Author Archive: miaherrera

52 Books 2010

Posted on by

Happy New Year everyone! To celebrate the passing of the year, let’s talk books and reading.

In 2009, I started keeping track of the books I read for the 52 Book challenge – a challenge that encouraged people to read a book a week.

Though I’ve always read regularly, it was fun to track my progress. Within my first year of participating, I learned a lot more about why reading was important to me. Furthermore, taking note of books and pages provided me with an added sense of accomplishment akin to those kindergarten days when teachers would add a sticker to your reading worm with each book read. As a result, I took up the challenge again in 2010. Below is a recap of my progress.

# Title Author Pages
1 Fired Up Jayne Ann Krentz 368
2 How We Die: Reflections of Life’s Final Chapter Sherwin B. Nuland 304
3 Elizabeth Costello J.M. Coetzee 224
4 The Fire-Dwellers Margaret Laurence 320
5 The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated Timothy Ferriss 416
6 The Line Olga Grushin 336
7 The Stone Angel Margaret Laurence 316
8 The Surrendered Chang-Rae Lee 480
9 Even the Dogs Jon McGregor 208
10 A Thread of Sky: A Novel Deanna Fei 368
11 The Breakwater House Pascal Quiviger 208
12 Big Swim Cary Fagan 128
13 Home is Beyond the Mountains Celia Barker Lottridge 192
14 The Fate of the Artist Eddie Campbell 96
15 Blankets Craig Thompson 592
16 What Becomes Al Kennedy 232
17 February Lisa Moore 320
18 Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness Byran Lee O’Malley 192
19 Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together Bryan Lee O’Malley 216
20 BodyWorld Dash Shaw 384
21 Skim Mariko Tamaki 144
22 AEIOU or An Easy Intimacy Jeffrey Brown 224
23 Three Shadows Cyril Pedrosa 272
24 The Household Guide to Dying Debra Adelaide 352
25 The Adventures of Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy #4 Grow Up David Steinberg 96
26 The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin 320
27 Good Night, Commander Ahmad Akbarpour 24
28 Young Samurai: Way of the Dragon Chris Bradford 448
29 The Wide-Awake Princess ED Baker 272
30 What Momma Left Me Renee Watson 240
31 No Language is Neutral Dionne Brand 56
32 Alex Rider: Skeleton Key Graphic Novel Anthony Horowitz 176
33 The Retreat David Bergen 328
34 Beanworld Book 1: Wahoolazuma Larry Marder 272
35 The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future Dav Pilkey 176
36 Exit Lines Joan Barfoot 336
37 A Place Within: Rediscovering India M.G. Vassanji 464
38 Children of the Day Sandra Birdsell 416
39 The Uninvited Tim Wynne-Jones 368
40 Beatrice and Virgil Yann Martel 224
41 Ghostopolis Doug Tennapel 272
42 Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper Kazu Kibuishi 192
43 Amulet Book 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse Kazu Kibuishi 224
44 Amulet Book 3: The Cloud Searchers Kazu Kibuishi 208
45 The Lizard Cage Karen Connelly 448
46 Batman: Year 100 Paul Pope 232
47 What They Wanted Donna Morrissey 352
48 Superman: Red Son Mark Millar 160
49 The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 Robert Kirkman 1,088
50 Angelspeake: How to Talk With Your Angels Barbara Mark, Trudy Griswold 128
51 No Way Back Rick Mofina 480
52 Reading Like a Writer Francine Prose 320
53 Jpod Douglas Coupland 528
54 Gladiator Boy 1: A Hero’s Quest David Grimstone 112
55 Fear the Worst Linwood Barclay 544
56 Ender’s Shadow Orson Scott Card 384
16,780

Hardest Book to Read: The Household Guide to Dying. No offence to the author, but this was the slowest, most uninteresting book I’ve read all year. Trying to finish this book was painful and slow.

Most read author of 2010: Kazu Kibuishi. Thanks to Scholastic, I received the first three books in the Amulet series. I really enjoyed all three, and wrote a review of Amulet Book 1 for C&G Monthly this year.

Most fun book: Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I’m definitely not much of a sci-fi fan, but Ender’s Shadow had me hooked. I’m now in the process of reading the rest of the Ender series, and my first book of 2011 was Ender’s Game!

Most beautiful book: Three Shadows by Cyril Pedrosa, which I also reviewed for C&G Monthly.

