Mary Anne Mohanraj's Blog, page 3
September 9, 2020
What do you guys think?
Hey, writers. I'm adding in something for my advanced fiction class next week -- optional co-writing meet-ups on Zoom. The idea is that I'd open the Zoom call, we'd say hi and check in, and then by 10 minutes in, switch to writing and write quietly for as long as we wanted. I find writing in company motivating, and I think in the pandemic era, this is a nice alternative to the traditional meet-a-friend-in-a-cafe option.
I'm thinking if this goes well, I'll be adding some version of it to the SLF's Portolan Project too, with people other than me hosting them too.
So if you're interested in joining for a co-writing segment (or possibly hosting them for the SLF), comment below, and I'll send you the details? People who host should be ready to enforce moderation if necessary -- boot any bad actors, remind people to be quiet during quiet time.
This semester, I'm tentatively thinking I can do:
Mon and Wed, 9:30 - 11 CST
Sat, 1 - 2:30 CST
I'm imagining that if other people are able to host before or after me, we can hand off the hosting privileges. So maybe eventually, we'll have a co-writing room that's just open and running most of the time? That'd be cool. 🙂
And as a supplement, if we make people co-hosts and set up breakout rooms, then people can go off into the breakout rooms for conversation if they're taking a writing break. Or just use the chat window -- that's nicely unobtrusive, since people who don't want to see it can keep that window closed. Hmm....
I'm thinking if this goes well, I'll be adding some version of it to the SLF's Portolan Project too, with people other than me hosting them too.
So if you're interested in joining for a co-writing segment (or possibly hosting them for the SLF), comment below, and I'll send you the details? People who host should be ready to enforce moderation if necessary -- boot any bad actors, remind people to be quiet during quiet time.
This semester, I'm tentatively thinking I can do:
Mon and Wed, 9:30 - 11 CST
Sat, 1 - 2:30 CST
I'm imagining that if other people are able to host before or after me, we can hand off the hosting privileges. So maybe eventually, we'll have a co-writing room that's just open and running most of the time? That'd be cool. 🙂
And as a supplement, if we make people co-hosts and set up breakout rooms, then people can go off into the breakout rooms for conversation if they're taking a writing break. Or just use the chat window -- that's nicely unobtrusive, since people who don't want to see it can keep that window closed. Hmm....
August 24, 2020
Final Revisions Done
Liminal Space, a SF novel, final revisions done. Well, for this draft, anyway. 83,188 words. Off to my agent. Fingers and toes crossed. I even drafted a dedication today, although I can't promise it will stay exactly like this if the book actually makes it to print. But for now, this is what I have.
August 19, 2020
Do all the things if you can, but do them well, and with grace.
Drowning a bit the next few days. I’m trying to finish a novel and give it to my agent before the semester starts, I'm one of the three co-hosts for Fiberworld (so evening commitments every night for the next four nights), I'm on several panels at NASFiC this same weekend (virtual conventions means you can attend multiple ones the same weekend, hmm)...
...and oh yes, classes start next week, and even though I've been preparing all summer, I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be. (Never as prepared as I'd like to be, but that's the way of it. Breathe, teachers. It's going to be fine.) Fun times.
Next week should be calmer by a lot. 😊 Once I actually meet my new crop of students, the semester always feels better. But I'm trying to keep my chill; I did manage to play Terraria with Anand on Monday, and watch a Disney movie (The Little Mermaid) with Kavi on Tuesday. I'm trying to build at least a few hours of downtime into each day so I don't melt. This afternoon, I'm thinking maybe the forest with the kids? We'll see.
This morning, I'm alternating a host of neglected garden tasks (it's going to be hot the next few days, so trying to give the garden a good soaking today, and there's so much weeding and clean-up it could use) with continuing the clean-up pass on the novel.
That pass is going well, not quite as fast as I'd hoped. Better not to rush it, though. Patience, Mary Anne. Do all the things if you can, but do them well, and with grace. And if you can't, put some things down. If a few extra weeds grow for a few extra weeks, it's okay. (If the backyard turns into an ravenous jungle beast of weeds, that's also okay.)
