Dr. Hamna Labeeb

Poetry & Writing Updates

22/5/2016

 
Last week, I finished editing the third draft of my novel. The editing was a targeted one - killing more than my darlings. For those who are struggling with their own fiction book drafts will know what I mean. If I had known what a double-edged blade the word count was back when I had begun the story, I would have had less to massacre. But a few things I know now are real good things. :) 

The darlings are often flab.I am sure a lot of the good bits in a story often dissolve in the process, but then we all are pretty emotional with our first drafts. The task was daunting, more so for me because my word count was herculean. It was a highly emotional, foolish, 250K words long first draft. And I did a wipe-out in three drafts and brought it down to 140K words. I have stopped at that because I am still its author and to shrink it further, it needs a second eye - a more objective one. Albeit, the work I did on it is not slight and I am proud of myself about that. And all along, I have kept the plot in tact. 

***

April came with a lovely news. A cool online journal accepted my poem for publication in their Spring Issue 'Love and  Ensuing Madness'. I had already shared the news about my poem 'Valentine Box' appearing in the 'Rat's Ass Review'. For those who missed it, here's the link to the journal's page with my poem. 

And then came the acceptance email from Ashvamegh International Journal of English Literature. As one of the two featured poets of the journal's May 2016 Issue. All five poems that I had sent them for publication have been included. And then again, for anyone who missed the announcement, you can read it here: Sana Rose - Featured Poet for May 2016.

A PDF copy of the May Issue of the Journal can be downloaded from the link below. Or feel free to visit the website at ashvamegh.net and get it from there while you checkout the previous issues. 
Ashvamegh Journal Issue-XVI - May 2016
File Size: 1271 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

***
What are the books on your to-read shelf this season? I have a couple of classics and literary stuffs and some women's fiction, too. 
Currently reading: Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto
To read this monsoon:
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
​Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
And a few other ebooks, too. :)

***
I'm having more fun than ever now. The baby jargon has developed into baby words and the toddler-on-the-loose is all the more specific and noisy. This summer was way too sticky, melting warm and I feel exhilarated to see the heat has toned down considerably. I hope it will be raining cats and dogs by the time I am back with next post. :)

​Until then, adieu! 

Love, Sana
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          • 4 Reasons I Will Stick To An Early Morning Routine As A Writer
          • 3 Reasons To Free Yourself From ‘Write What You Know’ Advice
          • Gratitude — A Key to Unlock Creative/Writer’s Block
          • How I Balance Writing With Two Jobs And Parenting: Two Practical Techniques To Get Things Done
          • When Is The Best Time To Be Creative?
          • 10 Quotes on Writing Every Writer Should Take To Heart
          • The Two Leaps - My Author Journey
          • 7 Ways Art Dissolves Writer’s Block
          • 5 Reasons Your Novel Manuscript Is Too Long
          • 'I Am A Writer' - 3 Reasons You Should Say It More Often
          • 5 Ways to Bring Life into Writing - The Brave Writer
          • 5 Don'ts For Productive Creative Writing - The Book Mechanic
          • Writing With Self-Confidence
          • The 4 P's To Stay In Writing
          • 5 Don'ts for A Productive Creative Writing
        • Parenting, Family, Relationships >
          • When My Child Asked Me About Childbirth
          • 5 Underestimated Instances of Unhealthy Boundaries
          • 7 Lessons From My Journey To Better Parenting
          • Love May Not Be Why A Marriage/Relationship Lasts
          • Sacrificing Your Dreams — One Of The Worst Parenthood Mistakes
          • The Most Powerful Realization I Ever Had Was In Motherhood
        • Better Living >
          • 5 Ways A Digital Detox Improved My Mental Health And Life
          • A Time To Rethink And Unlearn
          • 6 Reasons To Let Go Of Ideas Of Happiness
          • Rest, But Don't Let It Rust: 7 ways to keep cobwebs and dust off your mind during COVID-19 lockdown
          • 7 Profound Quotes By Ray Bradbury - On Life, Creativity and Culture
          • 7 Reasons To Start Reading Fiction
          • Journaling Up The Ladder of Life
          • The Art of Acceptance - The Ascent
          • Reading Fiction - 6 Reasons Why
          • The Art of Acceptance - The Post India
          • 6 Ways to Make Your Healthy Eating Resolutions Stick
      • Poetry >
        • Love >
          • Ad infinitum
          • Back Home
          • Beneath the Bridge
          • Clarity In Silence
          • Eye To Eye
          • Heaven
          • I Stopped Looking For You
          • Knowing
          • Lost In Translation
          • Magic
          • More For Less
          • Petrichor Rising
          • Preservation
          • Sailing Home
          • The Cosmic Dance
          • The Fossil
          • The Mold
          • Valentine Box
          • When Love Brims
          • When The Rain Ends (Prose Poem)
        • War, Destruction, Injustice >
          • Burnt Blood
          • Don't Matter
          • How Faux!
          • Let Her Go
          • Mother
          • Numbness
          • The Way Out
        • Pain, The Muse >
          • A Note to Pain
          • Disease
          • Of Scars
          • Only You Know
          • Rearrangement
          • The Cloudburst
          • The Slow Demise Of Hope
          • The Undoing
          • Tricked
        • Life, The Muse >
          • Broken Bridges
          • Glass Doors
          • Have We Met?
          • In The Grey Days
          • Invisibility
          • Nutrition
          • Paper Dolls
          • Possessions
          • Respite
          • Tag
          • The Bird-Watchers
          • The Foundation
          • The Garden of Life
          • The Immeasurable
          • The Old Woman At The Sewing Machine
          • The Rose
          • The Scripted Plan
          • The Tornado
          • The Transformation
          • Unmasking
          • When You Forgive
          • Winds of Change
        • Motivational >
          • A Little Less Trauma
          • Chaos
          • Crossroads
          • Dare to Break
          • Dear Heart
          • Enough
          • Fire
          • Healing
          • I Flow
          • In Fall
          • Liberation
          • On Faith
          • Reason
          • Surviving The Grey
          • The Phoenix
          • Why Fret?
        • The Puppet - 1
        • The Puppet - 2
        • Songs of Motherhood >
          • Fading Moments
          • Fly!
          • Ode To A Nestling
          • Passion Fruit
          • Pink And Blue
          • The Day I Met Her
          • The Dreaded Nest
          • The Existential Little Warrior
          • The Fruits
          • The Galaxy
          • The Promised Oasis
          • The Refuge
          • The Reminiscent
          • The Wish
          • While You're Still In The Nest
    • Request Author-Signed Copies
  • The Writeous Way
    • Podcasts
    • Blog
  • CONTACT
    • Say Hi!
    • Counselling Appointments