From Blank Page to Breakthrough: How Writing "The Whisper" Inspired VocaTales

When I embarked on the journey of writing my book, The Whisper, I thought I was prepared. After all, I had my inspiration —my protagonist—who was well-built in my head. The character born out of my experiences and imagination alike.

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I also had some initial validation from a handful of people, and I thought "this should be easy".

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But as any writer knows, the real story starts when the blank page stares back after the initial momentum fades. Yes, that happens with all storytellers.

The story was building along well in my head, but I was not showing the details, I was telling a narrative.

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The story right now was just written, first draft. The story as it stood right now was a series of actions/events.

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Disconnected.

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I had to now find the plot to stitch them together.

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The story was yet to be crafted.

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And then began the journey—of creativity, frustration, and discovery.

Along the way, I stumbled, re-evaluated, and eventually found a rhythm. But the struggles I faced revealed the need for something better—something built for storytellers like me.

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This realization became the foundation of VocaTales, a platform designed to transform how stories are crafted and shared.

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Here’s how.

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Writer’s Block: Finding Your Flow

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During The Whisper, I learned for the first time about my new friend and companion—writer's block.

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It can be a friend if you can navigate it using your creative momentum and an enemy if you succumb to it.

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I didn't know what to write until I reached the quarter-way mark. I had done enough to bring these pieces of puzzle together, and my story was building.

But there were clear disconnects, and the conclusion was far from near.

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What helped me break through this? Talking to my mother, sometimes my brother, and watching Dr.Dolittle, Beastmaster. Reading some best sellers and then more of Roald Dahl. Since I was building this as a fable fiction, I also reread from my biggest inspiration again—The Alchemist.

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I was six months into writing my novel and now I realized the change of strategy. Research had to be done. First time, research-led notetaking. I had a few different animal characters in my story—and while I knew enough about them, not enough to be able to talk about their behavior at will. David Attenborough and Steve Irwin became my guides once again—familiar voices leading me into the heart of nature’s wonders.

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My story also has different locations as part of the plot and many nature elements that are spread across the novel as themes and motifs. And without research and my own experiences being revisited ability to write these effectively would've been hindered.

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The approach changed from "let's keep going", to "let me sit back and look at which direction I want to go, and how much detail I want to show".

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"Show don't tell" became real in my head as now I had started thinking from a readers perspective. How can the audience view the story, immerse in it as they read along?

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This is when the realization of getting insights through building blocks as the foundational elements was also realized. These building blocks were in the form of characters, locations, events, themes, and objects.

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Complicated Plotlines: Crafting Seamless Stories

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As the story of The Whisper grew, I realized just how tricky it was to keep track of the threads—plotlines crossing paths, timelines shifting, characters evolving.

My notes were scattered, and keeping everything cohesive felt like a Herculean task. The book was to be written across the protagonist's childhood to adulthood. The journey of a young protagonist and his discovery of self and the power he wields over several years.

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I had to navigate the various scenes in multiple directions— figuring out which part and scene makes more sense, has more reader connect (all without knowing which reader I am going after) was now a new learning.

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I then asked myself a tough question: Who am I writing for?

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Can the book be read and appreciated by everyone? Of course! But should I be writing for all age groups?

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The answer I got and learned was an emphatic "no."

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The answer came with clarity—I can't writing for everyone. I was writing for middle-grade readers, those who would find wonder and meaning in this story. This realization reshaped everything.

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This is a big lesson for all first-time writers. Don't write that story for the whole world. Write for those who will most relate to it, learn from it or be entertained by it.

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Talking with other fiction writers and knowing how multi-dimensional stories are crafted, I realized the power of world-building tools that could let creators intuitively map out stories.

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It had become quite clear that multi-dimensional storyboards can be built through storyboards that can be drilled down. The ability to add more relevant details of the building blocks to visualize relationships, events, and arcs all in one place was emphasized by my experiences of writing The Whisper.‍

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Never-Ending Edits: Celebrating Progress

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Writing The Whisper felt like building a sandcastle during high tide. Edits were constant, and “finished” seemed a myth. I shared a couple WIP's with a trusted audience. And then, I had my extraordinary friend and reviewer Alex, who gave me feedback and motivation almost after every few chapters.

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Finally, after I onboarded a professional editor, I got several developmental feedback on how several pieces flew very disjointedly from one piece to another.

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It had become quite clear that multi-dimensional storyboards can be built through storyboards that can be drilled down. The ability to add more relevant details of the building blocks to visualize relationships, events, and arcs all in one place was emphasized by my experiences of writing The Whisper.

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Leaning into community feedback and celebrating small milestones, each edit brought me closer to the book I envisioned.

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This is exactly the help we decided to provide our users on VocaTales. Users are encouraged to share work in progress with friends or a trusted community.

Targeted feedback from users on our platform helps polish your drafts while keeping your motivation alive. Every word counts and every revision is a win.

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Worldbuilding: Taming the Sprawl

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One of the most rewarding but challenging parts of The Whisper was creating its universe—a world with layers, complexity, and depth. Yet, keeping it all organized sometimes felt like a story in itself.

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It started off with a handful of characters, and the story was building well. And then I realized as I got to the seventy percent mark that there was no conflict. It was a happy-go-lucky that would become mundane, monotonous, and too much of a feel-good for the readers. That would eventually lead to too much of the same thing in the reader's mind.

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This is when I introduced an entirely new set of characters. Characters that were antagonists and others gave a whole new way to look at the story. I was now going from telling a feel-good story to building something that the world would want to read. My fictional world was expanding.

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And this meant I had to go back and revisit several parts of the story. If only I knew the 3-act or the 5-act structure, I'd have introduced the conflict, rising action, and escalation upfront.

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But I didn't.

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Learned it the hard way.

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Building that story arc is needed to create the story. It's always needed whether you are a pro or an amateur. The difference being, knowing or not.

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VocaTales provides tools like mind maps and story elements as building blocks. With features for characters, locations, and events, the platform helps you keep your bearings as your worlds grow bigger. Then, for the right needs, some templates will help the users understand how the story arc should be built depending on the nature of the story being crafted.

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Join the Write-o-lution!

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VocaTales was born from a belief that crafting stories doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. It’s about making the journey as rewarding as the destination.

Whether you’re battling writer’s block, lost in a sprawling world, or stuck in the editing maze, VocaTales is here to make storytelling a joy, not a struggle.

Join the Write-o-lution and rediscover why you fell in love with building stories in the first place.

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