NaNoWriMo Descends Upon Us!
Great Lit News: NaNoWriMo is fast approaching!
Last year, I entered the race with Mirrorbound, my would-have-been first attempt at a full length horror and macabre fiction. It would have been my first novel too. Since I wanted the genre to be my field of expertise, I thought I could do well with the challenge. Unfortunately, I failed to accomplish my ideal quota. And so this year I plan to avenge and redeem myself.
This year, I’m going to go all Japanese Culture on my attempt, specifically all Yakuza. Yes. You’ve read it. I’m going to write something related to the Yakuza. It’s not all horror per se, it’ll be somewhat of a psychological thriller or a suspense if all else fails. As usual, the main protagonist will be female but she’ll be more distinctly flavored: she’ll be Japanese. I’ve always found it fun and easy pushing a vague female character around, not minding her cultural values and what not, but this time, I think it’ll be more than awesome with a vantage point. I’ve found the perfect candidate for the role too so it’ll be less tacky this time around.
Currently Reading: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The first time I got around to reading this wonderful book was years ago. I think I was still in grade school that time, perhaps in the 5th or 6th grade. My copy was borrowed from an old friend, a girl, who found the book to be boring and so I pitied her for she never really found it in herself to appreciate such wondrous literature.
The story is told from the point of view of Sayuri Nitta, a retired and exiled geisha who is now living in the Waldorf Towers of New York City. She is interviewed by Jakob Haarhuis, a translator and professor of New York University. Both characters are obviously fictional. Apparently, the interaction of the two characters is a reference to Golden’s interview with a real retired geisha as research for the book. Flashbacks are utilized every now then as memoirs are made just for them. As for the geisha part? Well, Sayuri explains and describes the way of life as vividly as Golden wrote her to, which also makes this fiction quite culturally distinct and interesting.
I am rereading the classic out of nostalgia, mostly because I love reading classics for being classical. My current copy was borrowed from a Book Club friend, Angelica, and I thank her for the generosity and from the bottom of my literate heart.
Guess Who’s Back?
After a hiatus of almost three months, looks like I’m back with WordPress for good. It wasn’t easy making the decision. Blogger was hard to leave behind as it had been an integral part of my writing since my departure.
My return is not without any compromise. For starters, I turned every entry before the hiatus into private posts. That means that no one but me will be able to see them. It’s a failsafe to ensure that this incarnation will work just as an incarnation is supposed to. Disciplinary measures were also considered for my own sake. To pay homage to my Blogger, you can read more about those disciplinary measures in here: FAREWELL ADDRESS.
This time, I plan to concentrate on literary and language entries. Of course, personal posts will never be discarded since this blog is still mine and being a writer is a part of my entirety but as long as I can, as much as I can, I plan to keep most of my posts on the realm of literature.
So without much further ado, cheers to the rebirth of © Jofer Serapio.
Coffee’s in the back, next to the heaps of paper that I still need to write.
† Jofer
© Jofer Serapio 