Mid-month update: works-in-progress and refilling the creative well
Week 2 of my transitional unemployment, and I’m trying not to get too comfortable with this luxury of time and freedom (in case I can’t adjust back to corporate life come 16 September), but at the same time I’m like FREEDOOMMM! I’m going for long swims in the morning, movie marathons in the afternoons, writing in the evenings, sitting at cafes and people-watching, catching up with friends over lunch, book shopping, and just allowing myself to relax and recharge as much as possible in the time I have now.
Meanwhile:
I’m currently at 74k-ish for the urban fantasy YA manuscript, and being a pantser, I haven’t quite figured out how I’m going to end the story. I am THIS CLOSE to the ending, but can’t work out how I want this story to end (to leave enough loose ends for the sequel but also tie up enough of them to conclude Book 1).
This first draft, as is always the case, is a total mess. Messy plot, messy character development, messy world-building, and I’m pretty sure I’ve missed a couple of plot holes somewhere. I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me in the revisions, but the goal now is just to get to the finish line with this one.
In an attempt to avoid working on the abovementioned WiP, I hopped over to another WiP, which was originally intended to be a rom-com, but after much thought—and some drafting of the first few chapters—I realised I don’t want to write a rom-com after all. I want to write about the complexities of contemporary romantic relationships and the expectations we have around love and women and dating. I want it to be honest and realistic, rather than fluffy and rose-tinted. Nothing wrong with fluffy rom-coms, of course. I love a good rom-com from time to time, but I just don’t view relationships through a rom-com lens as a writer anymore, so I want to tell a story that feels more authentic to my experiences and the stories I’ve heard.
I’ll go into more detail in a separate post, but suffice to say for now that this WiP is going to be women’s fiction after all. But it will still remain a retelling of Little Women, set in contemporary Singapore, and include elements of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Gilmore Girls. Watch this space for updates!
I’ve been catching up with friends and doing writing sessions with fellow writer friends this week, and just listening to them talk about their work, their inspirations and creative lives, and watching them work is immensely inspiring. The resourcefulness of creatives always—how people can find ideas and new ways of creative expression from everywhere—truly amazes me every time.
I’ve been filling up the creative well in this time and here’s what I’m currently consuming:
What I’m Reading:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde — this one’s a reread because why not? It’s my favourite classic novel, and Oscar Wilde is just a hoot.
No Words by Meg Cabot —I’ve been on a Meg Cabot binge lately, and this rom-com about a pair of authors reunited at a book festival is giving literary enemies-to-lovers and I’m just cackling throughout.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt — I’m taking ages to get through this book, I know. I’ve been reading it since the start of the year, but it’s just SOOOOO GOOD. It is atmospheric, tense, compelling, compulsive, and insanely captivating. Which is why I’m savouring every line so that it doesn’t end too soon.
What I’m Watching:
Grand Budapest Hotel — 10/10, ‘nuff said.
See How They Run — I wanted to like this, because it has Saoirse Ronan in it, but because I watched this after watching Grand Budapest Hotel, this one feels slower paced and the dialogue less snappy.
Little Women (2019) — This makes it my 75th rewatch, I think. I love everything about this film.
The folks at WordWanderlust did a recent interview with Singaporean authors (including me) for National Day, and it was a pleasure to share my thoughts on the local literary scene. SingLit is so much more than HDB stories (though those are legit and important too in terms of adding to the literary landscape of Singapore), and there are so many more stories to be told. I’m so grateful to be part of the writing community here, and can’t wait to see how it grows!
That’s all for now. See you in the next post (where I’ll be yapping about my new WiP)!