Saturday, January 16, 2016

mid-Jan - should we be worried now?!

Mid-month.

Two weeks into January, and things are taking shape.

Still too early to tell what that will finally settle into.

Still too early to be hopeful.

So baby steps. We'll get there.

Meanwhile on the writing front, I'm still plodding my way through Before I Remember You, and it is NOT PRETTY. Typically, I get about a third into a novel (about a hundred pages) before I start losing steam. But I'm only at page 30 and already I want to rewrite the whole thing. I probably should, right? Minimise opportunity cost and all that? Save it before it's too late? Or maybe I should just push through and emerge on the other side with a story actually figured out? I don't know! Where's the writing manual when you need it?!

But maybe this is the answer for everything in life:


Have a great weekend! :0)

Saturday, January 02, 2016

hello, 2016


Funny how quickly years just pass once you start working. Ever since I started working in the fashion e-commerce industry, time has been measured in sales campaigns, and season by season, festival by festival, we reached the end of 2015.

And really, all things considered, 2015 has been pretty kind to me.

2015 was the year I travelled with my dad to one of the countries I've always wanted to visit.

2015 was the year I was tasked with bigger challenges at work that made it all the more satisfying and engaging.

2015 was the year I made new friends and became closer with existing ones. Friends found in unlikely places, and friends who made the workplace a lot less dull. Old friends I didn't see as much as I would have liked, but remained in touch despite our busy schedules. Thank you for being in my life - you know who you are.

2015 was the year I had (in a long time) that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling whenever I saw someone. It's a feeling that makes you smile whenever you think of a person, and realise you aren't actually dead at heart.

2015 was the year of Neverland, where I spent a good part of it slaving over the manuscript that I'm pitching to agents now.

2015 was the year I got invited to my first ever panel at Singapore Writers Festival and met other writers, accomplished and aspiring. They made me go more confidently in the direction of my dreams, and the young ones in particular reminded me of that budding passion for writing that I might sometimes have lost sight of in my hurry to get published.

2015 was the year I met fans and made new writer friends who counselled, inspired, and encouraged me whenever my confidence and passion wavered.

2015, however, was also the year I experienced the loss of a family member. It was the year of rejection letters and more moments of despair and thoughts of giving up. It was the year of second-guessing myself and wanting to do more to live up to expectations. It was the year of having a lot yet wanting more. And I don't see that as a bad thing, because it's only when you strive for more that you actually get closer to where you want to be.

So in 2016, I will want more. Do more, see more, experience more. And hopefully, I can keep going forward in the direction I choose.

And I wish the same for you, dear readers. Thank you for your constant (invisible but palpable) presence. May 2016 be a year of serendipitous encounters and discoveries for you. I wish you more - I wish you passion and hunger and lofty dreams to chase. May you have more gratifying experiences that are fulfilling but also leave you wanting more.


So here's to new beginnings and all that. Let's hope this fuel keeps burning till the end of the year.