Categories
goals life Novel 1 Year in Review

2009 Reflections & 2010 Goals

I might as well write my “remembering 2009” entry now, as I may not have much time to reflect during the last days of the year. I’m currently far away from a place I used to call home, and I’ve been contemplating a lot about what this next year, 2010, has in store for me.

This year has been a good year for me, writing-wise, but of course, with any progress, there’s always a few steps taken backwards as well. I launched my domain, helenekwong.com, earlier this year to be ambitious about my writing, to get the word out. The website has drawn a decent number of viewings, but I admit that it’s pretty plain in terms of design. I’ve posted short stories on my website and through other outlets such as Scribd and GoodReads; was featured on Scribd for my story, “From Riches to Rags”, which really helped my online presence. Later in the year, I was featured on the “i live here:SF” project. I’d say these two instances were great accomplishments through the online world.

Aside from these recognitions, I’ve also kept myself busy online with contributions to Muni Diaries, blogging on “Cinnamon Juice” (my food blog; currently on hiatus), and writing reviews on Yelp!. I’d say indeed that it has been a busy year on the Internet for myself.

In terms of my writing progress: I began 2009 with a lot of vigor for editing and revising my first novel. However, as is typical of some writers, I began to get distracted with other projects (writing and non-writing related), and have put my editing on hold. I hit a dry spot in inspiration early in the year, and attempted to muster up that Muse through writing exercises found in books. I’ve written a few short stories through online prompts and daily observations, but have yet to get around to finalizing the stories for public reading. NaNoWriMo this year was difficult for me, as November was a really trying time for myself in my personal life. My novel is still unfinished, but I do not feel as sad about it as I thought I would; I understand sometimes that other priorities must take place in my life, and that, sadly, my writing has to take a backseat when it comes to these other priorities.

Do I regret not writing as much, not featuring as much, from this year? No. Life happens, and, as much as I’d like to focus more on my writing, I understand that I have other dreams and goals that must take my full concentration at times. I already have some plans for 2010 though:

  1. Really, seriously, edit and revise Novel 1 and get it ready for agents. Out of all the first drafts I have written so far, Novel 1 is the most promising for the public. The other novels are still promising as well, but they have a lot of kinks that I need to work out over time. However, ever since writing Novel 1 two years ago, the plot still holds onto me as I think about the story and how it unfolded when I first pounded out that draft. I had begun the process of editing/revising earlier this year, and I had hoped to have the book ready for agents before June. As we all know now, that didn’t happen; I will seriously focus on getting this draft ready by April 2010 at the latest. I’ll track my progress here so you all can keep me on track.
  2. Write/Edit/Revise/Post one short story per month (12 all year). It seems like too little, but it’d actually be a lot for me to do this. It’ll be something to look forward to each month, right?

There will be more goals along the way as the year starts out; for now, I hope you, my readers, will keep these two in mind and help keep me on track.

In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful end-of-2009 and many great things in 2010.

Categories
#amreading Review Time

Megan McCafferty: One Smart Writer

Back in the summer, I’d mentioned about my book genre preferences. And as that entry stated, even though I’m open to all genres, I prefer certain ones over others (as does everyone else). For awhile, I hadn’t wanted to venture into Chick Lit mainly because I honestly felt like “Well, I already know what it feels like to be a girl, so why read about all that angst?”

That was before I started reading Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series.

I was yoked in immediately through the first book, feeling like I was going down memory lane, re-living a parallel universe of my high school years. Albeit mundane, the plot has drawn in so many readers, because they can relate to the protagonist, Jessica Darling. McCafferty’s skill at writing the series is what impresses me the most though; anybody can write about the tumultuous years of high school through college, but can they do it as well as McCafferty?

Earlier this year, I read an article about what Sesame Street can teach writers to do: to write in “the monster at the end of the book”. This is where a writer knows how to draw readers in with a bit of a promise of a “treat” by the end of the book. McCafferty has honed this craft well with the 5-book series, making skeptical readers (like myself) keep on reading, trying to search for that monster at the end…

I flew through the first few books in the series within a few days of starting the books; that’s just how easy yet well-written they are. The language is simple (as if I myself were Jessica Darling writing the diary entries out), and, well, the story is one that many of us can relate to.

I’m looking forward to reading the last of the books in the series, and I hope to hone my craft as well as McCafferty has.

