tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28741129341916155272012-01-12T10:07:56.647ZA life of words and ideas,<br> And a beautiful mind spiraling<br><br> downwardMaryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.comBlogger4341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-57920921492283542522012-01-11T14:23:00.002Z2012-01-12T10:07:56.654Z

There seems to be a growing interest among my generation in the encompassing qualities of literature, and the growing need to write local stories that speak less to the us vs them philosophy, propagated so much by preceding generations.  When I was writing Gray's preliminary form and discussing it with my professors, what stuck with me is Prof Farley's comment of focusing less on geography

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-78185432346207445752012-01-07T14:40:00.000Z2012-01-07T14:40:11.302Z

When I ended the blog, I did so with the idea that because I had achieved everything I set out to do. But now I'm working at a paper and there's a lot more to write about. I suppose it would be unprofessional to go too much into specifics, but suffice to say: between office politics, news, and the endless supply of people watching, there's a lot to write about. For starters, I don't think I

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-56859092471112663142011-11-03T16:21:00.001Z2011-11-03T16:22:13.460Z

It comes down to one line. Nothing else seems to matter anymore. Just the one line, what it conveys, the structure, whether the words sound right and if not, how can they be made right? That's what redrafting's like for me and since my project is nearly ending, application season is upon me, so redrafting it must be now. A lot's happened between my last post and now: for starters, I've

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-35987289280502434892011-09-12T21:47:00.003+01:002011-09-12T21:47:46.180+01:00

Haven't been blogging much, which hasn't been because of an aversion to blogging: more because I'm already active on various social media fronts. Also, there seems to be a lot less to say now that I've done what I set out to do. There will be other things to achieve, I imagine but much of the struggling and the raging seems to be a part of another person...at least for now. So I'm stalling the

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-19065595788030112782011-08-27T04:17:00.002+01:002011-08-27T04:17:37.293+01:00

Is keeping the sexual tension between two people better than consummating it? I can see why the temptation exists especially if the friendship/banter is so palatable, particularly on TV. On the other hand, consummating it leads to an entirely different set of complications. This directly references Gray; the love scene and the associated morning after scenes are currently being written.

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-83348866391338430792011-08-19T08:09:00.002+01:002011-08-19T08:13:21.772+01:00

Let's just get this out in the open, here where (relatively few) people read this: I'm paranoid. Like really, really paranoid. I can read into things where there is no subtext to be had; on the flipside, I can also be unbelievably thick and not read into conversations and actions, subtexted so loud the person sitting at the other end of the room would probably get it. I live my life in between

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-1967421352793059972011-08-14T22:53:00.002+01:002011-08-14T22:53:31.166+01:00

The claustrophobia's coming back. Somehow, I was given a year's reprieve but it's coming back, the subtle, slow-burn parental pressure. The backroom hints, the suggestions, but never saying anything outright. It can be a lot more deadlier, indirectness especially when you've got someone like me who'll resist every step of the way. Of course, I'm not stupid: I do know that I need a contingency

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-42291546115397327262011-08-10T04:20:00.002+01:002011-08-12T02:21:58.358+01:00

Is it possible to outgrow something? An idea? Friends? Love, or the idea of it? I think the real tragedy is that outgrowth is the natural byproduct of change. We change as we mature. Isn't that the general idea? The concept of outgrowth is another something I've been returning to time and again both here and in general thought processes. The people/things/places/objects, etc we leave behind in

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-43869048520260141902011-07-29T00:29:00.000+01:002011-07-29T00:29:12.669+01:00

It's odd: I thought there would be a lot to write when I came here, but realize there's always been inspiration in conflict and there isn't much here. There isn't much to rage against. How long can you really care if your name isn't being pronounced right? There are no causes to champion here, nothing to rebel against. It is a state of un-being. But that's fine too, I suppose. I'm going home

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-79720191394321584262011-07-24T23:20:00.005+01:002011-07-24T23:21:11.542+01:00

It isn't easy. The seeming 'effortlessness' comes after constant retuning and fine tuning. Stepping back is a luxury I just don't have. "Life" isn't about getting what you want, because when you do get it, turns out you just want more. I am human, and as a human, I will never be satisfied. I could do this for 2-3 more years, but if something unprecedented happens, and I don't get that chance,

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-67862277419179998122011-07-17T18:20:00.000+01:002011-07-17T18:20:08.924+01:00

There's something magical about confiding your secrets and innermost thoughts to strangers and friends versus the structures of family. Sometimes it's also better for your soul. People who care about you, who are permanent fixtures in your life may willfully misunderstand something, or try to tell you what to do (because they care, etc etc), because they're looking out for you, they know you.

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-8533424587084867442011-07-10T15:33:00.000+01:002011-07-10T15:33:26.757+01:00

During the first draft of Gray and passing it through workshop, I knew the amount of work involved. Now that I've started reworking (I know the ending, I know exactly what I need to do to continue so I'm on fairly solid ground), the realization of how much work it really needs has begun to sink in. You see, starting out, it was just about getting it down, making sure the plot was coming through.

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-20113209737586573592011-07-08T00:18:00.003+01:002011-07-08T01:34:35.693+01:00

The advantage of saying goodbye to your family and friends before you board a plane and head on over to the UK for a postgraduate experience you never dreamed you could have, is that you know (barring any catastrophic events) you’ll be seeing them again. But with your current writer friends made on the course, you have absolutely no idea when or if you’ll see them again. I’ve never been in this

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-72251379943943508992011-07-06T02:15:00.001+01:002011-07-06T02:15:42.371+01:00

The final two months and the countdown to September 1 begins. I am torn between knowing what's better: the changes that have taken place these past few months or the strand of continuity. In my mental ramblings, I return over and over to the anatomy of friendship. What attracts us to the people we befriend? What perpetuates it? What circumstances blend together to create something "of the moment"

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-47602899994922634992011-06-17T21:33:00.001+01:002011-06-17T21:33:54.944+01:00

Do we (as South Asian writers) cut ourselves some slack because we're writing in a language "foreign" to us? On the flip side, are we treated differently because of that perception from others? I sometimes wonder if we allow ourselves too much rope because hey, this isn't our "national language", even if it's the only predominant form of communication we've been using from the age of seven onward

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-54070191738348077232011-06-09T14:34:00.003+01:002011-07-27T23:52:03.261+01:00

I don't think it's possible to realize what an impact working in the world can do to you especially if you've been writing marketing plans, researching the latest tech, writing to clients, etc until you take a break from it. Until you take a step back from your writing and start seeing those phrases couched in there, tech speak, bizspeak finding their way into your creative projects. Being here

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-69945297651656552222011-06-07T00:37:00.000+01:002011-06-07T00:37:23.491+01:00

Living alone can teach you a lot especially when you're away from home and family, even if you have built up a queer sorta family away from brick and mortar. The idea--quite nebulous in Pakistan--of not being cut out for marriage, is becoming clearer now. There is too much baggage attached to the idea, too much pressure as you get older, too many expectations of the sort of person you'll be: wife

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-59939086845884713952011-06-02T21:52:00.002+01:002011-06-18T22:46:11.310+01:00

Once, not so very long ago (well, it was over a decade ago but for a 26 year old, what is that really?), pride proved to be my undoing. Pride in my talents and achievements. Pride of being perceived "better than the rest". The self-perceived mighty fell a great distance (let's embrace the drama, shall we?). For a long time, I retreated into the shell of self-deprecation and a real lack of belief

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-60236058729661121622011-06-01T02:01:00.000+01:002011-06-01T02:01:15.581+01:00

I can't imagine coming back to Numb just yet. Disconnecting from it for this length of time, forced me to remember who I became in those months of its writing. If it turns into the planned novel, I'll be living in an emotional shit-hole. No thank you. Not just yet. Once Gray's finished, it'll be about putting it aside and then maybe sending it to someone on the course to look at. Just to get a

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-10157179553487120892011-05-27T14:17:00.001+01:002011-05-27T14:19:08.856+01:00

Using Scrivner to write the long project I've undertaken for this course and having recently compiled an early draft into full novel form, there are several discoveries I've made. For starters, the project in novel form is coming to about 150 pages and there's still a lot left to cover; the first draft, even the slightly revised first draft, is still shit. There's a novel struggling to get out

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-11326178948921634872011-05-25T15:21:00.003+01:002011-05-25T15:27:00.059+01:00

I never thought I'd try again. Getting here was just about getting here and concentrating on what I had come here to do. But getting back on the application horse? Not something I had anticipated doing. And yet here I am, writing personal statements and statements of purpose, doing my research on programs that include teaching this time (something I shied away from earlier) and are fully funded

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-38767208895151319302011-05-20T03:11:00.000+01:002011-05-20T03:11:42.052+01:00

I want to not want I want to look at others, compare what they have to what I have, and count my blessings. I want to not feel. When I stare at a tv.laptop.film screen and see people mourning, I want to not feel grief eating its way out of my flesh. I want to not know. To unlearn everything I've learned over the years. So I can begin afresh. Turn a fresh page. blank canvas. whatever. More

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-64845043853518269252011-05-18T00:53:00.000+01:002011-05-18T00:53:13.023+01:00

I know an inordinate amount of information about TV shows, which is a statement that should come as no surprise and yet it does. It truly, truly does especially regarding shows I haven't completely engaged with yet. Trying out a software designed to make writing easier--Scrivner, used by writing professionals everywhere!--resulted in organizing writing. It worked. Who knew joining the crowd was

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-79475499276793754562011-05-14T00:53:00.001+01:002011-05-18T19:57:35.026+01:00

Balancing plot and character because at this point both are equally important, is what's going to keep this novel afloat. I can already see what I'm going to fix in the redraft which will involve both rewriting and drastic trimming down to up the pace a little. He cannot make an entrance this late, or maybe he can, who knows? What's certain is this: I'm on page 76 and realizing this may turn out

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-51775652386714849242011-05-10T17:59:00.001+01:002011-05-10T17:59:42.672+01:00

Having reread parts of Kamila Shamsie's Kartography, I'm beginning to understand when I started turning my focus from setting up the scene of my characters' surroundings and moving towards chronicling their emotions, instead. In short stories like Idle Chatter, Postcard Memories, I'm Fine, Blue Line, etc there is a clear sense of where the story's taking place, especially with IC, PM and IF.

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-46556608314916642272011-04-29T18:11:00.001+01:002011-04-29T23:15:57.326+01:00

For years, I've been a short story writer on the hopeful road to becoming a novelist, but as I've discovered recently: writing a novel's hard. It's terribly, terribly hard especially if you're used to things ending in 20 or so odd pages. Setting a scene, perpetuating a character's emotions and the emotions of others over a long duration is something I haven't been used to. I did once write a book

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-86805923203428106312011-04-27T16:03:00.002+01:002011-04-28T13:36:06.977+01:00

There was a time when I didn’t always love TV, but there was never a time when I didn’t love reading. When one met the other, the result was an implosion of reading useless details on shows I’d never watched and/or never wished to. But that’s beside the point. I don’t think there’ll ever be a time when I will successfully have transitioned into a couch potato. Most of this post is going to be

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-49798931617525012492011-04-26T15:37:00.002+01:002011-04-26T19:02:41.644+01:00

Disclaimer: The piece below isn’t mine but was written by Paul Grant, a fellow writer on my course. He’s currently writing a memoir about his journeys in Africa and the absent sense of belonging. The following has been reproduced with his permission and is, I feel, an interesting piece on the importance of printed, “real” books and why hardcopies will never fully leave us. “Much Binding” is a

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-74951525109729636572011-04-25T16:32:00.003+01:002011-05-14T01:05:02.205+01:00

I remember the first time I found out about sex; coincidentally, I didn’t realize it was about ‘sex’. More about how and where babies come from. I do remember a childish explanation my parents once gave me involving sending kids down a chute in heaven and them coming out of a mother’s stomach. For years, that was a source of much thoughtful rumination on the part of a 7 year old. But it didn’t

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-31773849169005899222011-04-23T11:40:00.001+01:002011-04-23T13:56:13.634+01:00

In case you haven't figured this out about me now: I am a chronic futurist and experimenter. But here I'd gathered an audience that is going to take time on Wordpress and so here I am, much humbled. The 30 people who were following me have still stuck around, so that's heartening. Anyway, I'll  be blogging from here now when it's craft and/or personal. If there's touring, you'd be better off

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-86012627581556369252011-04-02T01:51:00.001+01:002011-04-02T01:52:13.755+01:00

For some reason I've picked up more followers on the blog; I salute you and urge you to please relocate yourselves to the new blog, viewable at http://mp213.wordpress.com. Still on the look out for a nice, bright theme like this one. Have so far been largely unsuccessful, so if you have any suggestions, it would be tremendously helpful. You're missing out on some good posts, so please do mosey

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-9767123677689371492011-03-28T18:20:00.000+01:002011-03-28T18:20:49.611+01:00

A few growing pains, sure, but please do mosey along over to the new space. Click the title of this post or this to be redirected. Traveling into new hemispheres! :)

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-23360931096019427332011-03-28T17:04:00.000+01:002011-03-28T17:04:08.985+01:00

Reading while you're writing is an interesting experience especially if what you're reading relates closely to what you're writing about: forces you to remember things you'd portioned away somewhere in the back of your mind but that will now make a welcome experience. Because the novel spans time and goes backwards and forwards, establishing character motivations, relationships etc, I'm

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-77795021015696597172011-03-27T03:45:00.000+01:002011-03-27T03:45:34.839+01:00

I have a lot to learn. Reading a book recommended by one of my professors (The Night Watch, Sarah Waters) as an example of the sort of structure I'm aiming at, in one light, I realize how much still I have to learn. Not only when it comes to structure and pacing, etc, but how much life I still have to live, people I still have to interact with, activities I still have to indulge in, to write

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-15064970194937577862011-03-25T15:55:00.001Z2011-03-26T01:21:09.909Z

A caution before reading ahead: this post is derived from several Twitter, Facebook and email discussions concerning the nature of writing. I felt the increasing need for me to write this post and so here I am. There seems to be a misconception between the nature of plot and stylistic concerns particularly in young Pakistani writers, where the common problem I face when reading material, is that

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-20893858766446300602011-03-24T13:52:00.002Z2011-03-25T03:02:31.368Z

I'm wondering if any of the followers of this blog which seems to be increasing daily, strangely (thank you for the support, my lovelies), has gone through the latest issue of The Missing Slate? If you haven't, you can below. The idea is to get it out there as much as possible, since we've only just started and are looking to build a comprehensive set of readers who can keep up with our content

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-54483365275034408012011-03-22T00:09:00.001Z2011-03-22T00:10:32.270Z

If my recent foray into (prosaic) poetry came as a surprise to anyone, as a means of an explanation let me say that there were two reasons for this: I’ve been reading a lot of contemporary poetry The first ‘poem’ as it were, was written in character of one of my people, a character of Gray. And that just started a series of different pieces: I think I wrote three more pieces (not in quick

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-11863165147140911752011-03-21T18:22:00.001Z2011-03-21T18:23:14.618Z

Patchwork How do poets think              Do they peace together words, figments of their imagination               Stitch them together like a patchwork quilt? I’m not a poet, I don’t dream like poets do              Don’t stitch together ideas              Mine are more like composites Rough around the edges,                Raw like graffiti splattered across the walls you pass on

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-17255837365820602702011-03-20T04:51:00.004Z2011-03-20T05:05:06.493Z

You, most honestly in my mind. You, most clear. I've longed for this moment--this mo ment of honest, clear clarity. Saira. You are my greatest creation; the antithesis of Deeya. The medium dark ness to her light. How quickly your roles will be reversed, my darlings. This is no poem; this is my prosaic ode to you both broken down into pieces, identifiable chunks. One day, maybe even one day

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-35541063080147216752011-03-15T14:24:00.002Z2011-03-15T14:27:56.289Z

During workshop today an interesting thing came up when I was giving feedback to another writer on the course; to explain, he'd read South Asian literature (he's British) and had written in the style of your usual SA writer (Roy, Rushdie, etc). My critique was that he'd done that typical thing where he's describing the environment and it seemed like he was doing it because that's what's "done";

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-61940824583913150792011-03-14T13:52:00.001Z2011-03-14T13:56:59.243Z

There is something seductive in watching someone you know fall to pieces, have their world come crashing around them; just as you feel the need to throw out a helping hand, have the desire to create some sort of safety net for them, a part of you relishes their downfall with sadistic glee. This isn't real life I'm talking about naturally: I'm talking about writing your characters. If you create

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-80774923600957472732011-03-12T15:44:00.003Z2011-03-12T18:09:53.347Z

Is it possible to outgrow people? Like you're in a position where you're in perfect sync in one moment and completely out of it the next. The idea brings a line from Alice Munro's short story ("Fiction") to mind: one day a box isn't tickmarked and the next it is. How does that even happen? It's like you've outgrown a place; what does that even mean in retrospect? I've been mulling it over in my

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-39711109176164786852011-03-10T23:35:00.001Z2011-03-15T14:10:40.944Z

What's going to happen to Apple when Steve Jobs up and dies? When a discussion concerning the iPad and the company's revolutionary tactics for the device arose between my sister, brother-in-law and I on Facebook, I told them I could wait until he kicked the bucket and gloat about what it would do to Apple, later. Don't get me wrong: I love their products and the company, but the iPad seems to be

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-32578797049712932752011-03-02T20:22:00.004Z2011-03-20T05:02:59.391Z

There are two things that have predominantly occupied my day today: the first has been reading up specifically on Shi’ism in the Indian Sub-Continent; the second’s been YouTubing inspirational/motivational commencement speeches at renowned academic institutions. You never know what may strike a chord with your own struggles. The one common theme you often find in these speeches whether it’s Steve

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-68730228569910019462011-02-28T21:17:00.000Z2011-02-28T21:17:46.569Z

I am beginning to realize that if I really stand a chance to convert the concept of the novel into an actual novel then the first step in getting there is breaking away from all distractions, which may or may not include taking a partial sabbatical from all things The Missing Slate. So I'm now on the look out for a Managing Editor who will quite simply be shouldering all the editorial

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-43706719766297255012011-02-24T00:50:00.001Z2011-02-24T00:50:52.895Z

While Skyping with my mother today, I realized something interesting as she made her way through The Missing Slate's second issue: perhaps I had been spending too much time shielding her from things she was quite aware of. My parents and I seem to have an interesting relationship: we are both protective of one another. Strangely, she didn't mind any of the issues we'd addressed or maybe some of

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-68191986309261010532011-02-22T22:51:00.000Z2011-02-22T22:51:51.769Z

First drafts are terrible. First drafts are intellectual regurgitation exercises: words expunged, vomited out onto paper without sense, without intricate thought. All of that is meant to come out later. The first draft is the point where you lay it all out. Or so conventional wisdom informs me. I am relearning the exercise of first drafting. Or no, I am relearning the exercise of being critiqued

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-49672811695715323392011-02-19T22:41:00.000Z2011-02-19T22:41:17.206Z

I've been thinking lately about Sunnism and Shi'ism and trying to understand how Islam diverged into two sects entirely and would like any [if there are any readers of this blog left out there!] interested parties to help me understand. While I get that the first 'infraction' as it were occurred during the nomination of a successor to lead the Muslim community after the death of the Prophet, and

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-12537703802710294452011-02-12T01:38:00.001Z2011-02-12T01:38:19.518Z

They say wisdom comes with age but I doubt that applies to the mid-twenties and undoubtedly seeps in through the 30s or maybe I've become wiser and don't know it yet? Who knows? I can't believe they actually did it: sending my notes by way of a messenger, so you see I can't fail. There's far too much riding on this. If I wanted to, I could write entire chapters in this newly bought notebook

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-56217322867818863792011-02-09T16:34:00.001Z2011-02-09T21:35:59.886Z

People tell me things, like who they're in love with or have fallen out of love with or what their plans are or what their plans aren't, or what to pray for and what not to pray for, what their proclivities are in various spheres of life, etc all under the strictest code of confidence. For some reason unknown to me, people believe that I can keep a secret. Which doesn't negate the fact that I can

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-26428393017053336312011-02-06T23:17:00.001Z2011-02-06T23:17:51.866Z

Real and proper research into the Shi'a sect has now begun as I track back the sect's history all the way back to Kerbala which, I think, we can all agree was a tragedy in the religion as a whole. There is a lot of reading ahead which will then directly inform my opinion of who these characters are and it's important to know that at its core, this is about socio-religious situations and how much

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-18027595347647491162011-02-04T00:34:00.002Z2011-02-04T00:35:54.446Z

I wonder if it's alright to not know? I think the scope of things is really what scares me. Or maybe it's the fact that it's been built up in my mind or the last few days have been dreary or the cold and icy walk didn't turn out the way I hoped it would or third person narration should make a comeback or I'm not pushing myself enough or I'm taking too much on and not breathing enough or I'm

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-69598134996081014872011-01-22T19:33:00.000Z2011-01-22T19:33:14.059Z

A friend of mine and a TMS team member's been going through a bit of a rough patch lately, creatively speaking particularly with regards to seeing the point of writing anything when everything's already been written. On the Thursday workshop session, the professor convening the session--Professor Jo Baker--mentioned something that stuck: you have to find new ways to reinterpret old things,

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-62946109170126948492011-01-14T01:14:00.003Z2011-01-14T01:37:16.876Z

The problem with me is, and has always been my impatience, particularly once I have an idea in my mind. Then it's like a relentless force is driving me, pushing me onwards and for much of that process I am manic, in a daze moving at breakneck speed, not pausing, not waiting, pausing for breath only after everything is done. When that happens, of course, I'm anxious to get back into the gist of

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-1632474379939617202011-01-05T23:22:00.000Z2011-01-05T23:22:04.945Z

I've been reading lately and realizing how important non-fiction and research has become to me, to my own inner self, I am leaving fiction behind for a little while. For now, I am allowed to engage my single-minded, determined side, allowed to engage it and embrace it. Been reading An Introduction to Shi'i Islam and while the knowledge will end up playing a more subtle role within the capacities

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-9598327592393720702011-01-01T06:30:00.000Z2011-01-01T06:30:54.017Z

Writing Gray is like writing a memory. I seem to be stringing along so many extraneous expectations that are now bogging it down in place of pushing it forward as I struggle with my style changing, and whether I am completely happy with said change. Getting out and away from campus might not be so bad, laptop in tow. That I have not been able to really write anything since Wales is very, very

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-85116353499230991892010-12-27T20:21:00.003Z2011-01-14T15:26:01.894Z

Seeing the #2010memories hash tag on twitter, brought back a flood of emotions that I've been through this year so I'll chronologize this, now, on the brink of 2011. A moronic start to the new year, on a leave of absence from the job, still waiting to hear back from the programs I applied to, in limbo with other writing projects and communities, head in the wrong place, spiritual madness, crisis

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-91580456275908645192010-12-26T05:12:00.001Z2010-12-26T05:13:22.153Z

The post below was thorny when I wrote it, admittedly and the lone comment that has been posted will be allowed to stand without a response. Why? The entire blog post is the response. I'm done debating theory with people who don't, won't or simply refuse to, practice what they preach. To whom religion is more a pulpit to ostracize the rest of the human race. I believe in a more benevolent God

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-69608706526026627002010-12-25T15:27:00.000Z2010-12-25T15:27:42.901Z

Religion. It's always such a sticky, sticky subject to get into. Things can get messy and heated within moments of one or the other initiator having received a response that doesn't sit well. Sometimes things can escalate through sheer verbosity; sometimes it's refusing to allow an argument to penetrate through, to even acknowledge another point of view, that becomes the acceleratory factor until

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-19823485736432502282010-12-23T04:30:00.001Z2010-12-23T04:30:43.823Z

I will confess: never been a big fan of the touch screen phones even if they are really futuristic and let’s face it, pretty cool. I’ve always felt like I need to feel what I’m writing, like when I’m using the keyboard on my laptop versus talking into a voice activated software system or using pen and paper when I feel the laptop’s getting too impersonal. So when my Nokia E71 went missing, there

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-572897402388862632010-12-21T12:49:00.002Z2010-12-24T01:13:24.562Z

Back in the days when things were easy, that is to say if they ever were in this dramatic mind of mine. I am a writer, I reason: I am allowed dramatic flair. The important thing is knowing who you are and making peace with it. Regardless, back in the days when things were easy, less muddled, less confusing than they are now, less difficult. Walking in blind, even with a general road map, I find

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-2449617136360592562010-12-19T01:55:00.000Z2010-12-19T01:55:44.451Z

They say you write a book with an ideal reader in mind, with someone in mind so you're writing for a particular someone because it becomes easier if you think it's being addressed to someone as opposed to a faceless, unknown crowd. "They" in this case being Margaret Atwood and John Steinbeck. The books before me pile up a mile high as I realize my little excursion into town had me short on time

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-65835968216007559092010-12-18T02:09:00.000Z2010-12-18T02:09:26.492Z

I find myself gravitating here when I have nothing else to do, which is bizarre considering there was a shit load to do when I was in Pakistan...or maybe that was a Freudian slip. Now that term has "officially" ended, my reading list for the month is extensive: lots of narrative theory, the journals of Anais Nin and the letters Henry Miller sent to her in their twenty something year relationship,

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-24611059053066996862010-12-16T19:54:00.001Z2010-12-16T19:54:59.856Z

Apparently my work is "vivid and in-your-face" which are two things I never thought was true about my work, speak as I did in what seemed to me riddles and indirect statements. But perhaps the writer is more direct than the individual channeling her? Who knows, really but this is what I got from my one-on-one tutorial session with Paul Farley, as tomorrow marks the end of the Michaelmas term as

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-55242558683807944722010-12-09T20:42:00.002Z2010-12-09T20:58:03.600Z

Does the Internet affect concentration? Of course it does. It by its very nature is a distraction and if you go too deep down the rabbit hole, getting back out is tricky (sometimes quite impossible) but it is doable. Most definitely doable. Things in the last three weeks have been crazy: after the established routine of the weeks before then, having all that time was suddenly scary. It's safe to

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-61012796534299857652010-12-03T01:55:00.002Z2010-12-03T01:56:04.578Z

The online conference is well under way although now we're more wrapping up than anything, giving the writers on the course a more accurate idea of what actually is done here. There are essentially two weeks: the first for the conference's preparation and the second for the online conference itself: the debate that follows is whether we can live without the former. Essentially what we do every

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-26515155820095260052010-11-29T04:06:00.000Z2010-11-29T04:06:42.190Z

It is inconveniencing when you realize your kryptonite can also be your spinach, to borrow from two comic (although not comic book) characters. When physically relocating or unplugging yourself from the internet in order to focus on the task at hand, can really (and truly) get you going. No distractions. That essentially there is no other form of discipline, but enforcing it upon yourself but

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-30899275822642127112010-11-26T02:53:00.000Z2010-11-26T02:53:18.067Z

There is no way of getting out of this life now: I am transfixed, rooted in it and the time for backing out was when I was still in Pakistan, oblivious to my own ambitions. Now part of an artistic "support" group called Capture (formerly known as Create at LU), I have the knowledge and skill set of three management students to help me in getting The Missing Slate financially off the ground

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-2322345550057565742010-11-22T02:21:00.001Z2010-11-22T20:10:25.408Z

Now that I'm back home at the university, the comparison between here and Wales is extremely telling. There was another, completely different vibe there that's just missing here. It isn't something I can explain: there was much writing, reading and a great sense of community there. I enjoy the company of pretty much everyone on the writing program, which could easily have not been the case and

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-77053412164636827952010-11-14T22:39:00.000Z2010-11-14T22:39:16.011Z

Working in the publishing industry should I choose to opt to do so will throw my writing right out the window, so my plan is to get the degree, the contacts and the network and the work experience in between and then come right back and implement all that knowledge for TMS. What use is getting all that experience and then wasting it on someone else's goals and visions, instead of your own? What I

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-52806136920073987262010-11-11T21:48:00.000Z2010-11-11T21:48:29.179Z

That's it: I've written my share of pro-Pakistani pieces, gotten my "literary bearings" as a writer in a new country getting past the culture shock she's never felt before (been to the US and strangely never had this reaction, but it's still rather interesting). When I say "pro-Pakistani pieces", I don't mean that things are all going to go downhill from here but it will move towards an actual

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-32627334442859178532010-11-10T00:53:00.001Z2010-11-10T00:55:28.934Z

I suppose it could be argued (and has been in dozens of articles) that creative writing programs can "ruin" a writer's work, by putting something up to endless analysis, it can make things like 'form', 'narrative style', the deployment of 'metaphor and imagery' and the over all technique, more important than the content itself. There is very much an underlying fear that I have not completely been

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-85607474957827781982010-11-08T23:31:00.001Z2010-11-08T23:34:00.159Z

There seem to be some misconceptions concerning the story behind The Missing Slate and my departure from Desi Writers Lounge which I'm going to go ahead and discuss right here, to assuage any and all "rumors" to the contrary. The story seems that I left one to start the other which is not true. When I took a leave of absence from DWL, I didn't know that I was going to start TMS to begin with: it

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-50374181902319344352010-11-07T01:27:00.001Z2010-11-07T01:34:12.404Z

I have been uncomfortably inactive on this blog which is disheartening considering how many posts I was inputting on a weekly basis prior to getting here. However, the following weeks are going to open up my schedule a little bit as focus rightly returns to where it needs to be. Opening up my mind more towards writing has been instrumental and now that my workload with regards to freelance

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-65906101824978288212010-10-30T21:25:00.000+01:002010-10-30T21:25:48.081+01:00

The group of writers I'm working with, are a very easy, laid-back, friendly group of people who don't seem to harbor antagonistic intentions which is a great thing to have in a creative writing class. Especially if you'll be interacting with them for the next year. There are places and programs out there where the tone is antagonistic, competitive, one upping the other, and it could easily have

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-38771148363469676462010-10-23T01:46:00.001+01:002010-10-23T01:51:19.858+01:00

