Here’s an attempt to start the year right

If you are reading this blog, then you have stumbled over my colorful, scrapbook-y website transferred over to a new host! This fresh redesign features my very own illustrations, like the one above, and a big help from Canva, which has been an essential tool for my personal and business use. I hope you like my “disruptive” aesthetic—it’s practically how my brain goes!

Moving forward, my old emails have been disconnected. There are still many ways to reach out to me, though! This website has a Contact page and you can make use of the built-in form to send me messages. You can also connect with me through social media; I am on Twitter, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook (TikTok, too, but I hardly go there). Last but not the least, if you need an email, and I will be very much delighted to receive a non-spam message, you can email me at cariswrites@gmail.com.

The things that I want to do this 2024

And this, by the way, is just another writer’s fever dream.

I do not always set goals for myself, given my, uh, extreme lack of focus, quick and ephemeral bursts of passions, and lots of lazying around—all of which are not good cookie points for a human being. But I do have things coming up in the pipeline; ones I’ve already started and aiming to finish, ones that I have carried with me and still beat the same dream. If there are any wins, even tiny ones, it’s the creation of this blog, and me coming back here with the fullest (foolish) force, so I can ramble longer and create a space on the web myself, should you, my dear gentlefolk, decide to see me.

Q1: Finish this middle grade draft that I had been working on since August and get it to the powers that be. I’m excited about this! This is special to me, as all book children are special to their creators, but I’m afraid to bungle this one and shift the focus from what’s important to what’s sensational. I know, important things are scary things. That’s why they throb on our palms and feel hot whenever we touch them. Q1: Perfect (!!!) my last revision for Book 2, the book that I prayed so hard last year to be picked for my sophomore release. I think, after a month’s rest, that I had straightened up my thoughts and finally pointed out the weak spots to myself, so I will be ready to take it on once my editor throws it back to me for that final touch-up.Q2 onward: Revise an old YA Contemporary novel which was my first, first love. Oooh, I’d love to tell you about this. Maybe when I’m halfway through the revision. You see, this story comes with two leads that I used to love with all my heart. And I have rewritten this story many dozens of time and somehow, despite it having everything that I love, it still doesn’t click. I realized this: the two leads weren’t meant to be in the same story. So, here I am, attempting to separate my two favorite children and put them in worlds of their own so they could shine their best, and not steal each other’s spotlights. Also, did I mention it’s contemporary, a.k.a. my original weakness? Let’s see how this goes. Also, please don’t tell Melanie about this. I don’t want her to cringe.Rebuild my newsletter! Marikit Mail had its run, but I don’t think I was able to maximize my communications with you, being the scatterbrain that I am. I am certain to blog a lot this year, but for newsletters, I want to reveal secret chapters for you alone. maybe I can make that happen once I have a solid footing with Book 2. I think it’s a great way to tell you about the secret projects I’ll be working on, so I’m crossing all of my fingers I make it happen!

(If it’s not very obvious, these are very small goals, but I always aim for the bare minimum rather than make a long-list of wants, because at the end of the year, I do want to see these things completed. How about you? What are the things that you want to do this year?)

Last but not the least: freedom for the oppressed. Justice for the martyrs. Hayaang mamasada ng malaya ang masang tsuper. This year, we are wide awake and aware that only we can look after each other. Be kind. Be generous. Be forgiving.

In my head, the world takes a turn for the worse each year, but it is my hope that you, that radiant light, that breath of life, make it a bit more beautiful for those around you. x