Author María J. Estrada
  • Home
  • Mi Biografía
  • My Patreon Page
  • Un Blog de Writing Musings
  • Author Interviews
    • Grayson Bell
    • Eric Allen Yankee
    • Mehreen Ahmed
    • Steve Carr
    • Martin Eastland
    • P.S. Malcolm
    • P.C. Darkcliff
  • The Harvested Draft
  • Books
  • Poetry
  • Useful Bits
  • Contact

Un Blog de Writing Musings

Reading My Novel Draft?  Yes, You over There!

28/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of talking to my friends and more so, comrades, (I feel comfortable calling them this, not thinking of them as amazing writer acquaintances): Adam Gottlieb and Eric Allen Yankee.  They are the writers and artists I want to be, so I really appreciated their wisdom and philosophy on writing.  Their feedback on my writing, of course, put me over the moon.  In short, we had a great discussion about our craft and what goes into it. 

Adam, for example, had really insightful things to say about my use of folklore and curanderismo in my short story collection Down South where the Water is Warm (he hasn't read "La Bruja del Barrio Loco", yet!).  We also discussed the concept of cliches in poetry, and he said something I had never heard before but was something that was taught to him, "You have to rescue  cliches."  We had a conversation about the roles of cliches in poetry, which I teach my creative students to add a twist to or flip.  To do something new with the cliche that still focuses on the beauty of what a cliche offers like love or eternity but that adds something refreshing.  I love the idea of rescuing a cliche. 

We, also, had a discussion about the mixture of indigenous and Catholic beliefs and my personal stories of when that shit actually worked.  I think it's a mind-belief thing when those limpias work or as my friend Lau says, "I am living magical realism." Besides, most of those rituals are mixed with prayer, and prayer is powerful.  Wrap your head around that.

I was floored to find out that Eric is reading my novel draft! 
He said, "It's like the Hunger Games," which it is and isn't--Yes, that was a compliment.  But, I started working on this novel when I was an undergraduate, and it really borrows more from 1984, Kurt Vonnegut, and every dystopian piece of literature I had read up to that point.  Stephen King's Talisman also had a huge impact on that piece as well as other science fiction writers.  In truth, there is nothing new about the novel, just how you arrange old elements to tell a new story.  In many ways, it's also a boy meets girl story, which can be a cliche in and of itself.  Regardless, I am pleased with how this re-write is shaping up. 

Eric is also writing a novel, which I hope to read, if he wants an ideal reader.  He too is stretching his limits, going beyond smut and all, and I am sure it will turn out beautifully because he's got the itch to write a long piece.  

Well, I have to get back to it, that siren call that wakes me up at 2, 3, or 4a.m.  I made a different writing choice in where I split the last Ashley chapter, where I was originally going to solve the mystery, but decided not to, yet.  So, I'm off to let that plot line develop as it must.  I am at a point in the writing, where despite my planning, the characters are taking on a life of their own.  Which needs to happen sometimes and can lead to more beautiful places.  

Here's to going on new writing journeys and sharing writing ideas with writing masters.  Yes, writing masters.  #Resist.   

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Become a Patron!
    Picture

    Jesú Estrada
    Pen Name: 
    María J. Estrada
    Chicago, IL

    You follow me everywhere @drmariajestrada, except Twitter.
    Subscribe to my YouTube channel, Radical Books and Activists.

    *********************
    MARIA J. ESTRADA is an English college professor of Composition, Literature, and her favorite, Creative Writing. She grew up in the desert outside of Yuma, Arizona in the real Barrio de Los Locos, a barrio comprised of new Mexican immigrants and first-generation Chicanos. Drawing from this setting and experiences, she writes like a loca every minute she can—all while magically balancing her work and family obligations. She lives in Chicago’s south side with her wonderfully supportive husband, two remarkable children, and a menagerie of animals.

    Archives

    July 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from shixart1985, Phuketian.S, yourbestdigs, yourbestdigs, Brett Jordan, Lars Plougmann, trevormarron, Monkey Mash Button, classroomcamera, volkspider, Jonathan Rolande
  • Home
  • Mi Biografía
  • My Patreon Page
  • Un Blog de Writing Musings
  • Author Interviews
    • Grayson Bell
    • Eric Allen Yankee
    • Mehreen Ahmed
    • Steve Carr
    • Martin Eastland
    • P.S. Malcolm
    • P.C. Darkcliff
  • The Harvested Draft
  • Books
  • Poetry
  • Useful Bits
  • Contact