Personal post

**Warning: this particular post may be a bit graphic for some folks.

Tonight, I can't sleep.  I feel overwhelmed and hollowed out by tragic news.  Death seems to be looming close these days to my family and although death is inevitable there are some things that just feels like your looking into the mouth of a dark abyss.  We received news from my family in Mexico that a body found of a 14-year old girl was in fact a cousin.  The DNA results have taken months to come back to confirm this.  The state that her body was found made it impossible for her mother to identify her.  You see, she was beheaded and her body was stabbed and mutilated.  People in the town have an idea of the man who did this to her but the family has been warned not to speak up, not to speak out otherwise her remaining daughters would come to the same end.  So much violence in this world against women.  It makes me angry to the very core of my being.

You see, this man is very well connected and therefore protected.  She was last seen getting into his vehicle before she went missing.  Weeks later they found her body.  Months later her identity confirmed through DNA testing.  Her best friend met the same fate because she went along with my cousin.  How harmless would getting a lift from a guy they knew be?

I haven't used their names to allow my family some level of privacy.  But I wanted to tell folks out there about these two young 14-year old girls whose lives were cut tragically short.  Even as I write these words out I know it's not enough.  May their souls rest in peace. ~


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Appetite

You pass against the widening current

anticipate being swept up and captured

whirlpool of consumption, money makes

the world go round, boil over with hungry

empty mouths, yearn to be made whole

with one more item added to the collection

to separate yourself further from the sump

of destitution, you long to be complete.



All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

     In the past I have been very good at bitching and moaning about the writing process. In fact, I think I have complaining down to a competitive sport. And I was going to turn it around and be more positive, or at the very least not spend so much time on my blog whinging about writing. Of course, without the license to gripe my entries started to dwindle just a wee bit.
     Before I went home Tony sent me an e-mail of his latest creation, a fantastic artistic piece of Sedna. Strong pencil work of the face and the piece actually inspired me to work on my writing. I guess seeing how diligent he’s been working despite some setbacks gave me a jolt. All Tony ever does is work and despite his frustrations he just keeps his head down and keeps putting the time and effort into his Art. I haven’t been so diligent and I let things slide for one too many days. Then a week passes and I wonder why I’m so cranky and out of sorts.
     So last night, I went to my writing desk and sat there for almost an hour just to write up 600 measly words…and it was tedious and frustrating. I may as well have been getting my wisdom teeth removed, that would have been infinitely more gratifying in comparison to how well the writing was going. As I sat there feeling thoroughly dejected, I was going to get up to do something else, ANYTHING else but something was bubbling up and a part of me didn’t want to give up just yet. I told myself, just write one more line and see how that goes. And that’s when it happened, the words started to pour out onto the page. I could barely keep up. One line turned into 1,000 more words AND I finally got the breakthrough on how this story is going to end. I’ve had the most difficult time imagining where this story was heading and how I could possibly bring it to a close but last night…the arrows started to point down a clear path. Brilliant! Now I’m just hoping it works.
     Having the end in the near distance is motivating me to work every night this week. No drinks with friends, no distractions, just some quality alone time with my noisy laptop. (Which reminds me, I have got to change that fan. But not before I finish this novel and not before I’ve backed everything up twice.) Needless to say, I am pleased. It means that I will have a finished first draft before the end of the month. And I can put it in a drawer and let it marinate for 4 to 6 weeks. Get some distance so that I can come to the manuscript with fresh eyes. I already know the whole first section needs to be revised to make some logistical sense of the technology and time frame. That’s the minor stuff. I also know that I have to flesh out a few characters but that will happen as I get the story arc past the finishing line. Then I can start bringing sections of it to my writing group after I’ve made those initial revisions. Very exciting indeed!
     The day is bright and cold but the work is humming along. Yay!!

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.