Tag: ghostwriter
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why writing is like air travel
I really like airports. Going through security doesn’t bother me. It’s kind of fun to hunt through the terminal for a chai latte. I find it satisfying to refill my water bottle at those little fountain things that are only at airports. I don’t mean airports are good places to hang out for no reason.…
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a beast in my soup
One afternoon I was having lunch with my friend Misha. We were gabbing about who-knows-what when she stopped and said, “There’s a beast in my soup.” I looked over and sure enough, swimming around her soup was a jade-green beetle. We erupted into giggles. “What is the other word?” she said, wiping a tear. She’s…
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a sharpened stake
I used to think writing was a solitary act. I wrote alone, brainstormed alone, edited alone. Only on very rare occasion did I let it out into the sunlight, did I invite someone in. Partly that’s because I was shy. I didn’t think anyone would want to read what I wrote. And showing someone your…
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anatomy of a story
One Thursday in 2017, my arm began to hurt. Instantly I assumed the worst: I must have torn something, probably during silks practice. I put on a sling and refused to lift even a pen. The pain worsened. So, days later, I called my chiropractor to book an appointment. “What does it feel like?” he…
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ghosts of christmas past
“On the day she turned 18, she told her parents she was leaving for school, but then she hitchhiked to Mexico.” This was yet another of my friend Laura’s wild stories about her mother. “That’s where she met my dad, who was stationed there. They got married within a month.” “Geez,” I said. “Has she…
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to be a toddler
When I first came to Peru three years ago, I found a community of language learners: some learning English, some learning Spanish. I was learning Spanish, armed with high school vocab and an impressive Duolingo streak (250 days!). Yet it was not past experience, nor commitment to an app, that indicated anyone’s success. Nor was…
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saws and other writing tools
“If you’ve never seen a saw, then a log looks like a miracle.” Think about that. If what you want feels impossible, it’s tempting to conclude that it is. But maybe… Maybe it just seems that way because you haven’t yet found the right tools. Maybe, to someone with the right tools, it’s in reach.…
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the scriptwriter’s secret
There’s a character in the book Aunt Julie and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa* who’s known for writing dozens of scripts a day. He writes constantly, and what he writes is good. So people ask him: How do you do it? What’s your secret? His answer: He poops a lot. !!! He says, “Un…
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ghosted
Years ago, I met a client in person after months of working together. Right after, she ghosted me. She was a renowned clothing designer, and I was nervous to visit her studio. Still, she was friendly and welcoming, and I left thinking it had gone well. Then she stopped returning my emails. Weeks turned to…
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the remedy for writer’s block
“Let the muse find you working.” “Don’t wait for inspiration. Start writing, and it will come.” That’s the common advice we hear about writing, and it’s missing something crucial. What we need isn’t inspiration. But neither do we need stubbornness or a work ethic of steel. What we need is clarity. * We get writer’s…
Kimberly Bunker, MFA 