And hey, Fiberworld starts today! I'll be co-hosting opening ceremonies this evening with Franklin Habit (gorgeous pattern designer, his work is STUNNING, also author, teacher, and illustrator) and Nacinimod Deodee (artist and designer of the House of Nassat -- have you seen fabulous African-inspired crocheted clothing for men? You have to take a look, if not, so cool.)
Register here: https://fiberworld2020.com
...and oh yes, classes start next week, and even though I've been preparing all summer, I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be. (Never as prepared as I'd like to be, but that's the way of it. Breathe, teachers. It's going to be fine.) Fun times.
Next week should be calmer by a lot. 😊 Once I actually meet my new crop of students, the semester always feels better. But I'm trying to keep my chill; I did manage to play Terraria with Anand on Monday, and watch a Disney movie (The Little Mermaid) with Kavi on Tuesday. I'm trying to build at least a few hours of downtime into each day so I don't melt. This afternoon, I'm thinking maybe the forest with the kids? We'll see.
This morning, I'm alternating a host of neglected garden tasks (it's going to be hot the next few days, so trying to give the garden a good soaking today, and there's so much weeding and clean-up it could use) with continuing the clean-up pass on the novel.
That pass is going well, not quite as fast as I'd hoped. Better not to rush it, though. Patience, Mary Anne. Do all the things if you can, but do them well, and with grace. And if you can't, put some things down. If a few extra weeds grow for a few extra weeks, it's okay. (If the backyard turns into an ravenous jungle beast of weeds, that's also okay.)
And hey, Fiberworld starts today! I'll be co-hosting opening ceremonies this evening with Franklin Habit (gorgeous pattern designer, his work is STUNNING, also author, teacher, and illustrator) and Nacinimod Deodee (artist and designer of the House of Nassat -- have you seen fabulous African-inspired crocheted clothing for men? You have to take a look, if not, so cool.)
Register here: https://fiberworld2020.com
August 18, 2020
Revised chapters
Revised chapters 1-4, clean-up pass. No major changes to make in this section, so it went very fast, about 2 hours to review about 11,400 words. I have to think a little about what I'm doing at the start of chapter 5, so this seems like a good point to break for today. Going to try to get started earlier tomorrow, so I have more time without feeling stressed.
But now, a few e-mails about this weekend's complicated scheduling, and then I promised Anand some Terraria time.
But now, a few e-mails about this weekend's complicated scheduling, and then I promised Anand some Terraria time.
August 14, 2020
Fin~ (kinda)
I made it to the end of this revision pass, and my SF novel, Liminal Space, stands at 79,930 words. WHEW. For those keeping track, I added close to 20K words in this drafting pass.
(Not bad work for a month of dedicated summer effort. It definitely helps that the children can mostly feed themselves breakfast and lunch at this point! If I could keep up the roughly 1000 words/day going forward, that'd give me another novel in three months... 🙂 Christmas goals....?)
I am not quite ready to send this one to my agent -- my plan is to take at least a few days, as much as a week if need be, to go through the notes that my beta readers have been sending me, and implement lots of little suggested changes.
I imagine that even if my agent likes it, he'll have some suggested changes, and assuming we find an editor for it, they'll have suggestions too. It's still a long road to completely finished.
But overall, the book has the right shape, finally. The right shape, and more importantly, the right heart. I'm happy.
#serendibwriting
(Not bad work for a month of dedicated summer effort. It definitely helps that the children can mostly feed themselves breakfast and lunch at this point! If I could keep up the roughly 1000 words/day going forward, that'd give me another novel in three months... 🙂 Christmas goals....?)
I am not quite ready to send this one to my agent -- my plan is to take at least a few days, as much as a week if need be, to go through the notes that my beta readers have been sending me, and implement lots of little suggested changes.
I imagine that even if my agent likes it, he'll have some suggested changes, and assuming we find an editor for it, they'll have suggestions too. It's still a long road to completely finished.
But overall, the book has the right shape, finally. The right shape, and more importantly, the right heart. I'm happy.
#serendibwriting
August 12, 2020
Early Writing Session
Woke up at 5, a little slow getting out of bed, but coffee and breakfasted by 6, out to writing shed by 6:15. Gods, I love the mornings out here. So beautiful, so peaceful.
