Musings on Literature, Writing and Translation
Many, many years ago I read an article in a Turkish newspaper asking for contributors for an anthology about foreign women in Turkey. I felt like it had been written directly to me. When I first came to Turkey I shunned all foreign company. That sounds very high and mighty but it really wasn’t hard Read More …
For many years I have “suffered” from writer’s block. The inverted commas are to indicate that I don’t really believe such a thing exists. But writing was not happening. The impulse is to wonder why and here’s a list that may or may not explain it: Lack of confidence Perfectionism Bad time management Avoidance of Read More …
I’ve been putting off writing this blogpost. It feels a little like pinning down a butterfly. Flying around it creates wonderful glimpses of colour but I know if I don’t pin it down, it will flutter on its way and the memory of it will fade. I attended a poetry workshop in the local university Read More …
It’s not been long. I’ve only been on the wagon (that would be the writing and blogging wagon) for the last month. I can already feel I’m flagging. Now I could say it started last week when I failed to get a post up, but that would be denying the scale of the problem. It Read More …
One of the things that aids a good procrastinator, sorry I mean distracts a good writer, is that there is endless debate about the best way to go about writing. So first you must decide if you are a planner or not. This refers to whether you will plan your manuscript to the last comma Read More …
Anyone who mentions how many thousand words they throw out before breakfast, anyone at all on the #amwriting hashtag, any completely unhelpful “10 great writers who wrote prolifically” get THE LOOK from a not-writer. The one that says – I’m trying to be cool here but the truth is I’m jealous and will now Read More …
A few days ago I came across a post by Chuck Wendig that summed up a quandary I’ve been in lately. When I say came across I actually mean read in my Feedly because I follow his blog. But that sounds boringly practical, so instead imagine me wandering aimlessly through the wild grasses of the internet Read More …
A while back I realised that I had an attitude problem. It wasn’t immediately noticeable to everyone, in fact for the most part, nobody knew. But I knew and it was eating me up inside. This attitude was one that is probably not uncommon in expats. It’s a negative view of the country you live Read More …
I need to start wearing glasses, metaphorical ones, I’m already wearing ones for distance. I can see the outline of my goal, the bright shiny vision of the future. I can see exactly what it will be like and how good it will make me feel. There is a soft-focus effect at play though, the Read More …
When I think of my most productive time in terms of creative effort it is slightly contradictory. I produced most but yet produced nothing for publication. In a way it was writing in its purest form, to figure out the world and my place in it. The overriding value in my life was, appropriately enough Read More …