UncategorizedLeave a comment

Writer / Wanderer

Leah Ranada

…to me, a written piece is already “performing” once I’ve put it on paper. It’s already working for an audience (reader), even if it’s safely tucked away in my notebook (or saved in a drive). Drafts on paper make me pay more attention to the technical aspects of a written piece. Grammar, punctuation, and paragraph breaks are all important causes. But for me things that have more to do with the story’s soul—characters and setting, tone and theme, conflicts and resolutions—are more easily resolved when I’m not yet burdened by a hard copy. Continue reading Writer / Wanderer

Advertisements
UncategorizedLeave a comment

Summer of Gratitude

Leah Ranada

The past few months reminded me of the many things I’m thankful for. Family and friends who are supportive of my goals. Writing, after all, can make one feel isolated, too much into one’s head. When I get asked how my writing’s going, or when I talk to fellow writers about the rewards and challenges of the craft, I actually feel my soul digest a filling ball of nourishment.  Then there is employment. The threat of unemployment beckoned late spring, dangled on my head half the summer, during which I was busy finishing AMfC.  Only God knows how V tolerated my moods. Managed to snag … Continue reading Summer of Gratitude

Uncategorized

Writing Weary

Leah Ranada

Posting an excerpt may be a form of writerly laziness, but I fess up to being lazy these days anyway and for that reason, I’ve been careful not to publicize this blog. For now, this is just a quiet place for thoughts and noteworthy things I encounter as a writer. And what follows is a good example. I was reading this fall’s edition of The New Quarterly which featured the winning entry for the 2014 Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award (in which my short story was a wounded soldier). Pamela Mulloy, member of the adjudicating panel, talked about the process of choosing a winning … Continue reading Writing Weary

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Do I Really Love to Write?

Leah Ranada

I wrote this back in 2012 to be posted on yet another blog I closed down. I still ask myself this question now and then, despite having grown so much as a writer since.  My top-of-the-head response to this question was a flaky “well, I enjoy it from time to time.” It kind of bothered me that I didn’t say “Why, of course, I love to write! I can’t go through a day without filling a page.” This gives rise to the fear that I’m writing (or a writer) for the wrong reasons. Could it be that I’m only writing because it … Continue reading Do I Really Love to Write?