Categories
My San Francisco Chronicles observation reflection

San Francisco Scenes, Part 2

Tommy’s Joynt
Van Ness Avenue & Geary Street
Sunday afternoon

After visiting the farmer’s market today, I decided to go by the public library to pick up a few books I had on hold. I waited outside one entrance with a few other patrons, and, when the doors open, we all began walking in. I was surprised when I saw the hoards of people flooding in from all the entrances into the library, as if the place were a shopping mall. Perhaps I just haven’t been out enough, but it seems like only here in San Francisco can I see such a scene for the library. There were a mix of people: young, old, wealthy, homeless, etc. They all wanted to go inside to relax, to sleep, to check out books (like me), and other things. I felt others found the library as more than just a place for books; to many here in the city, the public library is a sanctuary from the elements and the sometimes-harsh street scene. Quiet, tranquil, and open.

Later on, I had lunch at Tommy’s Joynt with my brother. Tommy’s Joynt is a true San Francisco institution where you can see people from all walks of life eating together and truly sharing at least one thing in common. It was another eclectic crowd inside, not unlike the crowd I saw streaming into the library. Some people were interested in watching Sunday football on the televisions in the restaurant; others just wanted a warm meal for a good value.

———–

Many times, I feel like I don’t belong here in San Francisco with the different “scenes” aka crowds in the city; other times, like today, I feel it doesn’t matter what group we all supposedly belong in, as long as we’re happy and letting others just do their own thing with no judgment involved.

Categories
funny My San Francisco Chronicles observation Work Diaries

San Francisco Scenes, Part 1

Sometimes, San Francisco really frustrates me; other times, it surprises and amuses me. Two instances:

Story #1
A couple of months ago, I was walking with my brother to buy groceries on Masonic. We were laughing about something else when suddenly we heard a skateboarder coming down Masonic, down the hill from Trader Joe’s. The guy was carrying a bag of groceries and trying to balance himself on his skateboard (a mighty feat) when he got distracted with a Jaguar on the road. We didn’t realize until he started speaking that he was really a pirate in disguise.

“Yargh…Jaguar!”

He looks at the Jaguar, and suddenly, he falls off his skateboard. My brother and I stand in shock as we both are afraid he might get run over. Traffic stops.

The skateboarder then picks himself up from the road.

“Yargh…ye bastard!”

He notices that his skateboard went flying across the road.

“Yargh…me skateboard!”

And then he hurls himself across traffic to retrieve his skateboard, as if nothing happened and that it was all normal to him.

Story #2
Today at work, I noticed across Market Street there was a guy with an easel and he looked like he was painting/sketching a man in a wheelchair a few feet away. I pointed out the scene to my co-workers and immediately felt curious about the situation; the artist looked deep in thought, as if studying his subject and making sure he was accurate with his depictions.

Well, a co-worker went to investigate the scene, and sadly, it wasn’t as poignant as it appeared from our office: the artist was drawing something abstract, and the man in the wheelchair? He wasn’t the subject; it was merely a coincidence that they were both in close proximity.

Still, the scene struck me as something unique for the city; we have street artists, sure, but this guy was really, well, taking the term in a different way. He was dismantling his easel and work by the time I left work; I wanted to catch a glimpse of his progress, but I decided it was best to let it go.

Categories
holiday NaNoWriMo Novel 1 travel

Nearing the End of a Tumultuous Month

Well, November was certainly more than I expected yet also more than I did not expect. I’ve been away on travels for the past ten days, visiting various bookstores in Montana with my sisters and enjoying a classic Thanksgiving in all-American style.

For more of November, though, I’ve been working on various projects for work and little time to focus on NaNoWriMo, sadly. I only began participating in NaNoWriMo in 2007, but somehow this year, November has been a little crazier than in the previous two years.

In the past, I know I would have felt a little more upset over the idea of not winning NaNoWriMo on time. But I understand that, well, life happens. This year’s novel idea has been a little half-baked anyway, and although I do like where the plot is going, I just have not felt inspired enough to work on it every day. Well, it’s okay; nobody’s perfect, and I’ll keep this in mind for next time.

I have been thinking more and more how I need to get back to my first novel and begin rewriting it; out of all the novel drafts I have produced over the past two years, that first one has the best storyline so far. Of course, I’ll go back and fix up the second and third novels after the first one has been rewritten. Now I understand why it takes so long to get novels into presentable form: life just keeps coming around!