That first step

They say there’s only a thin line separating theory from action. It’s just a tiny decision, even though so hard to make, that turns thoughts into actions. It’s what people say, that the hard part is taking the first step on a stairwell which illuminates the path ahead of us.

Silence

Do you ever seek silence? And I don't mean just to sit alone in a comfortable sofa, in a semi-lighted room and drink some tasty, red wine.

Silence isn't always about being alone but being at peace.

The Machine

The Machine started with a loud noise, showing off its power. It growled and got on with its job, cutting the hair, moving through it fierce and powerful. 

The man pressed it harder against his skin, he moved it up and down, urging it to cut more and faster. He shifted it to and fro, left and right, listening with pleasure to the sound of cutting hair. 

Voice of the Soul

I have this thing. 

I love loud music. And when I say loud, I mean maximum volume while the same song is playing on repeat and I write. This is my thing and I have missed it so much.

The Hive

I’m tired.

Here it is, I admit it out loud or else the words won’t leave my mouth. I’m so tired, both physically and mentally. I’m one of those persons who just can’t shut down, I always have to do something since time is like a noose and if I stop I think that it’s going to choke me.

On Writing: Rewriting

There is a magic in rewriting a story and I discover its beauty the more rewriting comes to an end. I’ve rewritten 21 of the 27 chapters and even if I cut some of them and expanded others, the fact is that the original story is on its end.

But my story is not!

A Letter to You

Dear self,

Sometimes I know that you just let it go. You're tired, maybe your head hurts or you are not in the mood, and you think: I'll do it tomorrow there's no harm done.

And tomorrow comes and passes by so fast and you're still lost somewhere between life and responsibilities that you barely realize that another day is over. You lay in bed, thinking that you'll do it tomorrow and without even acknowledging it you're in a loop.

My Birthday Riddle

It's the 28th of November again, which means that I'm getting older! Yep, I can no longer say that I'm 26 even though if you asked me yesterday I probably would have said so! But from this day on I'm facing the truth: I'm 27 and proud!

Precious little moments

I woke up today thinking of my MC. I try to see where she is now, what she's doing but the more I try to picture her, the more she slips away. I usually let her be, waiting for her to show me the way but this time, all she shows me is the last part of the chapter I wrote.

I fear that I may have damaged her more than the book requires. Is this even possible?

On Writing: Find your voice

Winter is coming as the temperature falls, the need to stay home and write warms my heart and makes me think about my stories. And when I think about my stories a mixture of happiness and melancholy envelops me and my heart sinks. 

I've written four books and God knows how many stories I keep pushing in my subconscious, letting them grow and mature like good old wines. So what do I do when I'm not writing? I'm rewriting, editing and working on my stories again and again and then even some more.

On Writing: Stay focused

I feel an emptiness in my chest right next to my heart and I know it's because its wounded. It aches and the pain travels across my body but I didn't mean for this to happen! Yes, I am the one to blame but I am also the one who can actually do something about it.

I've been trying, for I would be dammed if I didn't, but as long as I try to fix this, I fail, and the wound in my chest grows bigger and bigger. Lately the pain increases by the hour and I fear that the hole next to my heart will grow so big that will swallow it entirely.

It's in your head

I'm taking a break.

Lately I find myself a bit detached from the writing part of my life and that is not a deliberate choice.

It's just that there is no time and if you read my post last week, you know why. But I read. Not as much as I'd love to, but I do. Everyday even if it's just for half an hour, I read.

On writing: Guts and Stardust

So, I was reading about motivation, about the ways to keep you focused on your writing, about the self-discipline of writing and stick to it. There are tons of things we know we have to do, we've read them again and again, some we have tried some we are still trying to do. Establish a routine, say no to sudden invitations from friends when writing is on schedule, make a schedule, close your door and let the chaos outside, read, create your writing space.

On Writing: What about plot?

I’m not a plotter. I don’t map my way through the book when an idea comes, I don’t try to understand my characters when they first appear to me and I don’t demand answers. I just ask questions. I am one of those writers who write actions and justify them. Is this the right way? I don’t know, but this is the way it happens.

When the fog dissolves

I think I've got it all figured out!

It was about time. Or it wasn't. I don't really know when, if there is such a time, where you know all the stuff about your story, but last night I saw the bigger picture. (The Kamikaze move actually helped me a lot!)

Usually, I write following my gut. There is a scene that prompts me to write, a character or some random words that came to mind and turned out to be a story. That usually goes on until I'm pretty close to the end where, at last, I know how the story is going to end.

Kamikaze move

I'm having an issue, a very serious and urgent one and I'm frozen until I figure out how to solve it. I need to solve it, so I can keep on writing and I my fingers itch the more I postpone my writing due to that issue.

I think you get it. I have an issue!

On Writing: Grasp the inspiration

I found time for writing this weekend since I really really needed it. Not that I managed to write as much as I’d love to, but it was enough to start that fire again. To feel the beauty of the world that awaits me, to reconnect with the characters that are too anxious to tell their story, but mostly I managed to think about the story again.

It’s very important for me to have the story in my mind, but when I say story, I don’t mean I have to have all the answers. Hell no. It’s just enough to have in mind the next chapter or the beginning of a chapter, even the ending will do. I’ll be content even if I only have the slightest idea of where the story is heading. That is enough to make me write and while I write everything can change. But first I’ll have to start somewhere.

On Writing: Bursting out of you

So, here I am reading a chapter from the story I'm currently writing. It's that dark one with the almost crazy MC who refused to tell me her name even if I had written 30K words! Stubborn one, I'm telling you. But it worth the waiting. I give her that!

Anyway, as I keep reading one chapter after the other, I start seeing a pattern. Not about the story or the plot, but about the simple stuff, the details of the story. You know, a second character's appearance, parts of the stories they share, or the starting theme of a chapter. Those little things that maybe at first seem detached but as the story goes on they fall into place. I didn't notice it until this moment but those parts were more than random choices.

Birthday girl

So, today is my birthday! I’m turning twenty-six but no one needs to know, right? This will be our little secret! Shush!

I knew I wanted to do a special post for this beautiful day, but I wasn’t quite sure what to write. So there I was writing my new project and I thought, why not? What is better than share with you what I love the most? You know what they say about writing, that we give a part of our soul and I totally agree.