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
Tag: writing life
Spring Updates
Alas, it's May and we're still in the throes of this pandemic, battling variants, vaccine distribution happening. Too. Slowly. Though death toll has been high last year, I don't remember sending as many condolences as I did last April. Whether they're all Covid-19 deaths, I don't know, sometimes I'm not too close to the person… Continue reading Spring Updates
Of Resolutions and Weird Writing Spaces
My new writing space is the top of my intimates' drawer. I know, I have a completely decent desk with a view (featured here), but after several unproductive writing hours I realised I can't be creative in the same space I do my day jobs. My resolutions (not New Year's because I came up with… Continue reading Of Resolutions and Weird Writing Spaces
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
Two stories
A quick and jubilant note: two of my short stories found home. Have to be coy about the details for now--I'll let you know as soon as they're available for the reading public. It's been a while since I published a piece. From time to time I've succumbed to the thought that every moment I… Continue reading Two stories
Writer’s Update
Meanwhile, writing (besides this blog) is still happening. Found a way to advance the second novel without being paralyzed by impossible word counts. Two hundred fifty words into the manuscript each day. Achievable, right? The weekly 2400-word goal I naively set last year was too hard, took away the fun in the process. But turns… Continue reading Writer’s Update
Of Literary Spies and Real-Life Selves
For some reason, spy novels are finding their way in my have-read list. More recent titles, not John le Carré classics. Last week, for instance, I finished Lauren Wilkinson's American Spy which was just published last February. Pausing here to mention I don't write book reviews. Nothing against them, just that I like approaching my… Continue reading Of Literary Spies and Real-Life Selves
Shorts
Keeping to short forms these days. Flash fiction, poetry, something in between. I got busy during the summer moving to another apartment. This was followed by a two-week stay in New York City where I had planned to luxuriate in daily writing sessions. Writing I did, but it wasn't as productive as planned. Something about… Continue reading Shorts
New and Old
New: Novel-in-progress. I smile as I write this because there isn't a word of it written down. It's all in the head at the moment. I'm taking a breezier approach with this one, not planning the chapters in advance, letting characters take shape and decide the course of things. I know their faces, their jobs.… Continue reading New and Old
Lightness of a Beginning
What a year! Finished the novel--took me five years. It's out there, looking for a home away from its fussy creator. Whether it gets published or not, it's finished and I'm happy with what I accomplished. Writing it has definitely taught me a lot. Ideas for the next novel swim in my head. It's just… Continue reading Lightness of a Beginning
