Publishing/writing in the midst of chaos
Phew. Two launches in 3 days. And now something that I had worked on for close to 3 years is out in the world, hopefully bringing much-need escapism and relief to readers around the world.
Over the course of this week alone I've done a grand total of....6 virtual interviews, and quite a few written Q&As (I'm especially proud of the one I did for Chuck Wendig's blog--and seeing it being published yesterday on the 11th reminded me how I should be writing more blog pieces--that's the whole point of my website, too *note to self: update website*). I'm doing another virtual one in an hour. It's a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work. But it's necessary because with many bookshops shuttered, some sadly for good, it's outreach that must be done.
On the promo side, my publishers have asked me to write personal (more literary) pieces about my life. I tried, and found that I couldn't. I had zero bandwidth, mentally and emotionally, to write. The last time I experienced something like this was when I was working in a law firm, and when things sometimes got dark in my last job in an international aid organisation.
I find it hard to write fiction, or personal pieces, while the world burns. Writing, for me, is not escapism. It's intensely personal.
I talked a little bit about that on my interview with Belmont Books today, about what inspired or transpired behind some of the difficult scenes the book. We discussed gender discrimination in the workplace, filial piety, racism, a whole bunch of heavy stuff, which I guess of the participants were not expecting from the call about...well, a comedic novel. I felt myself getting emotional at some points in the call. Thank goodness I had Mary Pauline Lowry as my wonderful interviewer, so the call, on the whole, remained upbeat.
Mary asked me a lot of challenging questions, and one of them was (I'm paraphrasing) what role did I see humour playing n the book. I thought about why I had chosen humour as a vehicle for heavy themes. I could have chosen to write literary fiction. But somehow, using humour helps diffuse the intensity of my focus on heavy subjects, just a little. It acts like a cheese cloth, Vaseline on a lens, between you and the subject matter. And that can make a difference when you yourself are personally triggered by some of issues discussed.
Writing good fiction, writing good personal pieces, requires you to draw from personal experiences. And sometimes you just can't go there, because it's already chaotic enough in the world around you.
So that's why I'm sticking to producing Q&As on the book. Fun, funny. But not too personal.
It's funny, I never gave more thought to how much we have to be in the right state of mind to write anything real. Because that's what fiction requires--for you to be real with yourself, and the world.
Over the course of this week alone I've done a grand total of....6 virtual interviews, and quite a few written Q&As (I'm especially proud of the one I did for Chuck Wendig's blog--and seeing it being published yesterday on the 11th reminded me how I should be writing more blog pieces--that's the whole point of my website, too *note to self: update website*). I'm doing another virtual one in an hour. It's a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work. But it's necessary because with many bookshops shuttered, some sadly for good, it's outreach that must be done.
On the promo side, my publishers have asked me to write personal (more literary) pieces about my life. I tried, and found that I couldn't. I had zero bandwidth, mentally and emotionally, to write. The last time I experienced something like this was when I was working in a law firm, and when things sometimes got dark in my last job in an international aid organisation.
I find it hard to write fiction, or personal pieces, while the world burns. Writing, for me, is not escapism. It's intensely personal.
I talked a little bit about that on my interview with Belmont Books today, about what inspired or transpired behind some of the difficult scenes the book. We discussed gender discrimination in the workplace, filial piety, racism, a whole bunch of heavy stuff, which I guess of the participants were not expecting from the call about...well, a comedic novel. I felt myself getting emotional at some points in the call. Thank goodness I had Mary Pauline Lowry as my wonderful interviewer, so the call, on the whole, remained upbeat.
Mary asked me a lot of challenging questions, and one of them was (I'm paraphrasing) what role did I see humour playing n the book. I thought about why I had chosen humour as a vehicle for heavy themes. I could have chosen to write literary fiction. But somehow, using humour helps diffuse the intensity of my focus on heavy subjects, just a little. It acts like a cheese cloth, Vaseline on a lens, between you and the subject matter. And that can make a difference when you yourself are personally triggered by some of issues discussed.
Writing good fiction, writing good personal pieces, requires you to draw from personal experiences. And sometimes you just can't go there, because it's already chaotic enough in the world around you.
So that's why I'm sticking to producing Q&As on the book. Fun, funny. But not too personal.
It's funny, I never gave more thought to how much we have to be in the right state of mind to write anything real. Because that's what fiction requires--for you to be real with yourself, and the world.
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