There was a little break from novel-revision when I had to pause and work on my revised outline for the next Wild Cards book -- it's a mosaic novel, with several co-writers, so there's a flurry of e-mail discussion back and forth, plotting, and then we all go away and revise our pieces, and then send them to George and Melinda, who try to put them back together into something coherent. This third pass, I think we're getting pretty close to a final shape for the book, fingers crossed.
It's fascinating -- this must be a little of what it's like being in a TV writers' room. Difficult, in lots of ways, but there's also delight, when a co-writer comes up with something splendid and unexpected. Ideas sparking.
As for my novel, I'm finding my beta readers' comments helpful -- they helped me realize that I needed to flesh out a character, so yesterday and this morning, I wrote a few more new scenes that I'm pretty happy with, about 2500 new words. (Regular readers of this page may recognize a little of what's in the attached scene from a post a few weeks ago. 🙂 )
I'm not QUITE sure what the next step should be -- it's very very tempting to race ahead to the ending (VERY), but various people have been sending me edit notes, and I kind of think it would be even better to go back and start implementing those. Most are very small fixes, and I think putting those in will help me make sure that everything is clean and in place as we come up to the climax.
Yes, I think that's right. So not finishing the book today, or tomorrow. That's okay. I gave myself 'til Monday the 17th, so there's still plenty of time. It will likely be down to the wire, per usual in my life...
But hey, the new scenes meant that I moved some chapters around after that point, so I still somehow managed to get another chapter ahead in my revision count. That's satisfying in a purely silly way.
Chapters revised: 1-20
Total novel word count: 78,776
There was a little break from novel-revision when I had to pause and work on my revised outline for the next Wild Cards book -- it's a mosaic novel, with several co-writers, so there's a flurry of e-mail discussion back and forth, plotting, and then we all go away and revise our pieces, and then send them to George and Melinda, who try to put them back together into something coherent. This third pass, I think we're getting pretty close to a final shape for the book, fingers crossed.
It's fascinating -- this must be a little of what it's like being in a TV writers' room. Difficult, in lots of ways, but there's also delight, when a co-writer comes up with something splendid and unexpected. Ideas sparking.
As for my novel, I'm finding my beta readers' comments helpful -- they helped me realize that I needed to flesh out a character, so yesterday and this morning, I wrote a few more new scenes that I'm pretty happy with, about 2500 new words. (Regular readers of this page may recognize a little of what's in the attached scene from a post a few weeks ago. 🙂 )
I'm not QUITE sure what the next step should be -- it's very very tempting to race ahead to the ending (VERY), but various people have been sending me edit notes, and I kind of think it would be even better to go back and start implementing those. Most are very small fixes, and I think putting those in will help me make sure that everything is clean and in place as we come up to the climax.
Yes, I think that's right. So not finishing the book today, or tomorrow. That's okay. I gave myself 'til Monday the 17th, so there's still plenty of time. It will likely be down to the wire, per usual in my life...
But hey, the new scenes meant that I moved some chapters around after that point, so I still somehow managed to get another chapter ahead in my revision count. That's satisfying in a purely silly way.
Chapters revised: 1-20
Total novel word count: 78,776
August 10, 2020
Hm...
Hm. So, I realized in revising chapter 20, that we really don't know one of the major characters well enough. I need at least one more scene with him, maybe halfway through the book, so the reader has a chance to get to know him and care about the decision he makes at the end.
So the revision count is a little off right now -- I'll likely pause on the forward progress now, go back and write that scene or two, and then keep going. A little frustrating, so close to the end, but I think it'll make for a richer ending in the long run.
ch 1-20 revised
72,071 words revised
76,259 words total
So the revision count is a little off right now -- I'll likely pause on the forward progress now, go back and write that scene or two, and then keep going. A little frustrating, so close to the end, but I think it'll make for a richer ending in the long run.
ch 1-20 revised
72,071 words revised
76,259 words total
August 3, 2020
August Update!
Greetings Gentlebeings!
First, thanks so much for opening this e-mail and supporting me and my writing! 2020 has been a very complex year for everyone, I think; I hope you and your families are in good health. We’re turning now to the uncertain (but hopeful) second half.
