Kibkabe Araya's Blog, page 49
August 8, 2016
I spent the last week at the National Association of Black...

I spent the last week at the National Association of Black Journalists/National Association of Hispanic Journalists historic joint convention in Washington, D.C. Soaring on the subway and walking around iconic buildings made me feel like an East Coast big city girl again. While I learned to become a better journalist, I also had the chance to meet an author I admire as well as snatch notebooks ideal for creative writing.
Though I’m a business journalist, I’d rather write chick lit, fiction and young adult for women. One author I admire for skillfully writing mainstream chick lit with black characters is Tia Williams. I read her first novel, “The Accidental Diva,” several years ago and couldn’t believe a book like it existed. I read other chick lit novels by black authors with black characters meant for a mainstream audience, but the storylines fell flat.
While venturing around the convention, I noticed Tia in a peach floral jumpsuit from her social media as she advertised her latest novel, “The Perfect Find.” I had previewed a chapter months ago and soon bought it on Amazon.com, but with trying to read books related to my current writing material, I hadn’t read it yet.
I went up to her and talked about how I loved her first novel, how I’m planning to read her last one, and how as a journalist I get flak for writing fiction for women. It turns out she even gets flak though she bases her characters around her real-life involvement in the beauty and fashion media realm. It was wonderful to hear how she became a writer.
So while I tried to improve my journalistic skill, I still got a drop of inspiration for my creative writing career.
July 29, 2016
A dope notebook from a black woman-owned company dedicated to...

A dope notebook from a black woman-owned company dedicated to environmental sustainability and economic advancement in the community. When you’re a writer, you need cute accessories. (via Be Unique* / Innovative Supplies)
July 27, 2016
Sharing is Caring
Earlier this month, I started a writing workshop with my favorite young adult author Francesca Lia Block. During my teenage years, I fantasized about writing like her, having novels come out on a rolling basis like her. Her ubiquitous prose and stories bordering on reality and fantasy stole my attention. So it was an unbelievable coincidence that I got to meet her at a Women’s National Book Association event in April I learned about at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival from my book club Mocha Girls Read. (My networking game is on point!)
Because I read the majority of Francesca’s books from 1989 to 2005, I decided to get guidance from her for my young adult novel based on a teen girl wanting to be a real-life mermaid. But I hadn’t started it. All I had was the girl’s name. I printed out the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” (she was the Disney princess of my era) to use as a backbone for my novel. That was all I had.
After recently finishing my third week of the workshop and submitting my work in progress, I began to soothe myself for sharing work that needs work. I was frustrated for not finishing my mandatory 10 pages a week because I’m a workaholic who loves my job and desires to be better at my job. Creative writing is my therapy, so I need to do it, and it helps others as well, so I need to share my work and read others’ work.
It’s difficult to share your work, especially in its early stages, but it will improve your work so much. The feedback I’m receiving in my workshop right off the bat is already vastly improving my story. So my perfectionism can relax. I will have a suitable story in another year or two hopefully, but I’m no longer afraid putting myself out there and getting support.
July 22, 2016
(via 4 Black Women Writers Get Honest About Mental Illness And...





(via 4 Black Women Writers Get Honest About Mental Illness And Race)
This article caught my eye.
I’m finishing revisions on a novel I hope could be a debut about a college student spiraling out of control due to the depression she knows about but unaware of its strength. It’s untitled, but I hope it can open a dialogue about mental health since many still don’t acknowledge it as a force that could derail your thinking, your actions and put you on a dangerous path. And it’s hard to reel yourself back in.
Seeing this article reminded me how I need to get on the pitch train to promote the novel while juggling other projects. It needs to be out there.
July 21, 2016
That YA Lit Game
Since I’m currently working on a young adult novel, I’m trying to read more young adult novels. I kinda stopped reading them back when I was a…young adult? But while perusing my news feeds yesterday, I discovered Nicola Yoon’s “Everything Everything” would become a film.
I hadn’t checked out YA lit in so long, but this novel sounded intriguing. The best-selling novel everyone already read months ago is about a girl allergic to everything who falls in love. It sounds like my life story (allergic to wheat and milk aka everything), so I was excited to add it to my Goodreads list and get a like from the author on Twitter.
July 20, 2016
‘The Bell Jar’: Kirsten Dunst to Direct Dakota Fanning in an Adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s Classic Novel
One of my fave books. Just reread it a few months ago because the novel I’m finishing revisions on reminds me of a modern-day version of this story.
July 18, 2016
Configuring That Roadmap
I have a bad habit: I write without direction. Drive in the dark with catching shine from the occasional star. With the fire of my ideas steaming onto paper, I tend to skip pertinent steps. Steps to make my work good to the last drop, have the reader savor it up till the last page, wanting more.
After a long day, I’m struggling to make an outline for my young adult novel around a modern-day retelling of “The Little Mermaid.” An outline that should’ve been done weeks ago before committing to a 10-week writing workshop and a cabin at NaNoWriMo camp. Of course, I’m on chapter three with a congested chapter one and a messy chapter two, so I need to know where this is going.
What should my character’s sacrifice be? What would a 16-year-old give up today for love? Should she die? (Disney sprinkled a lot of fairy dust on this story). So many questions, so little time.
As a workaholic, I’m going to plan this outline probably over lunch during the week. I do get an hour I don’t fully appreciate.
July 11, 2016
That Passionista Life
Under the glittering red, blue and green lights in the pitch dark, I danced the night away inside the club and outside the club. A bona fide party girl, the banging house music from the stereos became the soundtrack of my life. It was the Great Recession. I achieved education nirvana with a master’s degree from an Ivy League university yet my career stalled.
In 2014, within a matter of three weeks, I drove 400 miles south to Los Angeles. I simply wanted a permanent job. The string of temporary and freelance jobs allowed me to control my time, but I needed 9-to-5 normalcy, or I’d be lit at the club. I found a permanent job at a newspaper and now transitioning from reporter to editor.
To de-stress from a stressful career, I write fiction. Other careerists thought it was weird. Why dream about another route when you’re already on a route? My extraneous writing on the side was a secret. As a journalist, if a book is in the works, then it’s supposed to be nonfiction like a crime exposé or a politico biography.
But I like making stuff up, let my imagination take over. I also enjoy having something positive to take my mind off the craziness of a high-stress job.
This blog will chronicle my adventures in writing – which conveniently happens during my off hours at night and on weekends – with trying to get a novel published. It’s a long journey, and a thousand ideas swirl in my mind all the time without enough time to put down on paper. I also want to advocate for being a passionista (a Marie Claire term) and not just letting your career define you completely. Writing fiction is a passion. And I’m doing it despite my hectic schedule. I’ll let you know what happens.