It has been a while since my last post. The combination of residence change, work change, two major holidays, and an extended daily commute have not been kind for my writing schedule. In addition, after a year hiatus, I have returned to my novel manuscript, and it has been difficult to balance the whole lot.
When I created NicanorAbbott.com, I wanted it to be a place to share my stories, yes, but also to study my craft—a virtual writing home of sorts. I need to spend more time being truthful to that idea.
A dear friend who is now my lovely and ruthless editor for my manuscript has suggested that I keep a commonplace book—a collection of quotes from what I’m reading that speak to me in some significant way. By “speak to me,” I am not simply referring to powerful ideas, but to beautiful prose. And in my case, I think I want to include not just the good stuff, but the near misses, along with an explanation of why they do or do not work for me. Note that this is about how I understand the texts to work. It’s not an indictment or even a criticism of the authors I’m quoting. It’s simply my perception of how and why the texts work. My editor wants to be able to discuss such quotes with me from time to time, and this tool will also form a measuring stick for myself as I continue on my writing journey—what do I perceive to be good and why, and then how do I achieve it in my own craft?
All this is not to say that I cannot or will not post stories from time to time. But this site is first and foremost a place for practice, and I need it to be that first right now.
Cheers,
Nicanor
Nicanor Abbott 