what are you
working on?
What am I working on? What am I not working on?
At the top of the year, this prodigal writer returned to the blog that
she had forsaken because she took a sabbatical to care for her soul. It
worked. I'm back. So I'm always working on this blog—thinking
of what I want to say.
Also, I'm working on some essays,
including one about African American women and the U.S. feminist movement, PLUS
a sketch comedy piece. My most
precious project, a partial book draft tentatively titled "Young,
Christian and Black," sits on my bookshelf, collecting dust, waiting
for the day when I feel it's right to return to it.
how
does your work differ from others of your genre?
I tend to write spiritually-infused social commentaries on what's
happening in the news, pop culture, and my life. A book lovin',
cross-carryin', Jesus followin', African American woman living as an
entrepreneur-artist in arguably the most self-absorbed city in the world (L.A.), I tend to write cultural critiques, that are (hopefully)
inspiring as well as challenging. I speak from a place of honesty and
vulnerability. Sometimes, I say things that will get me
blacklisted, and I'm afraid, but I say them anyway.
why
do you write/create what you do?
I write because i have to. It's how I make sense of the world, and
my life. I write because it unclogs me. I write because in 2006 a
voice told me to write, and pursuing life as a professional writer has been one of
the most life-giving endeavors I've ever pursued. I write because our world needs more voices that make us
look within.
how does your
writing/creative process work?
All of my work stems from ideas. Some ideas hit like quick flashes
of lightning; others are like spring showers that speak to me for weeks.
I do my best to honor these ideas. I record them everywhere—in
voice memos notebooks, journals, scraps of paper. Then, I let them
stew (for hours, days, months), and finally I sit down at my laptop to let them
loose! Some ideas are conveyed quickly, in a blog post that takes an hour
to write. Others take a few sittings and require more refined thinking
and a little Internet research. Others take either weeks, or maybe years
to flesh out because I'm still trying to figure out 1) exactly what I want to
say, 2) the best way to communicate it to the reader, and 3) the right
words to use.
A recovering perfectionist, sometimes I spend minutes
scouring dictionary.com for the perfect word to complete a sentence.
Other times, I let it slide, telling myself that putting something out now is
much better than waiting a few days until I get more time, because that day may
never come.
When I finish writing a piece, a
feeling of satisfaction and peace envelopes me.
There is a sense that my gift to the reader is also a gift to myself.
meet
a few of my blogging buddies…
I
know AmberAwosanya through church. She's getting her MFA
in writing. Her blog, FromUnderTheNet is where she posts first drafts of short non-fiction bits she is
working on from the experiences of her and her interracial family and their
life in Uganda.
I
met SamanthaButler when she was a student at UCLA. She's a teacher and writer.
Her work consists of short stories,
executed writing exercises, poems and life stories: LeeParkerWritings
Lastly, I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to Grace Sandra, the woman who
tagged me in the #ShareTheLove blog
tour. We were in a leadership development cohort when we worked for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA.
She is one of the most vulnerable bloggers I know. Here is what she says
about how her writing differs from that of other writers: “I’m a human. I’m a sinner. I suck. I am
loved by God. The end. That’s my genre. My story.”
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