Most days, it's as if my writing life exists in an alternate dimension. Work is busy and mundane items, from laundry to inflation, groceries to health scares, drain time and energy. This weekend, I carved an escape of sorts. Reflected on my progress. Slow, but progress much the same. Second draft for the second book… Continue reading Launching Magdaragat at Word Vancouver 23
Category: Writing Desk
Writer’s Retreat
I attended my first writers' retreat last month and what a treat it was! For nine days with Sage Hill Writing, I luxuriated in hours of quiet, getting the second draft of the second novel down. There were consults with the wonderful Yasuko Thanh, craft discussions with the fiction group, and meals I didn't cook.… Continue reading Writer’s Retreat
Sprint
March came and went quickly, as usual. I hardly noticed. My new writing routine keeps me busy...and productive. I wake up at 5:15, head out to a coffee place to write at 6, then off to my day job. Yes, days are packed. The biggest news, which also necessitated this intense schedule, is that I… Continue reading Sprint
Heartwarming Things
Twenty-twenty-three does not feel like a new year anymore. To me there are only weeks and weeks of winter during which I push through my projects. I'm trying out screenwriting. More poems. Last Christmas, my brother gave me this Wordsmithery game. It sits on my writing desk now, assisting in instances of page fright (I… Continue reading Heartwarming Things
Restart
At the risk of jinxing a streak, I'll own up to being productive with my writing lately. I commit myself to a thousand words per session. My goal is to have a first draft of the second novel by summer's end. I have procrastinated about this for so long, thinking I need more research before… Continue reading Restart
Story from a Mall Long Gone
Notes on my short story, Almeda Plaza (Eastlit, July 2014) Boxing Day evening news showed queues at shopping centres, despite the pandemic that kept us home for most of 2020. Old habits die hard, I guess. I stayed home on Boxing Day myself; the idea of standing in line while bundled up in winter wear… Continue reading Story from a Mall Long Gone
Writing Desk: Postcard from a Lazy November
As if to make up for my hectic October, I'm having an unproductive November. I missed the registration for the next PM course. I signed up for Nanowrimo and as of today, I only have 400+ words to show for it. One would think I should be inspired. There is hope in the air, with… Continue reading Writing Desk: Postcard from a Lazy November
Autumn Busybody’s Pandemic Poem
I surprised myself this fall by enrolling in a Project Management course. The original plan had been to attend a TESOL program, but admissions required my transcripts from Manila, as well as proof of my English language fluency (smirks). I couldn't take the TOEFL test in time for fall registration and the only way to… Continue reading Autumn Busybody’s Pandemic Poem
Writing Desk: Poetry
Joining others in dusting off forgotten hobbies, I started writing poetry again. The first half of July has been unseasonably grey and wet. I'm working on a bigger project and also grappling with how the spike in cases might affect our lives. Churning out verses of focused thought and imagery seems like the right kind… Continue reading Writing Desk: Poetry
Leah Ranada 