Falling Behind…

Hello Friends and Gentle Readers,

I seem to have fallen behind on the Nanowrimo track; I’m at 19000 words and should be at 26000 or so. But that’s ok. I turned off my creativity for a few days to concentrate on being lazy for the weekend. I also started reading Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami and finally watched David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. The latter has inspired me to delve into some serious melodrama. I’m talking about pulpy forbidden love, with lingering gazes and amazing one-liners. I’m already bringing out the red lipstick and blue eyeshadow. Too bad none of my characters have Southern accents…

But before I get to that, I’ll share this fragment with you (it’s not very good, don’t judge me). In this chapter, Sabine is meeting the mysterious “Emma” at an awful bar in the east-end. Yes, my hatred for the east-end is palpable. I find that area absolutely horrifying and refuse to walk around there after nightfall. Sabine apparently met Emma during the night that she can’t remember, but the circumstances are…mysterious. Hope you don’t mind it! Continue reading “Falling Behind…”

Post-Traumatic Pho


Hello! I’m now about 15,000 words into Grindstone Baby. Things are going surprisingly well, although I am hesitant to share very much, due to how rough it all is. Some passages are downright…. precious. But actually, my favorite part has been writing dialogue so far. It’s something I’ve never done before, and I’m finding it hard to not get carried away. My favorite character is Gordon, who is in this scene. He’s this really sarcastic and mean gay guy in his mid-twenties who works at H&M and is Sabine’s best friend.

Previous to this scene, Gordon & Sabine went to a bar opening and then to a party, after which Sabine woke up in the park. Here, they meet over pho to try and figure out exactly what happened the night before, and come to no real conclusions. I hope you enjoy it!
Continue reading “Post-Traumatic Pho”

And you thought last Sunday morning was rough?

Editor’s Note: Liz brings us a second tantalizing excerpt from her NaNoWriMo project Grindstone Baby. If you missed the first one, check it out too.

Waking up in a cluster of your own vomit on the orange shag carpet of some dude named Brian’s house was nothing compared to the rude awakening that my protagonist faces on a lovely April morning, some 7000 words into Grindstone Baby. The next several chapters turn into a macabre mash-up between The Hangover and Blue Velvet. But instead of a puppy-faced Kyle Maclaughlan, we have a sassy Toronto lesbian with a great German name to live vicariously through. Hope you like it! Continue reading “And you thought last Sunday morning was rough?”

Bad Dreams, Ominous Phonecalls, White Noise

Gentle Reader,

The first day of NaNoWriMo is over, and I consider it an honour and a privilege to share my first page of Grindstone Baby with you all. You know those times when you’re so hungover or sick that you can’t get to sleep, and every noise in your apartment sounds gigantic, and the light from your alarm clock is practically tearing your eyes out? It’s terrifying! So terrifying, that I wanted to put this godawful experience on paper. The dream is intentionally sparse and cold, but it shall be revisited throughout the novel. Unless I fail miserably, of course. I hope you are at least somewhat intrigued by the next lines. Continue reading “Bad Dreams, Ominous Phonecalls, White Noise”