I’ve been going through a “Let’s write about robots” phase. I really enjoy writing about robots. However, surely I’m not the only writer to fantasise about getting a robot to do my writing for...
Read MoreDJing on the wheels of steel at the Brimbank Literary Festival. Kind of.
In what is probably my last festival gig for the year, I’m going to be speaking at the Brimbank Literary Festival. This festival goes from 13-24 September and it has some good events in the program. The ones that especially caught my eye: Ana Kokkinos featuring in the opening event and a narrative in comics workshop. (In case you don’t know,...
Read More‘A’ is also for ‘Apps’
Last week saw the release of two iPhone Apps that I’m associated with. It’s literature, but not as we know it. (Not that I ever knew literature very well, really.) One of the apps is by the crew from Sleepers Publishing. They’ve released a Sleepers Publishing app. Because I was published in a Sleepers Almanac a few years ago, two of my...
Read MoreOver-reaching
Well, I have finally finished a draft of the first piece that I’ve written for my new book. Oh, it was such a difficult piece to write. I feel embarrassed that it took me so long to write it, but I have also learned so much from writing it. I also reckon that what I was trying to do has a pretty high level of difficulty. It was one of those...
Read MoreIt’s my pity party and I’ll cry if I want to
Currently struggling with writing the ending of this story. Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You” is my mournful...
Read MorePublishing… The Whole Shebang
Oops. I forgot to mention here that I’m speaking at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival tomorrow. (It wasn’t part of a prank – I genuinely forgot.) I’ll be speaking for half an hour about applying for arts funding. Here are some details for the event: Publishing… The Whole Shebang A day-long overview of the complete spectrum...
Read MoreGetting closer
I’ve written 3605 words so far for this story, the first one in the new book. It is certainly one of the most difficult pieces I’ve ever written. I should have noticed a red flag of warning when I began reading all those articles about the indescribability of God. Oh well. Anyway, today, I think I finally finished one of the really pivotal...
Read MoreEver had a really ambitious idea for a book?
Tom Cho 曹勵善 on X (formerly Twitter): “Sick of struggling with this short story but then… it’s really hard to describe God. At any rate, my mission today: to get closer to God. / X” Sick of struggling with this short story but then… it’s really hard to describe God. At any rate, my mission today: to get closer to God....
Read MoreByron Bay Writers Festival (the short-short version)
I’ve been so busy getting ready to move house that I forgot to mention – I’m going to the Byron Bay Writers Festival. I was initially scheduled to appear on panels on Friday 6 August and Saturday 7 August, but house moving has unfortunately interfered with that. However, I will be going up for the Friday of the festival. Here’s...
Read MoreI’m Chinese-Australian but…
Jose Borghino recently wrote a review of Wordlines, a new anthology of Australian writing edited by Hilary McPhee. I read this review today. Admittedly, I was reading the review with some self-interest because I have some pieces in this anthology (and, as it turns out, Borghino said something nice about them too: “Tom Cho’s surreal and...
Read MoreAn imaginary Q&A
About a week ago, I was asked – along with some other authors – to respond to an interview question for a feature story in the A2 section of The Age. The question was: “What question or questions do journalists never ask you, and what would your answer be?” I don’t know if my response (which was a little off-beat) ever made it...
Read MoreMy Yes function
Doing some research for this story I’m working on. This is from William James’ (1960) The Varieties of Religious Experience. James is discussing different mystical states of consciousness and he notes the intoxicating effects of alcohol: The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of...
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