Perception-altering reads: Reading like a Writer by Francine Prose. I read this book while I was in the midst of a writer’s block dry spell. Francine Prose was the kick in the butt that I needed, infusing me with renewed excitement to write and read.

Most Informational: How We Die by Sherwin B Nuland. I don’t generally enjoy non-fiction, but Nuland’s book was factual while being beautifully written and philosophical enough to keep my attention.

Notable reading: A Thread of Sky by Deanna Fei. I’ve already written two glowing reviews of Fei’s novel, one in the Side Street Review and another on this blog. Check it out!

I’m a tad disappointed that I couldn’t read more books than I read last year, but at least I didn’t read less. Like I realized last year, reading isn’t about the quantity of books that you read anyways, but the quality.

For a more in-depth recap of my year of reading, somewhat similar to my 2009 recap on MiaHerrera.com, check out my blog posts on YorkScene.com and NerdGirlPinups.com.

2011 marks another new year of reading. So far I’ve only read one book – Ender’s Game. I’m pretty hooked on the Ender series. It’s not a bad way to start off another 52 book year! Care to join me for 2011?

Back to School 2011: Humber School for Writers

Posted on by

As I mentioned earlier, I was rejected for the YRAC grant – the application for which I’d sent simultaneously along with my application to the Humber School for Writers. Shortly after receiving rejection to the YRAC grant, I received acceptance into Humber – an acceptance that was exhilarating in its affirmation that perhaps I wasn’t a tone-deaf writer after all, but also off-putting due to the program’s cost.

Initially, I’d only received preliminary word of my acceptance into the program via e-mail, which gave me time to sit on the offer and think. Sure, acceptance was great, but could I reasonably afford the entire cost of the program at this time? Christmas was coming up along with a slew of family birthdays and celebrations.

I began my vigil at the mailbox again, waiting for my hardcopy response from Humber. Within 2 weeks, I received my acceptance, along with a $1000 Writer’s Trust scholarship!

If acceptance into Humber was thrilling, the scholarship was beyond thrilling –  it was heady and intoxicating . On top of that, with the scholarship, the cost of the program didn’t seem so daunting.

So with all that said and done, I’m happy to say that I’m a January 2011 student of Humber College’s School for Writers – mentee of Sandra Birdsell, award-winning author of Children of the Day.

I’ve already ordered my recommended course books and have started in on some early reading. Even reading one of the recommended texts, Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose, has me itching for more. I absolutely cannot wait to start this January!

TPL’s Writer-in-Residence: Allan Stratton

Posted on by

This season, Allan Stratton is Toronto Public Library’s Writer in Residence. The author of Chanda’s Secrets, Chanda’s Wars, and Leslie’s Jorunal, Allan is an award-winning author and playwright whose works have been published in twelve different countries.

The year, I had both the honour and pleasure of submitting my short story, “Colour Blind”, for review by Stratton. Meeting on Friday, October 22, Stratton’s feedback was inspiring and invaluable. The stress he placed on focusing on writing a true voice as opposed to writing for an audience, as well as his mission to write true stories whether they contain hard truths or not, was refreshing. Furthermore, his advice helped me re-evaluate my current writing style and question certain issues I had when becoming close or distant to particular characters.

Shortly after our meeting, Allan hosted a workshop at the North York Central Library called “Writing Based Fiction”, during which he recounted his travels and research in sub-Saharan Africa. During this workshop, Allan discussed how to find the universal in the specific and the way in which literature could be an agent of social change. He also read from his novel, Chanda’s Secrets. It was especially captivating during Allan’s reading when, most of the time, he didn’t even have to look at the page. It was as though he were so close to his work that he no longer had to refer to it outside of himself.

This Saturday, November 13, Allan will be hosting yet another workshop at North York Central Library called “Using Theatre Techniques to Create Characters from the Inside.” Targeted towards younger writers, Allan will start with relaxation techniques then lead participants through visualization exercises in the creation of characters. Participants are then interviewed “in character” to learn techniques that will lift characters off the page. They will also learn about considering the Goals, Obstacles, Tactics, and Expectations for their characters, which will maximize dramatic space. Since space is limited for this workshop, if you’re interested in attending please call the HUB to register at 416-395-5674.

