Tag: writing

• Using Imagery in Writing: The Example of the Phuong Flower

  I’m holding a writing workshop on Monday so I thought I’d unpack a few items I will be talking about. I’ll start with imagery. When I started writing Beauty Rising, I didn’t want it to be an interconnected mess of episodic writing. I wanted overarching themes and imagery which would, hopefully, drive home what I…

  sassevn

  March 17, 2013

  Uncategorized, Writing Process

  beauty rising, imagery, symbolism, writing

• Stay away from the gutter, please!

  Yes, I’m at a bowling alley. And watching gutter ball after gutter bowl, I naturally thought of writing. What else? First we must define the purpose of a gutter.  It’s to remove waste or unwanted or undesirable garbage far away from one location so that waste can end up with a bird of the same…

  sassevn

  March 11, 2013

  Writing Process

  culture, writing

• I don’t take readers lightly

  This is one of those ‘remember how blessed you are posts’. I’m just very thankful for my readers. Every time I sell a book, I remember what went into that buyer’s decision.  The potential reader, perhaps, got a recommendation from a friend and then clicked on a link to read about my book. The potential…

  sassevn

  March 7, 2013

  Writing Process

  readers, writing

• Finding Readership One Reader at a Time

  I just had a wonderful review of my book. No, it wasn’t from an prestigious publication or website. It was from an individual I don’t know. (I promise. This person is not even a distant relative.) And the individual said in the review something like this  (I paraphrase): I got this book when it was…

  sassevn

  February 15, 2013

  What’s Happening

  beauty rising, indie authors, readership, review, writing

• 3200 Words on Novel 3

  Chinese New Year has provided me with some down time to do some writing, which I haven’t had much of lately. I read an article a while back which said that indie authors need to spend about 80% of their time promoting and only 20% of their time writing. Well, over the last two months…

  sassevn

  February 13, 2013

  What’s Happening

  indie author, writing, writing process

• Monumental Firsts for a New Indie Author

  I’m so new at this; releasing and promoting my novel “Beauty Rising” has been quite an experience. I sometimes feel like I’m playing darts blindfolded, having no idea where the target is. Because really, as a new, unknown Indie Author I don’t know what the target should be. Should I be happy selling my first fifty books…

  sassevn

  February 11, 2013

  Writing Process

  author’s list of firsts, book promotion, indie author, writing

• Make a plan and stick to it (aka the unshakable writer and his 4 year plan)

  In the fall of 2008 I had a crazy idea.  Why not join a masters program to make my already insanely busy life even more so? My thinking process went like this: I could take one class a semester and within a few years I could have a second Masters degree. Or I could twiddle…

  sassevn

  February 8, 2013

  Uncategorized, Writing Process

  writing, writing goals, writing plan

• Thoughts on Offering My Novel for Free

  I live in Penang. If you have never visited Penang, it’s like food paradise. Delicious, cheap, “hawker” food stalls everywhere – Chinese, Indian, Malay, Thai, etc… I already lament the day I have to leave, and I have no intentions of leaving anytime soon. Penangites are rather stingy when it comes to paying for food.…

  sassevn

  February 6, 2013

  Uncategorized, Writing Process

  book marketing, free Kindle promotion, malaysia, Penang, Penang food, writing

• Is it Fair to Judge a Writer?

  (In my last post I picked on an old professor. That made me think of another old professor whom I’ll add to the list of blog-post inspiration. By the way, I enjoyed learning under both of them.) One of my old professors taught me that when reading a poem, never assume that the poem’s perspective…

  sassevn

  February 1, 2013

  Writing Process

  authors, beauty rising, Hap, Thomas Hardy, Vietnam, writers, writing

• I was a writer afraid to write

  I still remember one of my professors in college saying the following: “I could never be a writer. I don’t have a big enough vocabulary.” I pondered that and said to myself, Well, if he doesn’t have a big enough vocabulary to be a writer then I certainly don’t. His vocabulary is way bigger than…

  sassevn

  January 31, 2013

  Writing Process

  writer, writing