I’m leaving @the-vcca.bsky.social feeling greedy for more—more time and space, more candid advice from those who have gone through the publishing journey.

As Robin Tewes used to tell her students: If it feels hard, you’re learning something.

I must be learning a lot.
#vccafellow #writingresidency

Six days ago, I arrived for my first writing residency at @the-vcca.bsky.social. Grateful to be part of this community that has shown me a different way of living and creating. #vccafellow #memoirwriting #writing #writingresidency

Long before I landed @aliciabrooks.bsky.social as my agent, I applied to writing residencies. Every application required sample pages. What I churned out was rough, but at least the deadlines got me started. I’m delighted to say I’ll be heading to @the-vcca.bsky.social this summer as a #VCCAFellow!

Within months, Bedford would be gone. A few months later, I would transfer those iPhone notes into a Google doc and keep writing until I finished a draft.

As my amazing agent @aliciabrooks finds the right home for my book, I’m reminded (and still heartbroken over) how fleeting a year can be.

“How did you start writing your book?”

A year ago, I sat on these Adirondack chairs unaware that Bedford’s limp was due to bone cancer. I read in this chair while Bedford rested. When I finished my book, I started jotting down memories in the Notes app. Within months, Bedford would be gone.

I never got a chance to enjoy the community aspect of Nanowrimo so I’m a bit disappointed to hear that the site is shutting down… but I’ll always be grateful for the role that it played in tracking my progress and celebrating milestones along the way.

I’ve attempted #Nanowrimo many times over the past decade and always stopped around 10K words. I logged back in last June and used the tracker to help me hit my goal of 50K words, then 60K. I stopped tracking after that, and my memoir ended up at more than 88K.

Eight months ago, I said goodbye to Bedford, my 11-year-old dog. I ended up channeling my grief into a memoir about my father who died in 2014. I recently stumbled on this “manuscript” from high school. My teenage self can’t believe I’m represented by Alicia Brooks at Martin Literary Management!

Thanks to @goldhouseco.bsky.social for inviting me to tonight’s reception honoring filmmaker Elizabeth Lo. Not only was it a treat to meet Elizabeth and the MISTRESS DISPELLER team, I loved hearing SFFilm’s Penelope Wong remind us why these voices matter now more than ever.

As the window for recording oral histories narrows, I’m so grateful for all the people who have shared their memories of using my father’s dictionary and other language books to learn English. While filling in the gaps, I’d love to collect more memories of growing up in #Taiwan in the ‘50s-‘70s. TY!

Kicking off 2025 by finishing my first MasterClass by the incomparable @amytan.bsky.social. She is why I believed that I could ever become a writer. I especially loved the part where she shared some rejection letters with the reminder that they aren’t “a rejection of who you are.”

Just finished @mjuhae.bsky.social ‘s brilliant memoir about her grandfather Lee Chul Ha who was imprisoned in 1929 for protesting Japan’s colonization of Korea; decades later, he was posthumously recognized as a patriot of S. Korea. Surreal to now see the headlines out of S. Korea over the last 24h…

Loved returning to Evanston for our 20th #NUReunion (and my first time on campus since graduating). From visiting our freshman dorm to chatting on the Lakefill, the weekend felt like old times. Grateful for lifelong friendships and all the doors opened by being a @medillschool.bsky.social alum!