In March, where we left off, my new Sri Lankan cookbook A Feast of Serendib officially launched, and became an Amazon bestseller! Unfortunately, the spread of COVID19 in the U.S. meant a lot of the exciting next steps were taken out of my hands. It wasn’t a good time for a new book release, and I had to make the decision to cancel my summer book tour. I’m so sorry we weren’t able to visit all those cities this year; hopefully, we’ll be able to try that again next year.
Thankfully, the cookbook is still selling (slowly) on Amazon and on my site, and the reviews have been glowing (a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly!) -- but any help spreading the word would be much appreciated! Maybe your local library would like to order a copy?
TRAVEL AND PUBLICATIONS:
My last trip was to California, where I was an Honored Guest at FogCon2020. Since then, I’ve mostly been hunkered down, writing. I’ve published a few things you might enjoy:
• A Feast of Serendib: 10 Things You Might Not Know about Sri Lankan Food for Jaggery Magazine
• co-authored the mosaic novel Three Kings for George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards superhero series
• “Paper Star” (a new Jump Space story) published in the Decameron Project
• “Three Fights” (a little pandemic essay) published in How We Are
NEW STORE!
I’ve also been busy with some new projects for my Serendib Kitchen business, making fabric masks and trying out new treat recipes. We have a new online shop where you can check out the fun variety of mask fabrics available, order books, curry powder, and more. You can visit the new shop here: https://serendib-kitchen.myshopify.com/. We’ve also started a quarterly treat box subscription for our Patreon supporters at the $10+ tier, and I’m having fun packing those boxes with the latest homemade goodies from my kitchen. You can sign up for the quarterly treat boxes or for our Serendib Recipe Club here: https://www.patreon.com/mohanraj
VIDEOS! SO MANY VIDEOS!
Another exciting project we’ve been working on this summer is the Serendib Kitchen YouTube channel. When I ran the Kickstarter campaign in 2019 to fund Feast, I promised there would be cooking videos. We’ve now released eight cooking videos on our channel, with plans to continue releasing them weekly throughout the summer. Check out me and Jedediah cooking curried beets, or me and Kavi making mango fluff!
And we’re now up to six (6) interviews for an SLF project/the SLF’s Portolan Project (free online creative writing instruction). I interviewed master SF/F writers like Paolo Bacigalupi, Kate Elliott, George R.R. Martin, Nalo Hopkinson, along with exciting emerging writers. Find those on YouTube here, or on the SLF site.
RECENT:
• I spoke on WorldCon panel about being a “Token Girl”
• In July I was honored to be listed in NewCity’s LIT 50 of 2020. You can read the blurbs (and see a rare photo of Serious Mary Anne) here: Lit 50: Who Really Books In Chicago 2020
Deep breath.
That’s the recap! I know, it’s a lot -- we’re going to try to get the newsletter out a little more frequently going forward, so it can be shorter!
COMING SOON:
In the next months, more cooking videos and interviews are coming, and there are two podcasts I’m recording right now, that I hope to launch soon:
• with Benjamin Rosenbaum (“Mohanraj and Rosenbaum Are Humans,” science fiction, writing, and culture)
• with Kel Bachus (not yet titled, gender and domestic business and gaming).
We’re also planning to release a print and updated ebook edition of Vegan Serendib in the fall and add in a new book, Gluten-Free Serendib, hopefully in time for holiday orders.
TV APPEARANCE!
I’m thrilled to be appearing live on WGN’s Sunday Brunch segment later this month! Tune in to WGN’s Weekend Morning News on Sunday, August 16, at 7:40-ish a.m. (Central) for a live demonstration of my fresh and tasty kale sambol recipe.
ONLINE EVENTS:
Finally, if we can’t meet in person, maybe we can meet online. I recently hosted a Zoom demo of my kale sambol recipe with the Skokie Public Library; the first of several exciting virtual events in the works. Plus, I’ll be hosting Fiberworld’s live virtual classes this year! More info here!
Whew, I think that’s it! I have to get back to my teaching prep now, for our entirely online fall semester, but I’ll talk to you again soon!
P.S. Keep up with all of my relevant news & events on my blog here!
-Mary Anne
First, thanks so much for opening this e-mail and supporting me and my writing! 2020 has been a very complex year for everyone, I think; I hope you and your families are in good health. We’re turning now to the uncertain (but hopeful) second half.
