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The Things We Do as Writers

Jun 5, 2010 | , | 19 Comments

Have you ever done something really odd or crazy because you had to know what it felt like so you could write about it?

Well, when I started writing my current WIP, I decided my main character needed to be a black belt in taekwondo. Not only for the book to progress the way I wanted it to, but also, because my MC’s personality screamed she needed to be a girl that could kick your butt.


Problem was I had watched a lot of taekwondo, and there’s a difference between watching and doing. So I enrolled in the Seoul International Taekwondo Academy. Just imagine me (the girl who’s danced ballet her whole life and never has hit anyone) doing taekwondo. Yep. I’m a wuss.


But I got hooked! I loved it. You get to learn these cool routines called poomse and kick boards and yell really loud. And I met lots of great friends in my class (see the picture above). Turns out, I like it. So much that now I’m going to have to work my way up to being black belt or at least try.


I just had my last belt test and here’s a video of me breaking a board for the test. (And I didn’t land on my butt! I know, I was worried, too).






And yes! I got my orange belt!

So how about you? Any crazy stuff you’ve tried so you could be a better writer?


The Lantern Parade

May 30, 2010 | | 7 Comments

The Lantern Festival was the other weekend and finally hubby and I got to go see the parade. It was actually the same night as our fun dinner out so we got two for one.
We knew it was somewhere downtown and we were trying to tell the taxi driver where to go when at a stoplight we realized the parade was right in front of us! We jumped out of the cab and ran over to take these pictures.
And what a lovely parade. All the lanterns are made out of hanji paper (traditional Koran rice paper).
These ladies are wearing hanboks, the traditional dress.
Now, this guy looks like one to not mess around with, doesn’t he?
Check out the video I made of the parade!

19 Days of Goodbyes

May 28, 2010 | | 13 Comments

The time has finally come for me and my family to leave Korea. I can hardly believe it as I’m writing this blog post. We’ll be flying out in 19 days!

We’ve lived in Indonesia for 2 years and now here in Korea for 8 which makes it 10 years living away from home. That’s a long time.

I sit here and think of the person I was before all this and I can hardly recognize myself. I’ve changed in so many ways. I’ve learned new languages and understood new cultures only in a way that you can living in a place rather than visiting it. I’ve become and mom, grown as a teacher and started writing. When I move back to the States, I really won’t be the same professionally and individually.

But I was also thinking about the bizarre things that I learned how to do like:
1. Wash my clothes in a plunger washing machine (it’s one step better than by hand–well, maybe!)
2. Go without electricity for days at a time
3. No Internet
4. No cable
5. No car
6. Got a tough stomach
7. Going without peppermint patties and Twizzlers (I think that was my biggest sacrifice)

Most of those were from my time in Indonesia, but the experiences I had along the way make every hardship worth it.
So lately I’ve been saying my goodbyes. To our little bamboo grove, to my running trail, to my favorite kalbi restaurant and my favorite mountain. The hardest will be the goodbyes to friends of course. But I can’t think about that right now because I still have 19 more days.
19 days to be with those that have become like family.
19 days to capture in a memory.
19 days of Korea.

Stuck in Traffic

May 25, 2010 | | 0 Comments

Do you ever feel like your writing is like being stuck in the traffic? Like there’s cars lined up for forever in front of you, making you put on the brakes, but all you want to do is zoom out onto an open road?

There have been times that I’ve been stuck in a lot of ‘traffic’ and I was going nowhere for a really long time.

But I think I see a green light up ahead.

He Bleeds Red, White, and Blue … and Black (???)

May 20, 2010 | , | 13 Comments

So it’s true. My husband is one of those closet writers that peeks his head out every once in a while. He’s actually a very good writer (okay, so I’m kind of biased), which is actually quite annoying. He whips stuff up in moments and it’s good! While I, on the other hand, slave away and THEN it’s tolerable. I know. The hardships I go through.

Anyway, he’s a soccer fanatic and his favorite soccer site www.goal.com was having a contest. He entered and his entry was chosen for the winner of the day and is a finalist for the grand prize. Yep, he’s cool.

So if you’re a soccer fan, have lived in Korea or overseas, gone to a World Cup game or are just terribly curious to read my hubby’s story, click HERE.

