meet my travel memoir: the only courage.
One month ago, I was overwhelmed with everything I didn’t have in place with my book; now, I am leaving Goa not just with a completed book proposal, but also with a clear sense of direction.
Posts from the ‘Writing’ Category
Mar 7
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a do-it-yourself writing retreat: or, how to live on a beach in India for $314 a month.
Last week I realized what exactly these last four weeks have been for me – a kind of do-it-yourself writing retreat. I didn’t need to wait for an official fellowship; all it took was me carving out the time to come to Goa and get to work.
notes on taming the beast that is the non-fiction book proposal.
Writing a book proposal requires a different part of your brain – not the fun part that concerns itself with creating prose as pretty as poetry. Rather, it’s all about wrangling the many parts of your book into a whole.
a place to hang my beach towel: at home in goa.
“Let’s take you home,” Hannah said, and I swear to you, I could’ve cried. And after an hour of unpacking and setting out knick-knacks, I did cry, just a little, and they were all tears of big, huge, inexpressible joy.
live boldly: on [not] doing that thing you most want to do.
Two weeks ago I found myself strapped to my desk, horrified that I’d waited until the last minute for something so important. Everything, it seemed, kept getting in my way – and yet the biggest thing determined to stop me was myself.
the waiting game: “the patience of ordinary things.”
McCurry’s post was not only beautiful and timely, but humbling – a reminder that waiting is a part of our humanity. A reminder that there are millions of people waiting for things far more pressing than a reply from an agent.
father knows best: what my dad taught me about the writing life.
“These are called suckers,” my dad tells me, pointing to a small shoot on the tomato plant growing in the fork between two branches. Strangely, the more I learn about pruning these suckers, the more I learn about the writing life.
moving towards momentum: on saying no to the snooze button.
Whether on the Camino or at my desk, I often find getting started is both the hardest and the best thing I can do, for after an hour of hobbling down the trail like a woman three times my age – or slowly tapping away at my laptop – that little thing called momentum starts to build.
my next book: warming up for the writing.
It’s that time again. No, not time to renew my driver’s license or start spring cleaning [although it probably wouldn’t hurt]…It’s time to start my next book.
meet my memoir: girl with a pearl ring.
Six months after finishing my travel memoir set on French Polynesia, I find myself like a boat builder putting on that final coat of paint…ready to launch.
