My son had his First Communion. The service was gorgeous, and I was so glad to have so many friends and family there. His grandma and granpa were also there along with his uncle and my great grandma. Afterwards, we went out for Chinese at Joyee in old China town, and ended with my son and I seeing the new Avengers movie. It was an epic day. I am going to keep this one short because I woke up at 12:30a.m., had a snack/cup of coffee, and am now ready to go back to bed. But, since I'm up, I'm going to work on my novella "La Bruja del Barrio Loco" which you can find in the Antojitos section. You gotta scroll down.
I'm on its third revision, now that my editor has given it substantial feedback. I am working on humanizing the main character, who apparently is a little too unlikable. Well, I hope you are having productive mornings, no matter when you wake up and go back to sleep and wake up again. Write in those golden hours. #Resist
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Yesterday, I got no writing done, but I went to our school's graduation and hung out with amazing colleagues. In fact, it was the best, most uplifting time we have had in a looong time. I also got to have some fun conversations with my union sisters and brothers. That is my good friend and comrade in arms, Juan, the chapter social chair (he is a doctor too, but didn't buy the funny hat). Then there are those beautiful people below. Represent English and Speech! So, I did absolutely no writing, but really enjoyed the day. We talked about family and our students. We cheered, instead of booing some administrative fool on the stage, like we did in the past. *** Afterwards, I went with my sexy friend Brett on a date, and we had the most amazing sushi! We also had great conversations about our loved ones and his upcoming wedding. We even made plans to have more socials with friends, especially young folks, like us, two who like to hang out. Who need to hang out in an ever-busy world. See that delicious Brett and sushi. (I don't really see him that way, but he looks really good in that picture, a little Hollywood.) And even though no writing got done, I did find the space to think about my novel The Harvest. Waiting for Brett gave me the mental space I needed to delve into more character conflicts.
That was also priceless. (Oh, I should probably write these ideas down. Jackie, is going to be the main villain, after a time, because Ashley is going to choose Alan, but not romantically, but there will be a twist of sorts. Jackie won't know the difference and will hate them both anyway.) Enjoy life and eat some delicious raw fish! Talk to other humans! #Resist I probably should not be trying to write right now, because I am legit tired, but since I am on a roll, game on! Plus, the angry energy from yesterday's cancelled CCC Board meeting (which has never happened in the 14+ years I have been working here) and later non-explained cancellation of the Faculty Negotiation--the first time we were sitting at the bargaining table--is keeping me awake at 1a.m. But, like I said in a Facebook post, the administration's tactics Will NOT wear me down. For sure, I am more committed to fighting for my members and other workers. Enough of those thoughtless CCC administrators. Today, I am re-sectioning the flashbacks in my story "La Bruja del Barrio Loco". I will post it in Antojitos when I am done with it. For now, you can read the second revision. Enjoy! Don't Ever Let the Bastards Wear You Down. #Resist! Yeah, that moment. Yesterday afternoon, after my office hours, I met with the editor I hired to review "La Bruja del Barrio Loco." All of the advice she gave me was brilliant, and she pointed out things I had never thought about. For instance, in this third revision, I am making the narration in the magical realism sections more like the magical realism I so love. (That will probably mean that I will read more magical realism in Spanish.) I am actually looking forward to reading works in Spanish, again. She also recommended that I offset the flashbacks as separate chapters in italics, which I already started doing this morning when I was revising the piece. And, yes, the divisions make total sense. The most challenging advice was that the main character was not likeable. I did try to not make her a purely "good" character, but I may have overdone it. I am adding more passages to round out Elisa, the "protagonist's" humanity and elevate her relationship with her kidnapped son. That is all I got because it is almost 4a.m. and the union has a huge board action at the district office to support part-time professionals. I need to be awake. Plus, we start negotiating the faculty contract, and I am on the negotiating team. Wish me luck all! Do something to support humanity today. #Resist Evil May is off to a fantastic start! I wrote a little more of my novel and managed to lap my needy cat and type simultaneously. Actually, I am trying to to NOT be influenced by the show 3% on Netflix. It's a similar concept, except that the society is not in a perpetual war. Anyway, I find it amazing, that even thought I haven't written for some time, the draft of my novel still flows. Yes, it is a draft. You can feast on it here. That is all I got because today, we are not going to be late for school! It has been driving my husband crazy. Have a great May writing day. Isn't it novel month or is that November? Hell, any month is novel writing month. Love writing daily! #Resist |
Jesú Estrada
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