Ksenia Anske's Blog, page 36

How to persevere when you think your writing is shit

Art by Simon Prades

"Hi Ksenia! I'm currently writing my second novel. The first one was so easy; such a continuous rush of excitement and inspiration and creativity. But this one... is very different. It's the first time I've lost all faith in my writing and thought that it all is pure shit, and wondered how I'll ever be able to turn this into something readable. I feel like just giving up. How do you do it? Are you ever faced with these moments of despair and futility in your writing? Yo...

Make your books discoverable

Illustration by Alessandro Gottardo

On the never-ending search for books that are indie and good I have stumbled on many authors whose writing I liked and WHOSE BOOKS I COULDN'T GET MY HANDS ON.

Reasons?

1. There are no books.There are some scattered short stories here and there, or some poems, or some snippets of flash fiction,but not an actual book that I can immerse myself in. I don't care if it's a book of poems or short stories. Bundle them up! I want to read it, and if I like it, I wil...

The challenge of writing in a foreign language

Art by Bianca Green

I started reading Dmitry Glukhovsky's METRO 2033 and the very first line jarred me. "Who's there? Artyom—go have a look!" There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, it sucks you right in the story. What bothered me was the tone of the translation. I couldn't pinpoint what it was at first.The words seemed all right. But something about them was not quite Russian. Yes, that's how one would say it in English but not how one would say it in Russian. I was certain that the sus...

My stories will never end

Illustration by John Kenn Mortensen

"How are you, mom?"

"I got bitten by a rat."

"What??"

"There was a family of rats in the basement but the cats chased them out, and now they moved to the attic. They ate a hole in the ceiling and one of them fell through and dropped to the floor. I didn't see it but I heard it. Terrible squealing."

"Good God..."

"I went to see what the deal was. The cats were chasing this huge rat and it was squealing bloody murder. They chased it under the radi...

Trust your taste

Art by Julia Randall

Why don't you trust our taste?Why do you keep seeking opinions of others in fear you're somehow wrong? "If everyone loves that book, why don't I like it? I should like it. Surely I missed something. There must be something there that ought to get me thrilled." But there isn't a thing and you push yourself to turn pages but you know you're not in it.

SET THE DAMN BOOK ASIDE.

I don't know how long it will take me to learn this lesson.

TRUST YOUR TASTE, KSENIA.

But no, I...

Draft 2 of TUBE is done! 10 things it taught me.

Art by Katerina Belkina

"The train was watching Olesya undress.She thought it shuddered under the carpet, thick purple carpet, felt the shudder through the soles of her shoes, new flats acquired for the tour in a boutique on Tverskaya, a red lacquer pair that cost half of her principal dancer salary, but it was worth it, dammit, it was worth it to spend—"

THIS IS THE NEW OPENING AND I ALREADY WANT TO FIX IT BUT I'LL WAIT.

I finished Draft 2 of TUBE yesterday! You can read the whole damn thin...

Coming into your own power

Illustration by Ruben Ireland

To have power you have to believe you can have it, and for thatyou have to know you're worth it, and for that you have to love yourself. The amount of self-love is proportionate to what we harness in childhood. How much have we been given, how much have we retained, how much of it was beaten out of us by parents, well-meaning strangers, institutions. At one point in our adult lives we face this dilemma for the first time: the first time we get dumped, get fire...

Worst memory of my childhood

The Silence of the Lambs art by Dawn Baillie

"What's your worst memory of childhood?" Dr. Lecter asked Clarice, and I closed the book and stared into space. And all I could remember were fantasies. My mind is wiped clean of childhood memories. The actual events were so disturbing and painful that I changed them into fantastical and often horrendous scenes that could not have taken place in real life.

I lie in bed and it's dark and I can't sleep and I'm scared stiff, staring out the balcony...

When a writer holds your hand across time

I got downright spooked yesterday when I read a passage in Thomas Harris's Red Dragon that is so close to what I wrote earlier in the day that it set my teeth on edge. I got scared to death. I found my own thoughts in another book,and a book of such caliber. I got validated. If Thomas Harris wrote it like that, it means I have a chance. It means I'm on the right track.

Here are the two passages for you to compare (mine of course is very wordy and still needs a lot of work, as it's only the s...

Time is a writer's most prized possession

Photo by Neue Werkstatt

"Hey, can you take a quick look at this summary I wrote for my book? It will only take a minute."

"Hey, you're good with words. Can you help me with this idea for a story I have?"

"Hey, can you please read my draft and tell me what you think? I so need your feedback!"

"Hey, I want to send you my book for a review, and you can send me your book for a review in exchange. It'll be a good deal for both of us."

"Hey, so how do you self-publish your books? Can you help me?"

"H...