But if you’re like me and don’t want to click, here’s an excerpt:

I bleed red, white, and blue . . . and black.

“Wait,” you say. “You’re American. You mean just red, white, and blue. You are an American, right?”

Of course! Dreams of Donovan, Dempsey, and Altidore dance through my head at night.

But there are other dreams too. Of Park Chu-Young. And Lee Chung-Yong. And Park Ji-Sung. Dreams of the Taeguk Warriors strutting their stuff to the world with the red, white, and black of the Taegeukgi, or the Korean flag flapping to the beat of seventy-thousand Red Devil fans chanting, “Dae Han Min-guk!”
So, I bleed the colors of both countries. Opposite sides of the world. Allies in history. Rivals on the pitch. Both teams dominant in their own respective FIFA conferences. Both teams not taken seriously by “real” soccer nations. And my own beating heart in the middle.

League of Extraordinary Writers

May 17, 2010 | , | 7 Comments

A group of dystopian novelists have come together to create the coolest blog: League of Extraordinary Writers.

The five writers include:
Beth Revis– Her sci fi, Across the Universe, is coming out in Spring 2011 from Razorbill.
Julia Karr– Her title is XVI, about a society that forces couple to get together on their “sex”-tenth birthday.
Angie Smibert– Her novel, Memento Nora, is about a world where people elect to erase bad memories.
Jeff Hirsch– His debut, The Long Walk Home, is set after the apocalypse.

Cool books huh?

And you know what’s even cooler? They’re having a rocking contest. Stolen from their blog:

This month, we’re giving away a SIGNED copy of Rick Yancey’s MONTRUMOLOGIST (did I mention it won the Printz Honor?) and a SIGNED copy of Carrie Ryan’s THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH and signed bookmarks by PJ Hoover and Maria Snyder and a signed magnet by Stacey Jay! Monsters and magic and zombies, oh my!

So go check it out!

Picture by Chrisharvey

Namsan Tower

May 16, 2010 | | 9 Comments

Hubby and I went out on the town last night for a unforgettable dinner at the revolving restaurant, n-Grill, on top of Seoul Tower. We don’t get out much with two little ones so this was definitely squeal worthy!
The Seoul Tower is located on top of Namsan Mountain so it has a fantastic view of the city spanning from the mountains to the Han River.
Here’s a picture of the octopus. I’m not usually a fan of squishy food, but this was divine. Honest! Can you see the tentacles? 
For my main, I had sea bass. They wrapped it in a breading of some sort like a little present.
The chocolate raspberry cake was heavenly. Don’t you love how they smeared the chocolate with a pansy? A trick I’m going to have to remember.
Another neat piece of history lies on top of the tower, the Beacon Lighthouse. The tops of appointed mountains were made into beacons all along the coasts of Korea.
Each night, the beacon master would light the beacon with fire to let the next mountain peak know that all was safe along the coasts.
The beacons would work their way all the way to Seoul and then alert the king. If the fire blazed bright on Namsan Mountain, all would know that the land was safe.
Linda Sue Park wrote an inspiring picture book based on this topic- The Firekeeper’ Son.

The Language of Your Dreams

May 14, 2010 | | 11 Comments

It’s believed you can be considered fluent in a tongue once you dream in that language. That it becomes so much a part of you that it finds its way into your subconscious.

Trust me, I’m not fluent in either Indonesian or Korean. (Although sometimes I still mix my Korean for Indonesian, which is comical when I’m repeating an Indonesian word repeatedly to the Korean shopkeeper whose looking at me like I’m some crazy waygook)

You see, last night I dreamed ‘writing’ (as opposed to English). I’ve been so engrossed in my book these last few weeks that I dream I’m editing. I dream I’m character building. I dream I’m solving plot issues.

When I woke up this morning, I was murmuring portions of my story aloud and trying to figure out how to make them sound better. So apparently, I dream in writing. A little freaky.

Has this ever happened to you? Care to spill the language of your dreams?

Picture by Jana Kopilova

Agent’s Perspective on Trends

May 12, 2010 | | 8 Comments

If you are confused, disheartened or downright frustrated over what to write or not write, check out Mandy Hubbard’s post on chasing trends. She’s got great advice, and I love how she breaks down the categories and shares her take on what editors are interested in. Look for her latest novel coming out in August, You Wish. 

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