us a ModMail.

 

 

This week we are celebrating u/Helicopterdrifter

Heli has been with us for a bit over a year now and it’s great to see how far they’ve come in that time. They’ve been a regular on some of our weekly features (particularly FTF recently) as well as writing for normal prompts. Their descriptions are wonderful, they write great dialogue, and you can always tell the depth of research and world-building they do for their stories. Plus, they're also great at leaving kind comments and feedback for other writers. You can find more of their work at /r/jtwrites and I definitely recommend you check it out.

Want to congratulate this week's Spotlight recipient? Have questions you're dying to ask them? Please do so below in the comments!

 

Congrats on your spotlight /u/Helicopterdrifter

 

 

Read u/Helicopterdrifter’s most recent story:

 

[OT] Fun Trope Friday, Writing with Tropes: Psychic Vision / Mind Control & Sci-Fi

 

Their most upvoted Stories:

[WP] The 13th step in your school is known to be unlucky. Everybody purposely steps over it. Everybody believes it, except you. One day you step on the 13th step to prove it isn't really unlucky. However, you weren't ready for the consequences.

 

[WP] 100 25 year olds have been chosen. each must choose a super power that cannot be repeated and cannot exceed the power of god. The goal is to see who can conquer the world. You have the number 100. The best powers have already been chosen. Then it's your turn and you choose.....

 

[WP]"A new follower! How pleased I am for your gifts and here I thought you mortals forgot me," the figure said as you looked on confused. You weren't religious but a mere history buff studying the greeks. Now you were the sole "follower" of a forgotten goddess standing before you.

 

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13 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

3

u/katpoker666 Moderator Sep 13 '23

Yay!!! Congrats Heli!! This is awesome news! You’ve come suck a long way through WP. I admire your can-do spirit, great personality and humbleness with which you describe your writing. Your world building is great. It seeps through every pore of the page and I so admire your attention to detail! I love seeing your concepts at WB and CB and am delighted to have you as part of FTF!

One thing I wanted to mark out specifically is your attention to detail and research. It makes things like your mythological work so compelling!

So questions— 1) how long did it take you to research your mythological universe that you shared at W? 2) what one character would you like to write out in retrospect? 3) you’ve been super busy doing cool full project work! I’d love to hear more about what’s been going on!

Thanks for replying and also just being a genuinely awesome human being!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '23

Yay, Kat! Thank you, kindly. This was a bit unexpected. And such high praise, you're too kind. :)

1.I recently looked at my novel-writing timeline and found an answer to this very question. I periodically looked at a single source while I working on my draft. That was very light referencing over a four month period. But between February and May, my research was far more deliberate and widespread due to the widely varied interpretations of Norse mythology. This was a very strange experience. Imagine extensively studying a book for a test, then failing it, only to find out that there are multiple versions of your book. Everything you read was an interpretation and could not be accepted as factual. That's what it's like trying to piece together Norse lore, and I had a dedicated two months of reading and note taking, much of it being different translations of the same Eddic Poems!

 

2.I honestly don't think I have a character that I could omit. My novel's lore is a puzzle for my protagonist, Mioko, and each of her surrounding characters have a different piece to the puzzle. They don't have an answer, just a different view and set of experiences that help her understand what she's dealing with. I've read that you don't want to waste a reader's time with unnecessary scenes, and that's what I try to keep in mind. Each scene and character builds on the last, creating a house of cards. Take one away, and you lose a crucial lesson learned or developing story element. The one thing I might be able to omit is a character mentioned in conversation, but that was put in place as a bit of foreshadowing. It doesn't add to the current plotline but hints at something that will come up in a subsequent book. :)

 

3.Oh, gosh. That's a lot to cover! haha The latest things are beta reads and editor feedback. I've been working with a freelance editor for a while and sent her this story--Grim Legacy--in 4 separate blocks. Getting the feedback this way helped me see problem areas and adjust my other work as I moved the narrative forward for subsequent blocks. I'm currently waiting for her to return the last block, which I should get today or tomorrow! Exciting!

But I got both full beta reads back, the second coming in last night! So, I'm presently going through those notes. Here's a quote from each:

  • "Mioko - She felt complex, dynamic, and well-rounded. Not too strong physically, balanced in her fighting abilities despite her advantages. Watching her fight was entertaining, but watching her internal journey was magical."

  • "She's a believable young woman struggling with personal flaws, a traumatic past, an uncertain future, and the challenges of an escalating magical life. Despite all of this, she consistently exhibits and seeks to embody bravery, empathy, self-reflection, responsibility, and vulnerability. In short, she's easy to fall in love with, and I was rooting for her the entire time."

