GRWM— featuring Steve Chang
Issue #16
GRWM (Get Ready With Me) is a new (and dare I say sexy!) segment where I'll be interviewing writers retro-style-- cute little questionnaires about what writers are wearing, listening to, snacking on, etc. We want to know what they're into and what gives them the ick. We want writing prompts based on their books. We want to know their favorite song, the worst writing advice they've ever received, and you better believe we want to know their brunch order.
It's time to stop asking writers the same boring questions and start getting REAL.
We Love a List ♡︎
5 books that are in your TBR (to-be-read) pile
I’ve been trying to read Ligotti’s Songs of a Dead Dreamer since last April but this dude on the cover started looking more and more like Drake over time. And that became its own horror story. So I had to stop.
I have a stack of Mary Robison lined up. I love the Lish writers. I love all the Marys. If you can name a Mary, I can probably like her.
Miranda July, All Fours. I first read her work in Zoetrope, in an issue with another great Mary—Zoetrope was on an epic run back then—and that piece was so special at the time. Odd, twee, vulnerable. I liked that sort of tenderness. Wes Anderson. A Softer World. Pooping back and forth, forever. Yes, I am a sensitive soul. More recently, I enjoyed “The Metal Bowl” so I’m looking forward to a darker and weirder July.
Ha Seong-nan, Wafers, and Bora Chung, Your Utopia. If you know Okay Donkey, it’s obvious I like off-kilter fiction. And Chung and Ha are great at making it socially conscious. Or even—o no—political. More American writers should check them out.
Top 3 fave restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley
I wanted to share some good spots but this is what I actually crave:
Sun Nong Dan: The soul of Korean food is soup. And K-town is far. So I hit the San Gabriel spot for soup specials from 6-10:30am. Try dogani-tang for milky bone broth and slippery collagen bites. (Yes, season it, bro.) Or do the yukgaejang for a classic savory red slurp. The kimchi’s great too unless you like it ancient and sour. Open 24 hours.
Moffett's Family Restaurant & Chicken Pie Shoppe: Sometimes the soul craves some mushy food and a root beer float.
El Super Burrito Junior: Ironically, the burritos are not that super. But they have menudo every single day.
Email, text, or phone call?
Email for business, text for jokes, and calls for presence and clarity. I like intimacy now cuz I’m old and lonely. I avoided talking on the phone for years but texting kind of sucks. We don’t talk, we reply. We get roped in. It’s a chore. I like listening. I don’t wanna care about Responses.
A book from high school that you loved
Why read when you could get stoned and play Nintendo 64?
A book from high school that you hated
I didn’t hate any books back then! But I hate most books now. Back then, if I didn’t like something, I just figured I didn’t get it. That was probably wiser. Now, I read books the way I read slush: for an exit. It’s a problem.
Favorite city in the world
I have to rep the SGV of course but the #1 city in the world is Busan. If you need to know why, don’t worry about it. Just go to Seoul and leave us alone.
One piece of writing from Okay Donkey that knocked your socks off lately
We have some pieces scheduled for this summer that just—something really magical happened in revision. These writers were hammering, discovering, getting pissed then breaking through, etc. That shit was alchemy. And I love to facilitate. I can’t name names but when you read what I’m describing, you’ll know.
3 pantry staples you can’t live without
I dunno what a pantry staple is but…
The red hot champ. For after a long night of anything. You might be tempted to ‘upgrade’ to Shin Ramyun Black but don’t. These are the standard for a reason. The packs are fine but the cup noodles have another texture: either way, do a slice of American cheese and a drizzle of sesame oil. Top with chopped green onion.
Never seen this before? Your Asian friends probably hate you. Ha ha j/k I dunno. Go ask them. Thin rice noodles in a mildly peppery broth. Punch it up with chili oil, tons of white pepper, a poached egg, and some cooked green onion. Yum yum!
I used to stack Nerds Gummy Clusters but I almost choked to death on Nerds in March. That was like my 3rd time.
Fuck, Marry, Kill: Plot, Setting, Character
Kill setting. I think of Beckett and the barrenness of a spotlight and stage. What do we actually need for drama?
Marry character: I fall in love with a point of view like 5 times a day. A voice. I am very tender and romantic.
Fuck plot: Plot is fun and useful but ultimately it’s just a vehicle. It’s necessary sometimes but what we remember is vibe, moments, details, lines, etc. There’s an Amy Hempel quote about this, kinda. “I had my own bed. I slept in it alone, except for those times when we needed—not sex—but sex was how we got there.” I checked that quote on Google. I’m not getting up for the book.
Don’t Miss This!
How To Never Run Out of Essay Ideas with Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
Date: Tuesday, July 8
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM (EST)
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Live on Zoom
Have a biweekly newsletter that's losing steam? Itching to pitch but fresh out of exciting ideas?
This workshop is designed to give you the tools to find inspiration for creative nonfiction even when you think the well is dry (spoiler alert: the well is never dry). Through readings of unconventional essays and prompts designed to help you pull inspiration from unexpected places, I'll give you the tools, confidence, and discipline to keep finding things to meaningfully write about from your everyday life, memories, and environment.
I bring knowledge and experience to this workshop from my combined career as a freelance writer pitching personal essays for over a decade as well as half a decade as a magazine editor on the other side of the pitching and essay development process. Throughout the years, I have often had to maintain consistent essay output as part of my literal job, so I couldn't afford to run out of ideas. This workshop is crafted from the various challenges of those experiences and how I eventually overcame them.
What you will learn
The "anti-rules" of essay writing
How to develop easy, organic practices for collecting potential essay ideas
How to answer the question: "is this an essay?"
How to experiment with form in essay writing
How to pull inspiration for essays from unexpected places (including fiction!)
How to NEVER RUN OUT OF ESSAY IDEAS
Course Takeaways
Early, nascent drafts of SEVERAL essays
Practical tips and tools for never-ending essay idea generation
An expansive understand of what essays are and can do
Take-home revision prompts to build upon the writing done in class
Additional info
If you can't attend this class live, it will be recorded! Students will receive a recording the day after the class, and it will be available for 30 days.
What a super fun interview format! Thank you!
wait i've been doing the Shin Ramyun PACKS! need to do the cup!! I mix an egg in but gotta try the cheese. & Lit Match Collective sounds so valuable and cool!