November 11, 2015

Draft 2 of TUBE is done! 10 things it taught me.

"The train was watching Olesya undress. She thought it shuddered under the carpet, thick purple carpet, felt the shudder through the soles of her shoes, new flats acquired for the tour in a boutique on Tverskaya, a red lacquer pair that cost half of her principal dancer salary, but it was worth it, dammit, it was worth it to spend—"

THIS IS THE NEW OPENING AND I ALREADY WANT TO FIX IT BUT I'LL WAIT.

I finished Draft 2 of TUBE yesterday! You can read the whole damn thing here! And send me messages like "It sucked!" or "I love it!" But you already know this as I'd shouted about it from every rooftop, albeit being half-dead whilst at it. Consider this an in-depth shout with a story of how this draft came to life over 4 months, the longest time I've ever spent on a draft to date in the 3 years I've been writing, and the things it has taught me.

July 20, 2015

TUBE excerpt. Draft 2. Chapter 1. Red Shoes

by Ksenia Anske

I have completely forgotten about my tradition to post the first chapter of a new draft here. It tells you how much this book has pulled me away from reality. This, and the fact that I haven't blogged in a week. That's unheard of.

Like I mentioned already, something new is happening. My process is changing. Also, my daily routine is changing. Now in the mornings, before I start writing, I go over the list of new words that have accumulated from yesterday's reading, and look up their meanings in Russian, English, their etymology and, if applicable, images. As a result my ability to absorb new vocabulary has accelerated. I have also created 24 little files for every character, and am populating each with specific speech inflections to keep track of (and translating tons of idioms from Russian to English). This is also new and takes up time.

May 6, 2015

TUBE, Draft 1 is done. Here is an excerpt.

by Ksenia Anske

Wow. What a ride. This story started when I won the Amtrak Residency and carelessly decided I would write a book about a train. A train that kills ballerinas. For no reasons. Or so I thought. Turns out, this book has uncovered some deep shit and shaken me up pretty well. Oy. I finished the first draft today, and per my tradition here is the first chapter for you. If you want to beta read the whole thing, here is the PDF file, or email me for the Word file.

I'm taking a couple weeks or more off to dive into prepping for publishing The Badlings and Blue Sparrow 2. I know you're been patiently waiting. Thank you! Soon, soon. May should be it. I don't think it will stretch into June.

And here is the excerpt.

TUBE: Trans-Urban Blitz-Express

A novel by Ksenia Anske, Draft 1

Chapter 1. The Red Shoe

Olesya heard the train breathe in. A deep slow inhale and a shudder. A tremor. A rumble of living fabric under her feet. A dragging laborious stretch, confined, alive and—

In pain. It’s in pain.

March 14, 2015

My Amtrak Residency starts this Monday!

by Ksenia Anske

It's here! It's here! Can you believe it?? Pinch me. This Monday I'm hopping on the train and heading to Chicago, then to LA via Texas and all the way back to Seattle again, spending a total of 2 weeks in my own private roomette writing my sorry ass off and staring out the window. Well, I hope more writing will happen than staring, as my goal is to start and compete the 1st draft of Tube by the time I'm back.

Here is what to expect.

December 7, 2014

My Amtrak residency itinerary is here!

by Ksenia Anske

I'm so excited! As you know, I have been selected as one of the 24 finalists to take a ride on the Amtrak train as part of the Amtrak Residency, a wonderful that's been born on Twitter from a couple writers asking Amtrak about the possibility of such a thing. So, a few writers have already completed their adventures. First was Bill Willingham (read about his trip here), next was Jennifer Boylan (read about her trip here), and after that Marianne Kirby (her adventures here). I'm not sure who is next, but I'm going in March, and here is my itinerary:

Depart SEA – CHI on March 16 on train 8 Empire Builder (arrive in CHI on March 18)
Depart CHI – LAX on March 20 on train 421 Texas Eagle(arrive in LAX on March 23)
Depart LAX – CHI on March 25 on train 422 Texas Eagle(arrive in CHI on March 28)
Depart CHI – SEA on March 29 on train 7 Empire Builder (arrive in SEA on March 31)