Just Do It!

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

I have come across these six fine pointers in an interesting article by Georgre Orwell. They say a whole lot about the craft of writing and I think that its obligatory for anyone working towards bettering their writing career and capabilities to keep them in mind.

Keep it simple. Just do it.

The Rule of 1000

I’ve been doing some writing these past couple of days, finally seeming to get back into the habit of sitting in front of my laptop, sipping a hot cup of coffee and typing away. It feels nice.

I’ve taken another drastic decision by reducing the amount of work involved in my job. I’m now going to be a regular contributor, instead of a full-time staffer. So my one and only plan for now is to write as much as I can. To focus solely on writing. The past few months have been unproductive due to the job pressure and the amount of working hours I put in.

I’m so far satisfied with what I’ve managed to write, though I know that I must double the amount of produce as I go along. I’ve gotten back to working on my screenplay and today I actually wrote about 350 words on BURIED, which comes as a big relief as I thought I reached a deadlock with that one, not very long ago.

My next step though is going to be a tough one. Starting the first of May, I am determined to write no less than 1000 words – whether on short stories, novel, scripts or articles… I must write 1000 words every day (except Friday – well I gotta get a break don’t I?) I figured I must take a very serious action if I want the rest of the world to take me as a serious writer and now that I am a published author, I ought to work harder and get those stories flowing.

I’ll stop when I make my first million.

Accepted at Gold Dust

I’m thrilled to say that a print magazine has picked up one of my latest short stories for publication. This will be my first ever piece published in a PRINT fiction magazine.

'Ezrael’s Leaf' will run in the mid-June issue of the recently re-launched Gold Dust Magazine. The kind and lovely editors have also granted me an interview to run on that very same issue. 'Ezrael's Leaf' is a nice little story about death which I have written for the Cafe Doom competition. It got some positive comments from writing peer.

I’ll announce the release of the issue here on this blog when the time comes, meanwhile you can take a look at the magazine’s website.

First QuixotiQ Translation

For the very first time, an excerpt from QuixotiQ has appeared in Arabic!

The translated chapter 22 ran in today's Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper. It was prepared and translated by Bahraini writer Mahdi Abdulla. You can access the page by cliking this link.

As much as I was hesistant about the move, I am pleased with the final result. Mahdi has done a great job in translating the excerpt from English into Arabic without really messing any of the story up or taking any of the context away. (Good job mate.)

Whether this will open the door to the possibilty of translating the whole manuscript into Arabic or not remains to be seen. Though I know for sure that even if that would be the case, it would not happen in the very near future.

Reading Planned

A reading of QuixotiQ is currently being planned for, to be held sometime during the first half of May. The event is going to be staged at Al Riwaq Gallery in Adliya as part of a new series of readnigs for authors and poets.

Details will be announced right here on this blog very shortly.

Problem? What Problem?

Yesterday, I spent no less than four hours staring at my laptop screen, attempting to work on BURIED, my second novel. As time went by, I grew more frustrated and agitated. It was simply impssible to write. Not because I didn't know where the story is going and what is going to happen next, it was just that it wouldn't come out!

I hate the term 'writer's block', because that to me is the easy way out for writers when they are stuck with a story. I'm not stuck with the story. The story is there. It's the words that are failing to come through. I feel that due to my recent job obligations, my creativity has suffered emmensly. And now I have to find a way back into it.

But that's my problem and I have do deal with it, don't I?

Japan Rocks!

I liked it. Maybe I liked it too much. Mum says I not been myself since I got back. on the last day, I just didn’t want to come back. I felt lonely but warm while I was there. I saw many things that made me smile, think n reflect. I found beauty. I came across strangers on the street that I wanted to hug, so that they know I am here, I exist and that life is ok. I was taking back in time to eras I have only known in books n movies. In the gardens I saw lovers taking pictures of each other. When the sun rose, I felt godly.

I was a familiar alien. I mostly wanted to be alone, steering off the group whenever I could. I hated the food. But now I miss it! I got extremely annoyed at how people kept taking photos of the cherry blossoms, never really taking a moment to LOOK at them. They were right there in front of their eyes, but they preferred taking colorless fake pictures of them, then touch them, smell them, feel them. I stared at the signs, how they flickered. I touched a 400 year old wood gate and I felt time traveling through my finger tips. The gate, it almost spoke to me.

I saw a monk standing in front of a temple, his eyes shut as if he were asleep, yawning. I wondered if he was thinking about sex, out of boredom. I smiled. I burned an incense stick; I drank sweet green tea at the foot of the temple. Some were praying; others were oblivious to the spiritual strength of the place. I ate sushi n was disturbed at how nice it tasted. perhaps I was too hungry to care. on the streets, no one even glanced at me. At the hotel every person bowed n smiled n greeted me as if I were royalty!

We ran like idiots across the platform to catch the 'Bullet Train' ... yeh, Japan rocks!

Monkey Sees, Monkey Does

It seems that everybody (by everybody I mean Cavan and, well, just Cavan!) is switching sides and using Blogger nowadays, apparently for good reason. They look neater and are easier to navigate. So I decided to take the plunge myself and create a new look "QuixotiQ Writings" journal.

Anyways, I've not had any chance to fill you guys in on my Japanese Adventure, but I will try to do so soon. Took me two full days to sleep off the jet lag! I'll be loading some pix later on, I hope.

You might be interested to know that QuixotiQ is pending for reviewing at two different review websites. So fingers crossed.