A few months ago, I had the honor of attending a conversation with the incomparable Edwidge Danticat and I felt faint. It wasn’t because I was meeting Danticat—it was because I had given blood that morning.
My mother, who frequently donates blood, invited me to join her that day and I happily agreed thinking that this would make me feel like I was helping the world even though the only real thing I do day to day is stay home and find gigs that allow me to stay in my bedroom.
We went to a blood mobile that was booked up with donors (a good thing, right?) and after a failed attempt to get one of my arms, we tried the other. SUCCESS!
After the blood drive, I was feeling really good. The next thing I know, I wake up to my mother lifting my leg out of the passenger’s seat of the car.
“What happened?”
“You fainted.”
I guess losing a pint of blood can result in feeling a lot weaker. Back home, I tried to rest, only to faint again and wonder why I was lying on the floor and why there was soup on my shirt.
“I thought you’d done this before,” my mother remarked when I regained consciousness.
I hadn’t.
When I was a teenager, I went to the doctor’s monthly for blood draws while on a serious acne medication. As a result, I had rubber veins and failed to give the required pint of blood when I did go to blood banks.
Unbeknownst Danticat and the other attendees, I sat rapt in her words while just off-camera I twirled my wrists and ankles to keep circulation going. She was delightful. Also, her latest collection of short stories Everything Inside is an incredible book and you can purchase it here. (Quick note: all of my links for books are for Bookshop.org, an amazing site that allows you to purchase books from the nearest independent bookstore. Bezos doesn’t need your $$$.)
I find that anecdote to be an apt metaphor for this insane lead-up to the election: me trying to keep it together. It’s been hard. There’s more I can say on that, but I’m still trying to process my personal challenges and write them out. Until then, here are some of the updates on my writing life and some helpful writing tips I wanted to share:
Presentations
In November, I had the honor of attending and speaking at the Belize Writers Conference. Would have been nice to TRAVEL to Belize, but well, pandemic.
The conference. Was. A blast. We may have been stuck in our homes, but the chance to listen and present with a slew of other amazing writers and literary agents was invaluable. Some of my big takeaways:
clearly articulate what you want to get out of a relationship with your lit agent in order to make sure you would be a good fit and work well together
when a lit agent asks for a revision, put in the time and energy to make a serious revision
go with the editor that GETS the book
if network is who you know, platform is who knows you
Publications
My Interview with Michele Morano came out this season. If you have a chance, I hope you’ll read it. We had a great conversation about that gray areas of unrequited love along with the ever-present challenge of writing essays where the characters are actual people. Also, you should totally buy her latest essay collection Like Love which you can purchase here. It’s a beautifully-crafted collection of essays around the different types of strong affections we can have for others, whether it’s attraction, infatuation, or crushes (yes, even adults have crushes).
Accolades
Honestly, it’s when I’m in my hole of not thinking about anything that stuff happens. My piece in The Citron Review was nominated for Best of the Net and THEN, I found that my essay “Hair” was listed as a Notable for Best American Essays. In my list of things to achieve, this was my next goal and it was something I didn’t expect to have happen for another twenty years, more or less.
New Gigs!
I have updated my services in order to offer different packages to assist writers with editing their work and/or submitting to literary journals. The services are on the “Editing Services” section of my website.
Also, I am thrilled to announce that I have joined the Pioneer Valley Writers’ Workshop, which offers loads of creative writing classes in a variety of genres. Our classes will be on evenings and weekends and allow writers the safe space to continue to create during these pandemic times. Check out the website in December for the next round of classes that will start in January!
Currently Reading: The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley