MARCH 11: A HAIBUN The Ginza Line was pulling out of Ueno Station when the quake hit, jolting the train to a hard stop, then vibrating it like a car revving to free its tyres from thick mud. For the first few moments, I thought somebody must have thrown themselves under the train. It wouldn’t […]
On Sake, Dogs and Community
With a sudden tug, Henry sends a slug of sake over my hand. Blame it on the toy poodle in the distance. Or me for trying to hold a one-cup sake with his lead wrapped around my drinking hand. In fairness, it wouldn’t be a one-cup if I didn’t spill a bit. The pull-tab lids […]
The Sackings – A piece of flash fiction
The Sackings Gossip had awoken the staff room from a monotony-induced slumber. A teacher had been fired. Something to do with harassing female students during class was one of the rumors doing the rounds. Another was that he’d been caught shoplifting from 7-Eleven. Neither would have represented a first at Heartful Eikaiwa, Japan’s largest chain […]
Why I Don’t Like Anti-NaNoWriMo Snobbery
This post might well come across as grumpy. Partly, I’m blaming the weather—as I write, Tokyo is getting its first snowfall in November for 54 years, and it’s grim. Mainly, I’m blaming…well, you’ll see. I’m talking National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, and the negativity it generates with some writers. For those who don’t know […]
A Hike in the Tanzawa Range
AS DAWN APPROACHES atop Tonodake (Mount To), a chill wind whips over the exposed peak. Off to the west, Mount Fuji begins to emerge as the darkness that cups the peaks of the Tanzawa range fades to a fleeting purple hue before the rising sun changes the sky to a more familiar hazy orange. The night […]
The business of being a freelance writer in Japan, part 2
And here is the second installment of notes from my presentation for the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators on the business side of being a freelance writer in Japan (the first is here: http://www.tokyofreelance.com/the-business-of-being-a-freelance-writer-in-japan-part-1). This time, it’s about vetting clients and assignments and some general thoughts on doing the job. PART 4: VETTING CLIENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS & […]
The business of being a freelance writer in Japan, part 1
[Updated March 2022] From time to time, new writers and students get in touch to ask for advice about becoming a writer, so I thought I’d post my notes from a presentation I once did (for the Society of Writers, Editors, and Translators) on freelancing from Japan. Some of it might be useful to writers […]
More micro fiction – five new stories
A month or so ago, I posted something about micro fiction and why I’ve found myself drawn to writing it. Call this an update of sorts to share the following handful of micro fiction stories, each of which is either 50 or 100 words in length. […]
On “concrete” (or visual) haiku
It’s a funny thing sending off haiku to haiku journals. Even with the most recognized publications, the variety in the styles of poetry – and the execution of them – is extremely wide. It’s hard to know what a publication wants to receive, and both acceptance and the quality of publications feels very hit and […]
Assignment red flags and sniffing out potential deadbeats
Recently, I ditched an occasional client in relation to copyright infringement of my work. The details aren’t important here, but it did make me realize how fortunate I’ve been to have had so few deadbeat clients over the years. I’ve had some editors who have been inexperienced. Some have obviously not been the best of writers. […]