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Project Tag: novel

Shape of an Apostrophe

On the sofa with my brilliant friend @tamsinredt who knows the art of delightful conversation. So much of book promo can feel like it’s about numbers and audience and other quantitative measures which I never thought about when I wrote the novel. But every time I sit down with a small group of people, the story is enlarged. Vulnerability shows up, as does honesty, tears, and a healthy dose of dark humour. I did not want to share this. I sat on it for months. My fiction reveals truth at a safe distance; the people are not real. This, writing about a person and an emotion I’d rather keep guarded, is an exposure I am uncomfortable with. Discomfort, however, is rarely in vain. Do with it what you will. For anyone who wants to rewrite a narrative that’s holding them back. Bringing this book recs series back for a time when many of us are struggling to make sense of the world. When we write against our impulse to resolve or justify ‘bad’ behaviour, compelling stories arrive. In fiction, I uncover the most when I let characters (and myself) engage with discomfort, leave things in question, avoid playing nice. I carry tension with me from chapter to chapter the way others might a beloved handbag. I know what it’s worth, and I know you’ll notice. Need I say more about how fun this class at @poetswritersinc will be? Link in bio to register https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVPzG86E2-C/ Korea, in threes “Swimming is probably the most antisocial sport, and that’s exactly why I enjoy it.” Unexpectedly came upon an exhibit of @werner_bronkhorst in Seoul @groundseesaw and started imagining sinister backstories for each of these swimmers. I stood there delightfully creating fiction in silence, and thought about how the best ideas come to me while I’m underwater, how writing is also an antisocial sport, and how my need for both activities must come precisely from that solitude. Meanwhile, Zaya was face down on the gallery floor shooing off strangers and insisting all tiles except the blue were lava.
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