Category: Writing Process
-
Novel Finished. Barely. What’s next?

Sometimes writing takes a backseat to life. How dare it! Cutting into my writing time with family and barbecues and travel and house repairs and … You get the picture. And it’s all good, all the time. But even when I’m in the midst of enjoying some time away from writing, the bug to scratch…
-
Penang. It’s official. The setting of my new novel.
I’ve been contemplating using Penang in one of my novels for years. I lived there from 2006-2017, so I got to know the place well. But for some reason, I don’t like to write about places where I currently live. So two years after the fact, my first Malaysian-based novel is happening. It’s a curious…
-
Play Feedback: Drive-By

I regularly submit my plays to theatres and festivals around the world. Some are chosen for production. Most are not. The competition is fierce. I love receiving feedback which is why I always submit to the Pittsburgh New Works Theatre. They have a fantastic process in which two unnamed judges give detailed feedback about all…
-
Setting: Real or Fictitious?
Choosing a setting for a novel isn’t always an easy task. A writer friend advised me once to chose a fictitious setting for one of my novels, and she was absolutely right. In that case. The advantages of choosing a fictitious setting are many. Such as: The writer can make it look and feel however…
-
The Best I Could Is No Longer The Best I Can
May this always be true: The best I could do is no longer the best I can do. If this is true, it means improvement is happening. And that’s what we want, isn’t it? Growth? I’m not the same writer I was five years ago. Honestly, that’s a very good thing. When I was starting…
