puja-shah

Today is the mid-way point for my challenge.

45 days completed. 45 more to go.

I decided I needed to make a checklist for what I have left to do…

-finish my sisters’ story

-edit all stores

-contact self publishing web site/service

-market book via different mediums

This doesn’t seem like a huge list of things to do…but they are huge things to do!!! Editing itself can take a long time, and so I need to set mini timeline goals for myself. I need to have ALL STORIES , including ones I have written in the past that I want to include in the book, edited by the end of the month. That seems like a long time away, but I still need to finish up one story and edit almost 8-10 total stories myself. Not easy, but if I finish by the end of April, it will then give me at least one month for the publishing and marketing part of it all, which I have heard can take longer, so hopefully it doesn’t!

So, in summary… reflecting on my mid-challenge what I have left to do crisis here…

I’ve got a lot of work :/

Just a little poem I wrote…not related to my story, but about sisters. And a little poetry here and there keeps the writing goddess in me happy

Sisters.

Like you I have our mother’s eyes,

Almond shaped,

but your’s have more brown in them than mine,

Like you I have our father’s nose,

Long and slender,

Like your long legs from our grandfather,

My broad shoulders from the same ancestor.

Like you I like reading novels,

You curled up in bed,

Flipping pages,

As I snuck a peak behind your bedroom door,

Just to see what you were reading.

Like you I love music,

But

Found my own beats, making me…

Different than you,

but

always

it was something I never wanted to be,

different than you.

I wanted

To laugh like you,

Smile and tilt my head back,

The way everyone around you loved to see you do.

I wanted to smell like you,

And sprayed your lilac perfume from your dresser when you weren’t home.

And then,

I started becoming less and less like you,

I liked patchouli instead of lilac,

Squinted my eyes when I laughed,

Like our grandmother, instead of you,

and I was

different than you.

But you crept up…

In my walk,

And someone would say, “You walk just like your sister, I thought it was her from behind”

Or the way we answered the phone,

“Is that you?”

They would ask on the other line.

“I thought…

You were your sister.”

And when you moved,

Far away,

I felt you near me,

Inside,

When I cried that night,

And you called me,

“Are you okay?” you asked,

“I was upset how did you know?”

“Just because…” you said.

You’re my sister, my heart knew.

Don’t rush the ending. As I am writing I am keeping this in mind, because some feedback from my last story was that my ending was rushed, (which I need to edit).

I still have a bit more to go until then but I need to keep this in mind as I write and develop the plot. I think what happens is that I get excited that things are escalating and almost “over” or when the character’s resolution nears at the ‘end’ I feel it and just ‘finish up’. This time, I am taking my time with it and letting the ending happen naturally.

My cousins came into town and we went to Balboa Park and Old Town and didn’t get much writing done…

But the whole time, I wasn’t writing, I was thinking of things and scenarios for the story, my mind would drift at certain points of down time while we were out and there would be a whole paragraph or page being written in my head.

I decided I need to start carrying a pocket notebook around. I hope I don’t look crazy pulling it out and writing things down, but on days like today it would have helped so mucb!

I have been writing in both Amla and Asya’s perspective seperately, both in first person, rather than in third person or in first person by just one sister.

It makes it interesting and allows me to develop both characters with their own voice, which in turn strengthen’s their relationship, gives the reader an insight to both sisters, broadening the ability to see into their dynamic and actually feel their bond.

I think that the best stories are always ones that are not one sided anyway.

• I made this the other night and it was light and clean, but still tasted delicious. Went great with the Wasabi mashed potatoes, (made regular mashed potatoes, extra creamy, and added 1 teaspoon of Wasabi powder to them when adding the milk). For Amish, I added a a grilled chicken on the side, so for a meat option, I would add a grilled fish or grilled chicken.

• Ingredients:
• an 8-ounce package soba (buckwheat noodles)*
• 1/2 of a cucumber, cut in thick slices, deseeded
• 1 asian pear, cut in thin slices
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• a 1/2-pound piece firm tofu, rinsed, patted dry, hard edges trimmed, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 carrots, cut into 1 1/2-by 1/4-inch sticks
• 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thin
• 4 scallions, sliced thin (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 3 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted lightly
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• sea salt for seasoning, to taste

Directions:

In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a boil for noodles.

Peel and cut pear into matchstick pieces. Cut the cucumber into thick slices, deseeded.

In a large non-stick skillet heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and add garlic, then over moderately high heat brown tofu. Transfer tofu with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain and season with salt and pepper.

Add carrots to skillet and sauté, stirring, until just tender and golden brown. Transfer carrots with slotted spoon to a bowl. Add to skillet remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, mushrooms, scallions, gingerroot, and pear and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender. Add cucumber and saute for few minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in carrots.

Cook noodles in boiling water until al dente. Drain noodles in a colander and immediately rinse with cold water. In a large bowl toss noodles with 2 teaspoons sesame oil.

Return skillet to moderate heat and add 1/4 cup water, tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, and remaining teaspoon sesame oil. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring, until hot. Add noddles, tossing to combine and adding more water if necessary, and cook until heated through. Season noodles with salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and serve warm topped with tofu and sesame seeds.

Serves: 4

Today we went to eat at George’s on the Cove, a restaurant in La Jolla that Amish and I love going to on special occasions, this one being that he proposed to me last year today on our dating anniversary…of 10 years

We love George’s because their food is fresh, tastes delicious, and it is always simply amazing.

We have been eating healthier, especially this past week, I have been cooking healthier recipes and although I always try to cook healthy anyway, have been using ingredients that are good for us, and steering away from white flour, butter, oil, the things that make food “bad”.

It in turn has been making us feel healthy, more alert, and giving me the brain power to write more:)

This story is taking longer to write than my last one and hasn’t even reached the last one’s length of 30 pages.

But writing about something close to your heart is not easy. My last story  had a fairy tale feeling, and even with it’s sadness, had an aura of hope and love that felt magical. This story, has sadness, but holds more darkness, despite the strength of sisters, talks about problems and issues that plague their world, infiltrate and despite their strength, they can’t fight all their world’s battles.

Still, it has to be told.

Some fights with your sisters you can remember forever. Most of them dissolve, but there are a few, that stay with you, sometimes , reminding you of why you would never want to fight with her again.

Writing about Amla and Asya’s first fight, I thought of the times my sister and I slammed doors, peeking in afterwards to apologize, sometimes just hugging, sometimes never talking about it, but meeting eyes and knowing we were able to express emotion with each other that we could never with anyone else in our lives, not our parents or even significant others. Just something only sisters know.

Today I had a crisis with my taxes, yes I am filing taxes 9 days before they are due to the IRS, so after a long chaotic day figuring it all out and calling my student loan companies, (for those of you who know how hellish this can be- you understand why I had a meltdown), I came home to get ready for yoga but had already missed the vinyasa class I wanted to go to, and decided I would sit down and write instead.

This is when I started to feel more at peace and thought of how amazing it is that writing and exploring the creativity within can be my very own private retreat.