“Fear is your enemy only if you allow it to be.” An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir @sabaatahir
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What inspires you? What keeps you motivated to keep trying?
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Whether you own a small business or you’re building your account, or in my case, writing a book, we all are inspired in some way to start but how do you keep going?
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It’s been a while since I last shared my progress on my novel. The quick explanation: for the last two years I’ve been writing a fantasy inspired by ancient Filipino culture and I finished writing it last summer. I took a break and at the beginning of this year, I began the revision process so that I can start querying by summer.
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I will admit, I haven’t made as much progress in my revisions as I had planned to at this point, but now I have a definite goal to shoot for. I will be eternally grateful to Vanshika @thatreadingraven for bringing #dvpit to my attention. It’s an opportunity for marginalized authors and/stories to pitch their unpublished MS to editors and agents. And FRIENDS, I’M GOING TO PITCH MY STORY.
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I’m putting this here to hold myself accountable, but also to keep me inspired. In my experience, when you open yourself to opportunities, they present themselves in different ways. I’ve already had so many people offer to read my pitches which has been incredible and empowering at the same time.
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My original inspiration for writing this story is my daughter. I wanted her to have a story where an empowered biracial female was strong, clever, and valued her family. Then I read a book where a brown girl was fighting alone against a patriarchal society to save her brother against terrible odds. It was the first time for me seeing in print a brown girl as a main character with her own narrative. I knew then that Sabaa Tahir’s book was proof that brown girls had a place in fantasy stories (not just as a side character or in token roles), and there also could be a place for my story too.
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If you’re curious about #dvpit, check out the hashtag for more details or visit dvpit.com. It will take place on Twitter from April 25-26.
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What are your plans this weekend? I’m spending time with family but Sunday I’ll be going to see Black Panther!
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AEITA inspired magnet from Owlcrate @owlcrate.
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