I strongly recommend writers to either participate in Allan’s workshops or try to find time to speak to Allan themselves. The Toronto Public Library’s Writer in Residence program is one of a very few that offers what it does to the Toronto writing community. Though the WIR program has been around for some time, continued patronage to the program is always good. And writers can never underestimate the benefits of a meeting like-minded artists. Check it out!

PMPin!

Posted on by

As I previously mentioned, starting in January I’m taking courses in Project Management through the University of Toronto’s School for Continuing Education. In no way have I given up on writing, but as I mentioned earlier, rejection for the YRAC grant gave me a moment of clarity that made me realize that it would be pretty foolish of me to quit my day job in pursuit of art. Even if I were an amazing writer, I still need to eat and live. And I do have other interests beyond writing. I really love Excel, for example, and have fun spending hours creating budgeting sheets for this year, the next and, if it weren’t a little too obsessive, the next after that too. I also like calendars, agendas, and lists of all sorts. For Christmas one year, I asked for a filing cabinet from my family members. These are somewhat embarrassing confessions, I know, but I suppose you could say that I just like to keep organized.

Taking that into consideration, I made use of my alumni credit to UT’s School of Continuing Studies and enrolled in Foundations of Project Management. After I’m finished this course, I’d be qualified as a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). The plan is to work towards my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and hopefully apply it to my current company to take it a step further and become a Certified Law Enforcement Planner (CLEP).

Of course, these plans are all relatively new, freshly sown seeds. I have no doubt that I can achieve my goals, it’ll just take time… time to complete my courses, pass my tests, and find the proper work placement and hours.

With that being said, I’m pretty pumped. Project Management is completely separate from writing, and I think that might be a good thing. Everyone needs some space and distance sometimes, I suppose, plus I’m pretty hyped about going back to school. I’ve been out of it for a little while and have been missing the grading atmosphere. Wish me luck!

Tone-Deaf Writing

Posted on by

What do all of these people have in common?

They all suck. Badly. And surprisingly, they don’t seem to know it.

Over the past year, I’ve gotten increasingly involved with various online and print publications and have really enjoyed it. This type of writing, however, is not what I ultimately wanted to do. I love to write, but I don’t want to spend all my time writing about other people’s books. I want write my own books, too.

Recently I decided to leave shift work to focus more of my time on art. This included applying to Humber’s School for Writers Correspondence Course – a renowned course, but one that cost a tiny fortune.  I knew that if I got accepted into the program, I’d have to pay up, so I began looking into grants and scholarship programs.

One of the grants I applied for belonged to the York Region Arts Council. Silly me thought that my chances of landing a YRAC grant were pretty darn good. I had a pretty good portfolio and I’d agreed to write for the YRAC’s new YorkScene website, too.

Months passed and the deadline to hear back about the grant came and went. I took to checking my mailbox every day. People say that a watched pot never boils. Well, a watched mailbox never fills. On Thanksgiving Day, after hearing nothing in the mail as I was supposed to, I was included in a mass e-mail sent out to all rejected Grant applicants. “Thanks for trying. Sorry you didn’t make it,” was the gist of the thing.

I was devastated, of course, but it wasn’t about the money. It was about the above. It was about American Idol contestants who suck and suck badly. When people watch American Idol, they watch it as much for the success as for the failure. The above video has been viewed over 6 million times! These awful singers are just hilarious to watch. How do they not know how bad they are?

Over the years, after that first bout of curl-up-and-cry rejection from grad school, I’ve harboured a fear of what I term “tone-deaf writing”. What if I’m just not good enough? What if I just can’t see how awful my writing actually is? What if I’m one of those sad, sad people who pursue a dream to death to the point where it is no longer inspiring, but shameful and a tad depressing?

Being rejected for the grant -not even through snail mail like I was advised I’d be, but through a mass BCC – reinforced all my fears about being a tone-deaf writer. I found myself thinking, ‘Gee whiz, good thing I didn’t quit my day job, and thank goodness I signed up for courses in Project Management too.’

Of course my relationship with writing didn’t end there, but it certainly was a low point for me. Feelings of insecurity and uncertainty are normal, but what do you think of these feelings in relation to art? Of course it’s only natural for every artist to experience a certain degree of insecurity. Then again, what if you’re a “tone-deaf” artist? It’s naive to believe that a certain degree of talent isn’t needed to succeed in art. Some people just don’t have an affinity for certain arts. I can’t sing for beans and I know that. What if I can’t write for beans, either, but I just can’t accept it? What if you’re a tone-deaf artist? How would you ever know? And when, in the pursuit of art, should you accept your limitations and stop?