In March, where we left off, my new Sri Lankan cookbook A Feast of Serendib officially launched, and became an Amazon bestseller! Unfortunately, the spread of COVID19 in the U.S. meant a lot of the exciting next steps were taken out of my hands. It wasn’t a good time for a new book release, and I had to make the decision to cancel my summer book tour. I’m so sorry we weren’t able to visit all those cities this year; hopefully, we’ll be able to try that again next year.
Thankfully, the cookbook is still selling (slowly) on Amazon and on my site, and the reviews have been glowing (a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly!) -- but any help spreading the word would be much appreciated! Maybe your local library would like to order a copy?
TRAVEL AND PUBLICATIONS:
My last trip was to California, where I was an Honored Guest at FogCon2020. Since then, I’ve mostly been hunkered down, writing. I’ve published a few things you might enjoy:
• A Feast of Serendib: 10 Things You Might Not Know about Sri Lankan Food for Jaggery Magazine
• co-authored the mosaic novel Three Kings for George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards superhero series
• “Paper Star” (a new Jump Space story) published in the Decameron Project
• “Three Fights” (a little pandemic essay) published in How We Are
NEW STORE!
I’ve also been busy with some new projects for my Serendib Kitchen business, making fabric masks and trying out new treat recipes. We have a new online shop where you can check out the fun variety of mask fabrics available, order books, curry powder, and more. You can visit the new shop here: https://serendib-kitchen.myshopify.com/. We’ve also started a quarterly treat box subscription for our Patreon supporters at the $10+ tier, and I’m having fun packing those boxes with the latest homemade goodies from my kitchen. You can sign up for the quarterly treat boxes or for our Serendib Recipe Club here: https://www.patreon.com/mohanraj
VIDEOS! SO MANY VIDEOS!
Another exciting project we’ve been working on this summer is the Serendib Kitchen YouTube channel. When I ran the Kickstarter campaign in 2019 to fund Feast, I promised there would be cooking videos. We’ve now released eight cooking videos on our channel, with plans to continue releasing them weekly throughout the summer. Check out me and Jedediah cooking curried beets, or me and Kavi making mango fluff!
And we’re now up to six (6) interviews for an SLF project/the SLF’s Portolan Project (free online creative writing instruction). I interviewed master SF/F writers like Paolo Bacigalupi, Kate Elliott, George R.R. Martin, Nalo Hopkinson, along with exciting emerging writers. Find those on YouTube here, or on the SLF site.
RECENT:
• I spoke on WorldCon panel about being a “Token Girl”
• In July I was honored to be listed in NewCity’s LIT 50 of 2020. You can read the blurbs (and see a rare photo of Serious Mary Anne) here: Lit 50: Who Really Books In Chicago 2020
Deep breath.
That’s the recap! I know, it’s a lot -- we’re going to try to get the newsletter out a little more frequently going forward, so it can be shorter!
COMING SOON:
In the next months, more cooking videos and interviews are coming, and there are two podcasts I’m recording right now, that I hope to launch soon:
• with Benjamin Rosenbaum (“Mohanraj and Rosenbaum Are Humans,” science fiction, writing, and culture)
• with Kel Bachus (not yet titled, gender and domestic business and gaming).
We’re also planning to release a print and updated ebook edition of Vegan Serendib in the fall and add in a new book, Gluten-Free Serendib, hopefully in time for holiday orders.
TV APPEARANCE!
I’m thrilled to be appearing live on WGN’s Sunday Brunch segment later this month! Tune in to WGN’s Weekend Morning News on Sunday, August 16, at 7:40-ish a.m. (Central) for a live demonstration of my fresh and tasty kale sambol recipe.
ONLINE EVENTS:
Finally, if we can’t meet in person, maybe we can meet online. I recently hosted a Zoom demo of my kale sambol recipe with the Skokie Public Library; the first of several exciting virtual events in the works. Plus, I’ll be hosting Fiberworld’s live virtual classes this year! More info here!
Whew, I think that’s it! I have to get back to my teaching prep now, for our entirely online fall semester, but I’ll talk to you again soon!
P.S. Keep up with all of my relevant news & events on my blog here!
-Mary Anne
