TBR: Books I Want to Read in 2022
Another year, another list of books that I may or may not get to. Like usual, this TBR list is tentative, and probably superfluous, since I have so many books not listed here that are already on my bookshelf and that I need to read. Besides, my TBR list is “more what you’d call guidelines […]
10 Gift Ideas for your Book-loving Friend
Can’t decide what to get your book-loving friend for Christmas? Need last-minute ideas? I got you. I’ve compiled a list of 10 gifts that your bookish loved one will enjoy. 1. Your favorite book that you know your friend hasn’t read. Gifting your favorite book to a friend is a beautiful thing; you are sharing […]
My Experience at the Sante Fe Art District in Denver
Happy International Artist Day! I’ve never lived anywhere with a prolific art scene, so I took advantage of Denver’s while I was visiting, and went to the Sante Fe Art District. I went on a Friday, which turned out to be a decent day to visit, since a lot of the galleries and studios are […]
Degas’ Bathers: Misogynistic or Progressive?
The other day, I was watching The Thomas Crown Affair, and in a museum scene, I glimpsed a familiar statue in the corner of the screen. I realized that I had been given a bronze cast of the same statue a long time ago, and after a little research, I found out it was Edgar […]
Playlist Prompt #1: Crimes of Simplifying Complexity
I’m sure I have a kindred spirit or two who story craft while listening to music. The interplay of instrumentals, melody, and poetry is a rambunctious inciter when it comes to creativity. Recently, I had plots unroll in my head entirely because of lyrics and a specific sequence of songs. I thought I’d make this […]
My Complicated Relationship with Poetry
For the longest time, I’ve dreaded the inevitable poetry unit in classes. Since that was my only exposure to poetry, I suppose I’ve dreaded reading poetry in general. But over the past two years, poetry has started to creep into my life to the point where I’m reading and writing it almost daily. Despite this […]
Fabricating Tragic Beauty: A series of poems
Over the past decade or two, people have made a lot of progress in de-stigmatizing poor mental health, but it’s had the unfortunate consequence of sensationalizing mental illness, particularly depression. Now, depression is often portrayed as tragically beautiful, as a personality trait, or even as trendy. This can lead people to think that they need […]
How NOT to Start your Novel: Common Mistakes to Avoid
When I read queries during my internship at the literary agency, I would often reject an author after the first sentence of the manuscript. That might sound harsh, but I learned that when I continued reading, my first instinct was nearly always right. If you’ve read my post “A Literary Agency: An Intern’s Perspective,” you […]
A Literary Agency: An Intern’s Perspective
In the summer of 2019, I was fortunate enough to intern remotely at a literary agency. Just to give you a sense of what it entailed, the bulk of my time was spent reading queries, evaluating partial and full manuscripts, writing reader reports, and maintaining publishing contacts. I also wrote a few editorial letters […]