I am having difficulty sleeping these days. And yes, it is to do with the murder of a local KOL (Key Opinion Leader), Abby Choi, who was killed and dismembered by her ex-husband and his family: a gruesome crime that made its way to international news. With my superpower of association and stretch of imagination,…
Tag: education
Storyteller… Replaced (The Dr. M Chronicles)
Well… I’ve been replaced as storyteller. Or, at least, it’s only a matter of time. My nephew, Dr. M, lives in Bangalore with his parents. Anuja and her mother live nearby. I call him once a week to tell him a story. The time zones work out so that it’s midnight my time, but I…
Impostor Syndrome (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Impostor Syndrome Impostor Syndrome It seems like nothing is as integral to the writing process as impostor syndrome. I should really have called this website 3 Rules of Writing. And the third rule should have been: “Stop it with this impostor syndrome bullshit. You’re not fooling anyone. We know exactly how…
If you Love Someone, Give them Books
I’m a writer now. And it’s been an exhausting journey to get to the point where I can say that without feeling ill. With plenty of obstacles. But I’m a writer because I’m a reader. I love books. I love the feeling of a book in my hands. The smell of a new book. Or…
Mistaken Identity (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Mistaken Identity Mistaken Identity: The Oldest Trick in the Book It’s interesting to me that we continue to read Shakespeare’s comedies. On a separate note, it’s interesting to me that we no longer read the comedies of his contemporaries, such as Ben Jonson. But in a way, it’s the most natural…
Do you Speak Spanish?
My Spanish-Speaking Family I’ve never considered myself a fluent Spanish speaker. On Christmas, sitting under a table as a kid, I’d listen to my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all speak Spanish around me, but I couldn’t participate, so I grew to ignore it. I started taking Spanish classes in middle school. I learned verb…
The Fourth Wall (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: The Fourth Wall Was the Fourth Wall Always There? Back in my dissertatin’ days, one of my particular interests was: the occasions on which an epic poet talks in the first person. You might say: times when the poet breaks the fourth wall. For example, the way Homer does at the…
Writing Fiction: Learning to Say “I Can”
About two years ago, fueled by COVID and general upheaval in my life, I started writing again. Writing was something I’d loved doing. Until I let someone into my life who destroyed my confidence in so many ways. And, as a result, I stopped doing things that brought me joy. That was almost twenty-five years…
Jokes in Bad Taste (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Jokes in Bad Taste What is it about Jokes in Bad Taste that I can’t Quit? I’m a big believer in making jokes that punch up, not down. I will make jokes about transphobia or racism. But never about a trans person or a Black person. One of the canards you…
Playing Telephone (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Playing Telephone Playing Telephone: Mistakes and Fiction This is one of the most interesting and thorny subjects. It’s hard to imagine a bigger difference between fiction and life than the issue of mistakes. In life, we make mistakes all the time. We act against our self-interest. And of course we just…