I feel outclassed which, I think, should be something of a point in a program where you are surrounded by writers at the graduate level because this is real: this is what everyone wants to do with their lives. You're not just muddling your way through the first four years of your "real" life thinking of doing something; you're actually doing it. It isn't that which scares me, however; what really

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-87290002385801383192010-10-17T01:47:00.002+01:002010-10-17T01:56:33.484+01:00

People. Serving as the Editor-in-Chief of a promising young publication, or heck, any publication requires the management of people: putting out fires, keeping spirits up, being the motivational force, keeping the discipline in check; you are both good cop and bad cop here. Content moves side by side and the ability of seeing far ahead; of longevity, is important. I am learning many of these

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-3309723225942206002010-10-14T23:17:00.000+01:002010-10-14T23:17:55.721+01:00

Paul Farley. Or Professor Paul Farley. I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to call my professors/teachers/workshop conductors. I think it's safe to say that I've enjoyed both my professors so far. Today's class involved more writing than Prof Mort's; there were two writing exercises which have started my creative juices flowing in just how I'm going to carry on my story from the promising

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-86865477984408116632010-10-13T15:42:00.001+01:002010-10-13T15:47:42.181+01:00

It isn’t that I don’t have anything to write about here, especially now that I’ve finally landed my dream of a Creative Writing graduate degree. Nor is it that I don’t have the time to assimilate my thoughts and write something of value, outside of the one experience I had going to the Graduate Bar. None of these things are even vaguely a concern. Nor was it that the forthcoming launch of The

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-56801490494378629082010-10-10T18:26:00.000+01:002010-10-10T18:26:11.534+01:00

Ironically, in a world where I don't have to look over my shoulder I have suddenly grown a conscience, a need to retain, to keep things in, to not rage against the machine because there is no raging needed here. Is this who I am? Do I need resistance to really thrive as a human being? As an individual? As a writer? The discovery is somewhat disconcerting if proven true. Fighting to get away

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-13322554993035677642010-10-06T22:20:00.002+01:002010-10-06T22:21:29.247+01:00

Dreams seemed more attainable back home. Worth fighting for. Here, everything is easy. There doesn't seem to be as much of a struggle than there was in Pakistan, and a part of me misses that. It isn't something that I can explain. I don't even think I realized it until I wrote this entry. Go figure. It hasn't really hit me yet, the impact of what I've decided to do and what effect it will have on

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-64249905830535352172010-09-30T00:44:00.000+01:002010-09-30T00:44:59.071+01:00

My plans change like the weather, or so one of my older sisters told me once, a couple years ago. Always being on the lookout for digital publication and the sources and resources that would imply, especially being a magazine publisher is an important consideration. Ideally, I'd like to work in the media and publishing industries and have experience in digital and traditional publication before

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-70977261642012271292010-09-27T22:01:00.002+01:002010-09-27T22:11:27.989+01:00

An important question to ask is whether you are willing to compromise on your overall life plan a little, to finance your dream plan. Having completed a graduate degree in writing, the world of corporate communications is open to me, which is in itself a very large world to fuse with. A corporate communications department often houses several inner divisions for advertising, media relations,

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-73782613205831094312010-09-23T22:59:00.000+01:002010-09-23T22:59:16.632+01:00

Perhaps it's the choice of soundtrack (The Antlers' album - Hospice), but it's been hitting me that I'm leaving. It's happening, and I don't mean this in the nice "yay, I'm finally getting what I want" way; it's in the "I'm leaving everything and everyone I know and love, behind" way. I once said that I would be willing to sacrifice much for the love of the craft and while that still applies, I

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-2482951621969214092010-09-21T04:48:00.003+01:002010-09-27T22:09:04.608+01:00

Rome wasn't built in a day, is the important catchphrase I need to remember when embarking on new projects where ambitions often lie unchecked if not reined in, although I'll confess to being a bit more levelheaded than usual. This might in part be because in this instance, I don't have a team of co-anythings to rely on, knowing that I bear financial and management burdens so that if we fail, it

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-65930832220606478882010-09-18T13:00:00.001+01:002010-09-18T13:06:00.264+01:00

My desk is extremely messy, evidenced by the scavenger hunt for my pet writing utensil (Staedtler stick 430M Black) through the pile of notebooks, post-it stacks, a laptop cleaning cloth, an issue of The New Yorker, a sheet describing payment policies for Lancaster University students, an empty mug of tea, my iPod, an SD memory card adapter, the cordless phone's homebase set, a business card

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-24397516254978139912010-09-15T18:28:00.003+01:002010-09-18T13:09:46.110+01:00

Read this brilliant interview courtesy of The Paris Review and combined with the Goethe quote ("The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone"), you kinda re-realize that this path you've decided very courageously to walk down is, as you've suspected many times before, not an easy one. There is the belief that if you keep persisting; perhaps working to pay the bills for your passion, you

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-21356639835440153162010-09-12T16:22:00.000+01:002010-09-12T16:22:59.341+01:00

