March 2018: I remember sliding an envelope with two copies of a short story called Roadkill Hour in the mail slot of the post office at Helensburgh, imagining ways I could imbue the package with luck. June 28 2018: “Your Story ‘Roadkill Hour’ has been shortlisted” It was a bad day, without disclosing reasons why,…
Tag: amwriting
Journey to the Golden Age
First post of 2018! As of NaNoWriMo last year, I’ve become consumed by this new project, the tentatively-named Cabinet of Wonders. Yesterday the word count of draft zero passed 65K. I’m not sure where it will go, but I’m struck at how transformative the writing process is, especially in a work that traverses time. It…
Writing into the future: Setting intentions
I began writing on this site just over a year ago, inspired by a live talk by author, literary speaker, and all-round excellent person Walter Mason. Coming full circle, last week I heard Walter speak again, this time with a focus on maintaining a writing practice (especially when the going gets not just tough but…
NaNoWriMo V.3
One thousand, six hundred and sixty seven. To complete NaNoWriMo, the annual, international writing challenge, all you have to do is write one thousand, six hundred and sixty seven words a day. Every day. For thirty days. To break it down in such increments makes it sound feasible, reasonable even. Kind of. It is an…
Dead girl and heron: Joyce Carol Oates
Content warning: child abuse (reference), sexual assault (reference) Before reading her work, I’d assumed Joyce Carol Oates was one of those writers who churned out weepy family sagas. As many fateful reading habits begin, I picked up Daddy Love (2013) by accident. It was an entirely disturbing read, tracking the fate of a young boy…
Why we need… The Power / Naomi Alderman
I’m tidying up this review from a jumble of notes scrawled while listening to the audiobook edition of The Power. More often than not, I post reviews after a significant procrastination mulling-over period. In this case, I couldn’t remember the last time I was so utterly, maddeningly in awe of a work. The premise of…
Dasha Maiorova 