For my writing career, there are two things I absolutely cannot afford to be lazy about. First, of course, is to write. The other is to publicize. You have to let the world know what you’ve done. I love the former, but for the latter, it is just something that has to be done.
Whenever a new novel comes out, I have to stop other things to write guest blogs, reach out to newspapers and magazines, network at conferences. This work never comes to an end, unlike the actual writing.
Now my new novel Skeleton Women is finished, I can finally relax a bit and begin writing my next one. Once I sat down, turned on my computer and started to type, I felt a warm happiness within. I experience again the joy I find in writing, the privilege of work that is close to my heart, something I truly love. However, enjoyment is not enough, you have to expend the utmost care and concern, like a connoisseur examining an antique, or a mother handling her newborn baby.
At a recent radio interview when the host asked me what did I enjoy the most, I said, “When I put all my heart and mind to do something, be it practicing my musical instrument, painting a Guanyin (Chinese goddess of compassion), teaching calligraphy, or writing, the dualities - good or bad, pretty or ugly, rich or poor, simply disappear. At those joyous moments, my life feels closest to the truth.”
That’s why Zen Buddhism says “When you eat, just eat.” It is that simple, and that hard.
Mingmei Yip, http://www.mingmeiyip.com
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