Category Archives: Writer’s Craft

Chinese Punctuation

In general, I think of myself as pretty familiar with Chinese culture. But it was not until I read a Chinese online novel in the last few years that I learnt the following (you never know what you would learn randomly with novels!): in ancient days, there was no such thing as punctuation in Chinese!Continue reading “Chinese Punctuation”

Reflection on Moonlake as a Writer- April 2020

I’m going to do another Q&A today with myself. It’s been a while since I last did a reflection on myself as a writer so it’s time for a revisit.  At what level do you assess yourself to be as a writer now? Intermediate.  Weren’t you calling yourself a beginning writer a few years ago?Continue reading “Reflection on Moonlake as a Writer- April 2020”

The Chinese influence in my Writing

Aside from the about page, I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself so let’s do this here up front. I’m a Chinese who migrated to Australia at the age of 12 after I completed primary school. Because I came from Hong Kong, I lean towards modern values (at least in gender roles and such) butContinue reading “The Chinese influence in my Writing”

Moonlake’s writing updates (9)

I felt like short and snappy today so let’s do this in Q&A format.  Where are you at overall?  I’ve finished draft 0.6.  What’s that- draft 0.6? It’s the second iteration of my decimal drafts, I started with draft 0.5.  What’s with the decimal drafts? It’s a thing to get rid of my perfectionism, tellingContinue reading “Moonlake’s writing updates (9)”

Remarkable Women in Ancient China (4)- Huang Yue Ying

Who is she: Daughter (only child) of Huang Chen Yin, an influential scholar in Jingzhou which was a big region encapsulating what are now the Hubei and Hunan provinces as well as surrounding areas (it was a rich and flourishing region where scholars thrive which was quite rare in ancient China). The Huang family wasContinue reading “Remarkable Women in Ancient China (4)- Huang Yue Ying”

Chinese Lore- A selection of Mythical Flora (2)

I usually run my Remarkable Women in ancient China (RWAC) series this month but I didn’t want a break in between the Mythical Flora series so I decided to move back the RWAC post to next month. Face Tree Physical Description: A tree with branches that sprout peach-like fruits with human faces  Lore: Another lifeformContinue reading “Chinese Lore- A selection of Mythical Flora (2)”

Tales of Inspiration (2)

Today I’m going to talk about the inspiration behind my novella A Thread of A Chance and how the external impetus+internal processing framework discussed in the first post of this series works in giving birth to this particular story.  The external impetus actually comes in two parts: the first is the anthology series I wasContinue reading “Tales of Inspiration (2)”

Chinese Lore- A selection of Mythical Flora (1)

Shadow Wood Physical Description: A tree distinguishable because in the day-time, each of its leaves has one hundred of the Chinese character that means “shadow” on it while at night its flowers will shine like stars. This tree will only bear fruit every 10 000 years. Its fruits are as large as a melon, withContinue reading “Chinese Lore- A selection of Mythical Flora (1)”

World Building: Constellation

I’ve previously listed constellations under Worldbuilding- Moonlake’s Favourite Elements. Today I want to show two snippets of my writing where constellations feature prominently.  The New Moon shone pale against the backdrop of black velvet that was the sky. In contrast, various constellations competed intensely in a race to outshine each other. In the centre ofContinue reading “World Building: Constellation”