NGP/YorkScene: Reading Relevancy

Posted on by

Check out my article on the relevancy of reading in contemporary society on either Nerd Girl Pinups or YorkSccene.com. Don’t forget to comment please!

Also, if you’re already going to be there, may as well check out my NON-PIXEALTED profile pic on YorkScene.com. Enjoy it, folks, because this photo took many takes with my dad behind the lens, who is the person I know who is most competent with the camera. Needless to say it was awkward.

Clutch 2010/2011

Posted on by

Each year, the Kapisanan Centre offers the Clutch program to young Filipina women between the ages of 17-24. Clutch is an annual six-month arts based program for young Filipinas, providing them with mentorship from professional artists within the community and giving them access to professional tools to hone their creativity, define their identity, explore their cultural heritage, and tell their stories on their own terms.

In addition to weekly artistic mentorship in various studios throughout Toronto, Clutch incorporates weekly history and language lessons and encourages program attendees to blog regularly on the Kapisanan website.

As a writer with a special focus on culture and background, the Clutch program was extremely alluring to me. I applied for the program in August of 2010. After frequent follow up phone calls, I was ecstatic to hear that I’d made it into the Clutch roster for 2010-2011.

Time spent with Clutch was certainly eye opening. It gave me a new insight into Filipino culture, history, and current events. The program largely focused on thinking outside of thinking critically of Philippine circumstances and becoming an active agent in Philippine matters. The program stressed social awareness and volunteerism.

Furthermore, being part of the Clutch program made me re-evaluate who I was as a Philippine-Canadian. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I experienced moments in Philippine history class where I’d feel uncomfortably detached from the issues discussed. The matters we talked about felt so far away that I wondered if I was even a legitimate Filipino. The questions the Clutch program rose for me – about what it means to be a Canadian, Filipino or even cultural being – were and still are extremely important.  They are questions that I still have not fully resolved, and that I am sure I will be thinking of long after my involvement with Clutch.

Even better than the program were the people I met through it. Whether an artist, activist or entrepreneur, each person I met was passionate and inspiring in his or her own way. The other Clutch girls were especially inspiring – visual artists Michaela Cruz and Lyndel Aguilar.

With all that being said, it may seem surprising when I now admit that I withdrew from the Clutch program. My decision was a result of many factors, many of which were practical or economical. Though the program itself was free, the time and effort it took to commute down to the centre in Kensington Market at least three times a week during rush hour was extremely difficult. It was guaranteed that the trip would be at least two hours one way most of the time. Furthermore, due to time constraints imposed by prior writing and work commitments, adding another commitment was not wise of me. It is with regret that I withdrew from the program. It certainly offered a lot.

In this little corner of the internet, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the Kapisanan Centre for the opportunity offered to me. I strongly encourage everyone to keep up to date with Clutch happenings this year. With Michaela and Lyndel on board, this year’s Clutch will certainly lead to great things.

YorkScene Launch Event

Posted on by

Pardon my last minute notice, but if you’re somewhere near the Town of Newmarket tomorrow afternoon, come drop by and celebrate the YRAC Grant Recipient Announcement and YorkScene.com launch with the York Region Arts Council from 4:30-6:30pm in the York Region Municipal Offices.

YorkScene.com is the York Region Arts Council’s inaugural website featuring What’s On in our local arts, culture and entertainment scene. In addition to the main website, we have a whole host of bloggers from across the arts scene, from literary artists and visual artists to graphic designers and fashion designers. It is with great pleasure that I am one of the bloggers for the new YorkScene website, which is super handy and cool looking, just FYI.

Come out and celebrate the site’s launch with us tomorrow afternoon, or at least check out the new site after tomorrow’s 6pm release. We love reader feedback, so I hope to see you guys there!

My Tweet Cloud

Posted on by

I know I’m a bit slow to jump on the Tweet Cloud bandwagon, but I’m pretty happy my cloud includes the words “home,” “happy,” and “writing.”

Other than that, I’ve been crazy busy these days with work and writing, but anticipate an update sometime soon along the lines of new projects that I’m involved in (lots of exciting ones, I promise!) and plans underway.

Oh, also I have a growing suspicion that my website is ugly, so I’m hoping to put up a new layout soon.

Keep posted!