Sara Norja | writer

Tag: writing

  • Beginnings and endings

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    Sara Norja
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    Today I read two blog posts on writing, and the topics fit so nicely around one another, ouroboros-like, that I thought I’d post my own thoughts inspired by them. The first post, by Terri Windling, is on beginnings. The second, by Carrie Ryan (blogging at the awesome Magical Words), is on endings. Windling’s post is…

  • A fall and some recs

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    Sara Norja
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    It’s been rollercoaster weather here, the sun melting the snow, temperatures rising – and then shifting back to winter, the frost snapping its fingers. Last night, 15cm of snow, snow so thick in the air that it looked like a deep fog. I edited 6-ish pages of novelette yesterday, but apart from that it’s been…

  • On finishing

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    Sara Norja
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    I just finished a poem I’ve been working on for the past month – at least, I think I finished it, because you never know. I might want to tweak it. I might get brilliant comments from someone that make me want to change it. But soon it’ll have to be ready, because I mean…

  • First publication of the year!

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    Sara Norja
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    I woke up with aches and pains: it seems my neck and back did not appreciate yesterday’s shenanigans. But checking my email brought some lovely news: My poem Kinds of Truth is now online in the February issue (#193) of Snakeskin. It’s quite a recent poem, written in mid-December in the wee hours of the…

  • Sunday recs

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    Sara Norja
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    Here are three stories I’ve read and enjoyed recently: Selkie Stories Are for Losers, by Sofia Samatar: a gorgeous contemporary take on selkies. The Flying Woman, by Meghan McCarron: a delightful atmosphere, an aching and haunting story. And Their Lips Rang with the Sun, by Amal El-Mohtar: a lovely, poetic piece, strange in a good…

  • Linkses

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    Sara Norja
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    Some links for this cold Sunday! Story rec: * Go and read Carmen Maria Machado’s amazing story Inventory at Strange Horizons. Note: it’s somewhat sexually explicit, just in case you want to read it at work or something. 😀 But a wonderful, gripping story. Stuff I’ve been meaning to link for the past age: *…

  • Dreamscapes

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    Sara Norja
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    Lately I’ve been remembering my dreams quite vividly. They’ve been strange and powerful dreams, too, some of them. Those often tend to turn into poetry or inspire stories, if they’re adventure dreams. My latest dreams have been poetry inspiration. I’ll have to see if I can get the very latest (today’s) into a good enough…

  • Poetry experiment

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    Sara Norja
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    Am on sick leave today because the wretched remnants of illness still lingered this morning. My New Year’s Eve was spent with a fever; I was so out of it that I was extremely content to be alone, and toasted the new year with a cup of peppermint tea. I’ve been under the weather ever…

  • New things at the year’s end

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    Sara Norja
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    I hope everyone has had a lovely relaxing holiday! I had a nice time: plenty of alone time combined with family. Alone time was spent eating leisurely breakfasts and writing my Finnish short story. …My short story which I’ve now sent off to the competition! I’m so pleased that I managed to get a story…

  • Huzzah! she shouted

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    Sara Norja
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    I thought today was going to be a horrendous day, because I had to get up after barely six hours of sleep (for the third or fourth time running) and there was a panda zombie staring at me in the bathroom mirror. It’s been much better than I thought. Firstly: there is snow! Huzzah! Beautiful,…