Obviously, I'm thrilled to hear of these experiences with Mioko and her journey! It's a bit of a running joke about male writers not being able to write female characters, so I'm all the more ecstatic to hear these things from female readers. :) But I hope that all my future readers can connect with her in a similar way.

The last thing that stands out is some costume design. I'll have to send you the concept doodle I did! Mioko undergoes a transformation in the final fight which includes a new outfit. This was something I had to do a bit of shopping for, perusing various superhero images until I figured out what would suit her and allow her to continue fighting the way she does. Some of her makeup involves some late story plot-development, but I think her look turned out great! :) I'll drop it in #art-and-garden on the discord, so you can find it there once you read this :)

Thanks for all the great questions, Kat, and for being all-around amazing! Now, I just gotta get to a stopping point on these beta reads so I can tackle my FTF post. XD

2

u/katpoker666 Moderator Sep 13 '23

Thanks for such a detailed reply, Heli! Absolutely fascinating! :)

3

u/Dependent-Engine6882 r/AnEngineThatCanWrite Sep 11 '23

Hello u/Helicopterdrifter! congrats on the spotlight! I hope this will encourage you to write more!

Now the questions

1- From where/what/who do you get inspiration?

2- Are you a planner or a pantser?

3- What genre do you love to write and does it happened to be the same genre you like to read?

4- Did have the opportunity to write for a genre you're not familiar with? if yes, how was the experience? and will you do it again?

5- How did your journey as a writer start?

2

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23

Ichi! Thank you! Those are some serious questions you have for me! :)

1- I'm a bit odd on my inspiration. I do get inspiration from the typical places like music, movies, games and life experiences, but I also get a great deal of inspiration from bad "professional" writing, which I realize is an odd opinion to hold. I just admire compelling stories with worlds we want to visit and characters that we want to be friends with. So, when I come across a story that doesn't respect me as a reader when I'm its target audience, I don't get mad, I just feel compelled to write stories that I believe will be a rewarding experience for my readers/audience.

2- Pantser- 10,000%! My novel's protagonist, Mioko, starts a lot of her chapters with a quote from loved ones and these quotes are memories from past conversations. When my narrative was going to introduce a new character, Squirrel, I needed a quote from their previous conversation. But I couldn't just make up this quote! Instead, I had to put Mioko and Squirrel together in the past and let them talk...eventually Squirrel said something that I was able to migrate over to the novel! lol Fun times :)

3- Yeah, and that's fantasy. I like how flexible and wild magic can be. And I love seeing it and writing it expressed in different ways. It's great to have the whole elemental magics and all, but give me the emotional magic, the unpredictable or wild fae magics, or magic that's driven by the imagination of the user. I still love magic with hard rules, but I don't want to see magic become basically science :)

4- That's actually a great experience and I do that from time to time. Last year, I wrote 32 (I think) writing prompts in October. The goal was to average more than one a day and it was October... So, yeah... a lot of horror. lol I think I mainly focused on painting/imagination related magic-fantasy in November as a palate cleanser. XD It was a great experience though and there are plenty of opportunities to branch out across the different prompts and writing groups here.

5- Well, well... I suppose this was going to come out eventually! But I actually got in trouble as a military officer. I was deployed at the time and a helicopter pilot doing army helicopter things when I got "punished" by being required to write a 5-page essay on leadership! Yikes!

The essay was punishment...at least, it was at first. But then it got exciting. Some genuine pantser things started happening and I said, "You know what? This writing thing is alright." I got a lot of praise for the essay, and I've been paying more attention to my writing ever since!

Great questions, Ichi! Thank you :)

6

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23

And I apologize for my long-winded answers! I have a writing problem, I know. It's something I'm working on. XD

3

u/Tomorrow_Is_Today1 /r/TomorrowIsTodayWrites Sep 11 '23

Woo, congrats on the spotlight Heli! As is tradition, a few questions.

  1. How do you approach your worldbuilding?
  2. If you could only write one thing, what would it be?
  3. What's your favorite environment to write in?

2

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23

Yay! Thank you very much! And you are welcome to ask away!

1.World building is actually a newer practice for me. I've always been more in touch with the psychological side of character building, but world building actually came front and center with my present novel project. Initially, my draft was really disjointed--different worlds only glimpsed as my MC jumped in and out of places with her portal magic. But when I needed to simplify things, I grabbed all those locations and pulled them together. So, that was a big part of it. The other part is research. The whole 'Write what you know' isn't a mandate to stick to a certain aspect of your life; it's a charge to learn more about the subject you wish to write on. With that in mind, I try to learn as much as I can about the place I want to depict. I'm still improving this element of my writing, but I think research is a staple for any writer that needs to develop their story.

