Writing in Flux

May 16, 2013 By Mufidah Kassalias in Photography, Writing Tags: About Writing 15 Comments

Moving on, moving around, a few days here and a week or so there. Packing and unpacking. Settling in to a new situation for long enough to feel settled before picking up sticks again and moving on.

In the flow of constant change there are inevitable casualties. Some days you wake up to no clean socks, others to the realisation that the book you want to read is halfway across town with the small collection of belongings unloaded temporarily from the car. But these sort of things are minor in comparison to the casualty of concentration, a necessity for writing.

The irony, though, is that life itself tends to be full of inspiration when everything’s in flux.

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Writers-in-Residence@Yours!

May 15, 2013 By Mufidah Kassalias in Travel, Writing 2 Comments

Mufidah & Sean—Happy Folk

If you’ve always liked the idea of dropping into the conversation that you’ve got a couple of writers-in-residence staying with you for a short time, then why not take a look at this possibility?

Alternatively, if you’d like to bring a Write from the Heart writing workshop to your town, then do get in touch — we’d love to hear from you!

#writing #cooking #sharing #happyfolk

Writing the Truth of One’s Own Experience

April 6, 2013 By Mufidah Kassalias in Photography, Writing Tags: About Writing, Burgos, Writing Workshops 2 Comments

This should be easy, right? If we writers write what we know — and who and what do we know more intimately than ourselves and our own lives? — then writing one’s own truth ought to be the easiest subject matter one could choose. No research required.

In practise it can be quite challenging. We have to beware the slippery slope of navel gazing.

But it can also be incredibly rewarding. Considering our innermost thoughts and feelings on subjects close to our heart has the potential not only to clarify our perspective, but also to breathe life into our writing.

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Red Shoes: My New Short Story — Free for a Week!

March 18, 2013 By Mufidah Kassalias in Writing Tags: books, Red Shoes, self-publishing, short stories 3 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I published Red Shoes, a short story set in Burgos, Spain. And for a week I’m offering it free to those who subscribe to my newsletter, an occasional affair dedicated to news about new books, including future offers, etc.

Marisol González is a young photographer who believes in destiny. As a teenager she meets Domingo Manuel Sanchez, an agoraphobic photographer who becomes her friend and mentor. And Marisol’s destiny begins to unfold in ways she could never have imagined.

Not to mention in ways I could never have imagined.

“That’s a lovely story. I enjoyed it very much. You seem to have the short story technique well in hand. I know comparisons are said to be odious, but “Red Shoes” is much more readable than some of Virginia Woolf’s that I have dipped into.” — C.B. Continue reading →

Praise for Red Shoes

March 16, 2013 By Mufidah Kassalias in Writing Tags: books, Red Shoes, self-publishing, short stories 2 Comments

I, Writer: Befriending the Writer Within

March 9, 2013 By Mufidah Kassalias in Photography, Writing Tags: About Writing 8 Comments

For years I’ve known the writer inside me. When I first met her, her voice was so quiet I almost didn’t notice her presence. But she was clever and learned to tug my heart so persistently I would lean in and listen more closely.

I want to write, she said over and over. Don’t you know I’m a writer? “No, I don’t think you are. You’re too small and quiet and have nothing to say, except for your endless refrains.” But I do have things to say, I just don’t know what they are right now.

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