Happy summer everyone!
Today I have sort of sad news. I'm gonna need a summer break for a few weeks, because I'm going away, different trips for the next month or so. Unfortunately, I can't always provide internet and I don't want someone to expect a post unnecessarily.
So, this means I will see you back sometime in August and I'm sure you're gonna have a lot to tell yourself then.
See you soon,
Nahno
Do you get ideas from your dreams?
And if so, are they whole stories or do you just include part of it in your writing?
I very much like my dreams, they can be more fantastic than any book I've ever read and this is why I try to keep a dream diary. My best ideas came up through my dreams.
Just yesterday, I had this amazing dream. Right before I felt the morning come closer into my conscious, I realized that I need to remember everything quick so I can note it down. Once you waited more than a few seconds with your eyes open, most of it will be gone. This dream was so vivid and quite interesting, that I decided to use it for my next book (as I was looking for ideas anyway).
This can really be a problem.
Expressing anger should be easy, most would say, because you can let everything out. Well, for me it's not.
I struggle to be angry with someone, just because I don't like the feeling, I despise swear words, insults and the like. Of course sometimes, when something really ugly and despicable happens, there is no way you can not be full of hatred and fury. Apparently, I can - staying calm in the least imaginable situation.
So now I want to know how you cope with anger. For my writing I can't just have characters who refuse to be angry. This is why I need real experiences about coping mechanisms. Do you scream, do you throw things? Maybe there is something that I can try for a change. Sometimes I wish I could be like the cheerleading coach in Glee. She is awful, but at least she let's it all out.
I heard writing letters and expressing all the anger there shall help. Maybe I try that, too.
I'm really curious about what you do, even though I don't wish anyone the need to be furious.
A great week full of exciting work and relaxation ends in an exhausting marathon of events, feelings and unusual experiences. This poem should express a bit of that.
From yellow leaves to the rooted trunk,
she scuttles down
a curvacious street
in a city of neon signs.
No time to stop,
to look at the letters,
and pictures and photographs.
With haste towards the finish line,
she doesn't waste a breath
nor does she feel the pain
of exhaustion.
It's a matter of life and death.
When she gets lifted up,
there's nothing else to ponder.
A second before the final step,
he earned that spicy lunch.
I told you about that summer work, where I'm in charge of publishing at least two books for a newly started publishers.
So far, we have finished editing the first book. It's a children story, for about 4-8 year olds, about a chocolate cake, who is struggling to shine like the fancy cakes. The illustrations are almost finished after we decided to change the cover. The best part so far was when the print press send us the first copy of how the book will look like. It was all in white, hardcover and felt amazing in our hands.
The second book is still in the editing process, but we employed an illustrator already and are really keen on seeing the first visualisations. It's all very exciting.
This weekend I also met with 13 international people - from Iceland, Finland, Isreal, France and Germany - for a weekend of talks, trainings and planning session. This is for a summer camp we are organising for European teenagers and young adults. As part of the camp, I will give some creative writing lessons and I'm curious about what the mix of cultures will generate creatively.
Do you have special summer plans?