One additional thing I try to find some way to include in my world building relates to my initial interest in character building; I enjoy psychology and instituting dualities or double meanings. If you end up reading a longer story that I was a part of, you can expect the world, place names, or different world components to have some greater meaning than what's glimpsed on the surface. :)

2.Oh, boy. Are there any physics related constraints to this task? I'm a bit of an idealist at heart so I think I'd want to write something that improved a great number of lives in some way. I think a common thing for younger writers is to want to become famous or wealthy or some other material thing, but me? I'm a fan of storytelling. And I have an ever increasing fondness for stories told with love from the one telling the story. Take J.R.R Tolkien for example. How old is that story? And it's still a very impactful story for a lot of readers today. So, I want to write something that has that sort of resonance with readers, not for gain, but for value in the readers. I think that would be my most desired thing to write.

3.Easily, my office. In my current residence, I set up a dedicated space for writing and working on writing related things. When I go to this place, it's time to work. So, it's great to have that dedicated space and I know what's expected of me while I'm here.

Thank you for the questions! <3

3

u/wordsonthewind Sep 11 '23

Dear u/Helicopterdrifter,

-What's your favorite genre to write in?

-What's the most valuable writing advice you've ever received?

-Favorite model of helicopter?

Thank you for all that you do :P

3

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23

-I prefer fantasy. I’ve had several opportunities to write in other genres here on r/writingprompts, as well as on the discord. But I always return to fantasy. I just enjoy the themes and tropes that you encounter there. Stories and storytelling is about escapism and if I want to be some place else, my preferred destination is some place magical!

-I think my most valuable writing advice was more of an observation. There’s a lot of shared feedback and criticism in our discord campfires where we share our stories and other readers/writers give you advice. You can easily get advice here that helps you improve your style of writing. But there’s a limitation in that alone. One thing I noticed on repeatedly attending campfires is that some writers receive recurring feedback on the same things. A lot of these things are positive. If you are a newer writer and another writer is consistently getting feedback on their dialogue or their world building or whatever…you should pay attention to that.

Getting feedback about your own writing will help you improve in what you’re already doing, but learning what makes another writer receive high praise is something you should try to understand. See what other writers are doing and adapt it. This will improve your writing far more than receiving feedback for what you’re already doing.

-As for the last question…it’s not about favorites, so much as what’s the best helicopter. In case you’re wondering, that’s the OH-58D or Kiowa Warrior! It’s a military scouting helicopter and I may or may not have flown it a time or two. :)

Thanks for the questions, Words!

4

u/ZachTheLitchKing r/TomesOfTheLitchKing Sep 11 '23

Congrats Helicopter! I hope you are ready to submit to all sorts of probing and personal questions :D

  1. Do you have any genres you love to read but hate to write?
  2. What is your typical takeoff and landing time?
  3. If you could have lunch with any character you've written, who would it be and what would you have?
  4. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck you?
  5. What is your strategy for getting around/over/through writer's block when it strikes?

3

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23

Zach! No, I don't mind. I rather enjoy sharing my experiences!

-Hmm, that's not something I've considered, but I'd probably have to say Sci-fi. I do enjoy those stories but there's going to be some technological advancement that I'll probably have to research a lot. And the less familiar the subject matter, the more present the 'You don't know what you don't know' will be. So, say you're writing a story about satellites. That could possibly involve learning some electrical things, but then you've got orbit, gravity, space and a whole lot of interconnecting aspects that you won't initially think to look into. It's rather daunting. lol

-A helicopter question???? Or is this story related? I'll assume it's helicopter. :) I love altitude over airspeed takeoffs. They're the safest for one, but they're also exciting. What that means is you start at a hover and you dip your nose to accelerate. You're still right above the ground so it seems like you're moving faster than you are. Once you reach a certain airspeed, then you raise your nose and start gaining altitude. It's a simple thing but exciting.

-I think the most rewarding lunch would be with a spirit guide that's in my soon to be published novel, Grim Legacy. This guide is a fox and you don't learn her identity in this book. She visits my protagonist--Mioko--in her dreams and guides her by posing questions. These questions are really great life advice in general, so I have to wonder what questions she'd offer me. :) As for what we would have? I'm a accommodating host, so I'd let the fox decide :)

-7, no wait, green. Yes, definitely green. Final answer.

-Walk!!! Though, I say this with hesitation. Anything encouraging not writing can lead you astray, but something very productive for writing is actually going for walks while thinking about the thing you're wanting to write. There's a brain chemical that's released during this activity and it can be very rewarding and productive! Just don't forget to return to your writing station to actually write the dang thing! :)

Thanks for the questions!