Hmm…

Author: harmamae

  • My Typical Day in Brazil

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    harmamae
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    I thought I’d give my faithful readers some idea of my life in a different culture, since some sort of explanation as to why this blog isn’t being updated as often might be nice! I wake up in the morning around 7:30 (thankfully my fellow Canadian, Esther, has an alarm clock, or I’d never know…

  • Possibility of Blog Post Scheduling Interruptions! Oh, the Horror!

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    harmamae
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    I mentioned in a previous post that I decided to stay in Brazil three weeks longer. The good news is, that means I like Brazil! (Also, none of the things in 3 Things that Scare Me About Traveling to  Brazil actually was a problem!) The bad news is, I may not be posting as often.…

  • Getting It Right the First Time

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    harmamae
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    To Revise Or Not To Revise, That Is The Question… Recently, I’ve been hearing a barrage of arguments from two different points of view – those who believe a good writer will efficiently produce a clean draft on the first go, and those who believe in multitudes of revisions. They both make good points, but…

  • Things You Shouldn’t Do (In Brazil)

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    harmamae
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    On Doing Them Anyway Before you go off to a tropical country, people give you all kinds of advice. Advice from doctors on how not to get sick, advice from your parents, advice from other travelers… there’s a load of things you should or shouldn’t do. Of course, half of them you find yourself doing…

  • A Meaningful Universe?–Defining Fantasy

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    harmamae
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    Fantasy, according to Crawford Kilian, takes place in a morally meaningful universe, and that is why readers like it so much. “In fantasy, meaning is not something we slap on from the outside, it’s built right into everything from the rocks and trees to the political system.” I do love fantasy, possibly because I believe…

  • Half a Million Words of Garbage

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    harmamae
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    They say every writer has half a million words of garbage in them, and you need to get most of them out before really establishing a writing career. This makes me glad I started writing early. (My earliest memory of writing is sitting at the kitchen table, asking Mom to spell each word out individually…

  • The Portuguese Echo

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    harmamae
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    As you may know, I’m currently in Brazil–which means I need to know Portuguese to communicate. The area I’m in (northeast Brazil) has very few people who know English. I tried to learn as much Portuguese as I could before I got here, but it’s been a challenge for sure! At first, when I arrived…

  • Things I’ve Learned From Blogging – 6 Months In

    Things I’ve Learned From Blogging – 6 Months In

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    harmamae
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    Update: If you want to know what I think about blogging 13 years later in 2024, you can read that here. Now that it’s July, I’ve been blogging for six solid months. Time to evaluate if I’ve learned anything. Fiction has always been my writing interest – though I have had a few non-fiction articles…

  • 3 Things That Scare Me About Travelling to Brazil

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    harmamae
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    In psychology, they tell you that the closer you get to an event, the more your excitement increases – and the more your anxiety increases. In fact, your anxiety rises faster than your excitement. Yes, that’s why they make you buy your plane tickets ahead of time. You can’t back out so easily. Don’t get me wrong,…

  • Prolific Vs. Perfectionist – What is the Best Way to a Lasting Writing Career?

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    harmamae
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    Is it better to churn out hundreds of books that are mediocre, or just a couple that are really, really good? A few weeks ago, I mentioned how it is a general rule that writers need to publish around three novels before they establish their name in the industry. This means, of course, that a…