The tension is building, now that we're on the last leg of this MA/MFA/corporate loyalty journey. Or rather, it's beginning to run high in the parental units, from the push to ensure I know how to cook before getting there, to looking for lucrative job opportunities on the completion of my degree (the one caveat I owe to my dad whose supporting the financial burden, which is not one to be

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-8562558734917117762010-09-08T00:42:00.001+01:002010-09-08T00:44:52.485+01:00

The fact that an increasing number of young, Pakistani authors are gravitating towards self publication is a rather troubling trend. It started, at least in cases I know of, with K. Yousaf's What If, extending to Khadija Khan's The Mind of Q and now with Shawnawaz Khar's The End of Islamabad, which not having the PR reach of Q, has debuted to negative reviews and what might possibly be, poor

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-79405132099721930442010-09-03T22:32:00.000+01:002010-09-03T22:32:47.292+01:00

For some reason still unknown to me (and no, this isn't an attempt at false modesty), people following my blog are growing, and now that I've finally broken the 600 curse on twitter, I can comfortably say I'm getting there, wherever "there" is and however long it's taken to get me here. Chanson D'Amour's been published to Chowk, though not in the Short Story section I'd originally submitted it to

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-39009707941662391602010-08-29T19:11:00.000+01:002010-08-29T19:11:46.107+01:00

Wrote and finished my first piece for 2010 and I'm not talking about starting, dragging and never ending. Sat meself down late last night, nearly gave up once, and then as the lizard lurking in my room as my witness, I finished the damn thing. You can read it here. Please do. A lot of things went right for that piece; the part where I talked about village elders was (or so I believe) a direct

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-43868143646977256602010-08-26T20:12:00.000+01:002010-08-26T20:12:16.905+01:00

Here's fact: every time I look at the Lancaster PostGraduate, LUSU and Student Guides my heart skips a beat and starts beating obnoxiously faster than usual. But it still hasn't hit me. It will. Soon, I know. Most probably when I disembark at Manchester, and pass through immigration. That's when it'll truly and absolutely hit me. Because of the massive expense involved, there seems to be a

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-26368534794097711932010-08-22T22:49:00.000+01:002010-08-22T22:49:56.921+01:00

The lack of coverage in this blog regarding the flood situation in Pakistan and its associated relief work has been entirely intentional, but not for nefarious purposes. More like a total lack of knowing what to say. Did do a post on TMS's blog, which is viewable here and is targeted equal parts to international donors and locals alike. I mean, what else can you do in a situation like this one? A

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-89076452003424484682010-08-21T11:11:00.000+01:002010-08-21T11:11:00.836+01:00

My grand uncle and fellow graduate student in a related field (MA in English) in a conversation with my mother, indicated that creative writing was great for a career in advertising. He subsequently started his career in media and advertising, before switching to developing his own successful publication, Pakistan's first medical journal. Perhaps it was a needed affirmation, that my options won't

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-48220325750062542072010-08-20T23:56:00.002+01:002010-08-22T23:01:55.319+01:00

And I watch you,Standing thereLoving me                                                                         And you watch me                                                                        Standing there                                                                        Loving you You flick off a casual dustPatterns of your subConscious, perhaps?

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-61855629332769974122010-08-16T22:46:00.000+01:002010-08-16T22:46:20.648+01:00

On some days, at certain times of the day I allow myself to be crippled by my fears...to let them take over me, live in my mind for snatches of time, before I usurp my independence again. But for the little while I let them coexist inside me, my mind weighs the options for failure. It largely centers around TMS, the team I have assembled, my grand plans for building an artistic and creative

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-38672495012246796642010-08-14T21:11:00.002+01:002010-08-15T00:06:11.763+01:00

High school never ends. No, seriously. If you think about it, people just get smarter at the same old games; learn to conceal themselves better. We never really grow up. High school is where you learn about the world and believe that it's going to get better; people aren't always going to be this petty you feel. Surely, childhood was less complicated? Easier? Not so much a political land mine?

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-19552246364632001602010-08-11T14:14:00.001+01:002010-08-11T14:16:07.117+01:00

I must warn you: this entry pertains directly to my work and is to that effect, not as altruistic as my other recent entries. I have decided, and of course this may change at a moment's notice, that I'm not going to anticipate what it's going to be like pursuing my graduate studies, because I do have the tendency to do that. To close my eyes and live out my own personal crystal ball futures. But

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-88296203480800991412010-08-08T17:39:00.003+01:002010-08-11T14:18:08.830+01:00

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" -- Paulo Coelho My life is full of coincidences, things that just happened the way they did and if you've been reading this blog, you'll know I don't believe in coincidences. I firmly believe our lives are chessboards, with each piece moving in accordance to a set of rules and structures, even when something

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874112934191615527.post-14521763376669180662010-08-07T13:07:00.002+01:002010-08-08T17:41:05.021+01:00

Weak kneed and glossy eyed, I arrived at Gerry's Express after receiving a text message confirmation that my passport had arrived at the collection center, four business days ahead of the minimum time stipulated. It may be good news, my mind argued; probably is but no, what if. What if I haven't made it in? What if everything I've worked so hard for, leaves me empty, bankrolled without change?

Maryam Pirachahttps://profiles.google.com/117932036680800179456noreply@blogger.com4