I should be working on The Guy from the Bakery. Yep, that’s the “multicultural or not” romance mentioned in February’s interview with Romance Lives Forever. The outline has been first-drafted, which is only a stone’s throw from having the first draft actually done, right? Right? (Haha, nope.)

Admittedly, I’ve been having trouble getting lost in fictional worlds since “Park” came out. With headlines about the war in Ukraine, the flooding in Australia’s north east and other such turmoils, writing and reading romances — however comforting — seems to leave room for a gnawing uncertainty pacified only by donating to relief funds, having nuanced conversations (the kind you don’t find on social media), and ticking small tasks off my todo list.

Oh, one thing I’ve also done, which is saving my head and heart a lot of extra pain right now, has been to get selective about my news sources. Instead of relying on Twitter’s and Facebook’s news algorithms, I choose reputable news sites to follow directly.

And wow, what a difference it makes to get updates from publications that buck the trend of writing emotional/clickbait headlines or articles. I don’t feel like I’m being constantly punched in the chest by what I read. I feel informed instead of defeated.

Hopefully this translates to productive writing in the near future, assuming the next headline-worthy event doesn’t stop it from happening.