So much of writing for me is sitting my ass down and writing, even when I don't want to. I have really good discipline. I can write for fifteen hours straight sometimes, and then revise and edit for days and weeks afterwards. The hardest part of writing I can do and have done since my first workshop back in 2002. The other crucial part of writing for me involves psychological and emotional maintenance (aka self-care), which is just as important. Normally, self-care for me means not only exercising, meditating, getting enough sleep, eating well, and going on dates with LB every week, but also ignoring my own negative thinking and putting myself out there again and again (even when it feels POINTLESS) and not getting discouraged (even when NOTHING is happening), which has been particularly difficult this summer.
Read MoreLearning about my Genetic Identity
I got my DNA results back today.
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When Your Hapa Face Becomes The Rule
I went to my first Mixed Remixed festival today at the Japanese American National Museum, and I have to say, it was an amazing experience. For the first time in years, my phenotype, my story as a hapa writer, my experience being biracial and multicultural (in my case, Japanese, French, and American)--was the rule of the universe. Being biracial and multicultural was normal, even common. It was fucking amazing.
Though simply the experience of being there and connecting with other mixed, biracial, hapa, and multicultural writers was enough for me, I really enjoyed the multimodal panel ofJamie Ford, Mat Johnson, Bryan Medina, Marie Mockett, Michelle Brittan, and James Tyner. Hopefully, I'll find a way to get on this panel next year for the next incarnation of the Mixed Remixed festival. That would be both fun and also an honor.