New Projects

Edinburgh is a writer’s paradise — UNESCO city of literature, home of Robert Burns and Walter Scott, and the biggest book festival in the world. Writing groups meet weekly to discuss fiction and diction, plotlines and passages. And for every organized group, there are dozens of writers plugging away on their own, wrestling with words to give shape to the worlds inside their heads.

It can also be one of the most stifling places to be a writer. The creative hum of the city – writing, theatre, art and music – can very quickly turn from a complementary force to a hostile one; the multitude of creative voices converge into a stream of white noise that breaks your concentration and makes you question your talents.

There have been many times in the past six months where I have sat down to write, only to be dissatisfied with the process, the words and the outcome. The result has been silence, at a time when I crave the ability to express and articulate the experiences I’ve had while living abroad.

I think it’s something about this space that gives me difficulty. The parameters of a blog are too restrictive for me. I can’t get comfortable enough to express myself in the way I want.

Once I have the opportunity, I will be transforming this space into something that facilitates rather than restricts my creative expression.

In the meantime, I am finding other avenues for my writing. I have a forthcoming article about my life in Edinburgh for Torch, UVic’s alumni magazine, and I am preparing to write a travel article about my forthcoming trip to Iceland. I’ll provide links to these articles once they’re published.

In other news, I am diving head-first into my love affair with photography. My primary interest is nature and landscapes, as well as live concerts. I’ve done a few experimental shoots with a homemade lightbox, and would like to try my hand at portraits next. You can check out my growing portfolio on Flickr.