Kintsugi is “golden joinery”. Wikipedia defines Kintsugi as “Japanese art form of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum”. How does this relate to writing you ask? Great question. I think of my writing, the first draft as perfection. It is a creation complete with typos, and misspellings and grammar errors. A broken object which needs a little fixing up. Editing and revision is my golden joinery. The first draft is the origin, the piece’s history and Kintsugi is my process to celebrate the good parts of the work. It attempts to mend the broken pieces and create work worthy of presentation to the reader.

What are your thoughts?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

A little Friday fun with our friend Jack Sparrow and an impossible choice.

Which do you choose?

• A brilliant writer whose works are lost in the sands of time never to be read by any living being.

or

• A horrible writer ridiculed as such and known the world over.

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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer

I have spent a lot of time with short stories this month, and this quote made me laugh. I never considered creating a novel might be as easy as a doodle as opposed to a major undertaking. Perhaps I have been looking at this the wrong way round. Could creating a novel be as “straightforward” as creating a doodle? Perish the thought.

Excuse me, I need to find my doodle paper.

Do you have any perceptions you discovered were the wrong way round?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

One reason I have concentrated on Flash fiction and short stories is to practice my writing. When I attempt to write a story in 100 words, there is no room for fluff. The writing must be concise and each word I choose is carefully considered. I often spend an inordinate amount of time editing in comparison to the initial writing. Now I am not claiming anything I write is all that great, but I do believe it is improving.

How do you ensure your writing improves?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I relate to the idea of exploring topics that make readers consider something they may not have noticed in the past. Short stories lend themselves to that purpose. Short formats can put one idea, one event, one feeling under a microscope and blow it up into an image we can clearly see.

What topic do you have under your microscope today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I am a numbers person. I like to break things down into the simplest of forms. This quote does that for me. It keeps the importance of keeping a daily writing schedule, a daily goal foremost in my mind and on my priority list.

What devices do you use to keep writing a priority?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I think I am going to print this quote and have it framed. It eloquently displays what I hope to obtain when I write. I especially like the bit about the surprise ending. It is a tall order to put all those elements into a short story. But it sets a standard with merit.

What do you think? Has Amy left anything out?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Okay, okay. I know this isn’t technically a quote, but it seems appropriate.

I think I had better go write something.

What are you doing today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

This quote perplexes me. It seems to me the short story demands a deeper level of representation. In a novel, you have real estate to develop a character. Your character in a short story should not be any less complex than one in a novel. The issue then becomes how you allow the reader to identify with the character without the verbiage.

What do you think?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I like short stories, but then I have always like the bad boy. Honestly, I think there is much to commend the short story, especially in our current time of short attention spans, limited time and busy schedules. Perhaps we shall see the format grow.

What form do you prefer?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer