Menyambut 2023

January 8, 2023 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 4 Comments

Halo.

Jujur, aneh rasanya membuka blog ini lagi setelah sekian lama vakum posting. Bagaimana tidak? Terakhir kali ada tanda-tanda kehidupan di blog ini, ya sekitar setahun yang lalu. Kalau ditanya apakah masih ada pembaca yang mau membaca ocehanku di sini, aku juga kayaknya nggak bisa jawab.

Tahun sudah berganti, dan berhubung banyak banget teman-teman pembaca yang DM aku di Instagram dan nanyain kabarku: kabarku baik.

Tahun lalu mungkin nggak sepenuhnya berjalan dengan lancar; aku sama sekali nggak produktif nulis, sempat stress juga dengan kerjaan kantor yang berubah drastis karena akunya dipindahtugaskan, dan masih banyak lagi kejadian-kejadian yang lumayan membuat pusing. Tapi aku masih di sini—masih hidup (untungnya), masih berjuang, dan masih mencoba menulis meski banyak banget halangannya.

Continue reading →

Perihal Rasa Malas

January 7, 2022 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 6 Comments

Belakangan ini, saya lagi nggak mood nulis.

Kalau ditanya kenapa, alasannya banyak: kerjaan yang menggunung, baju kotor yang menunggu dicuci, bahan makanan yang menanti dimasak. Kalau saya diberi waktu untuk menjelaskan kenapa saya nggak mood nulis, saya rasa saya bisa menghabiskan setengah jam sendiri untuk mencoba menjelaskannya.

Tapi, terlepas dari jawaban yang keluar dari mulut saya, alasan yang sebenarnya ternyata jauh lebih sederhana dari yang orang-orang pikirkan: saya malas.

Malas apa? Ya malas menulis. Malas memikirkan premis cerita baru. Malas menjalani proses riset yang bukan main panjangnya. Malas merunutkan ide dan adegan cerita. Malas menghabiskan cuti untuk menulis draf satu naskah. Malas melakukan swasunting. Malas mengirimkan naskah ke penerbit. Malas menunggu catatan revisi dari editor. Malas menentukan judul, menulis blurb buku, dan malas berdiskusi panjang untuk menentukan konsep desain sampul buku.

Continue reading →

Acknowledgements (Polaris Musim Dingin)

March 7, 2020March 1, 2020 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ Leave a comment

I somehow made it like a trend not to include the acknowledgements page in my recent books. There is a valid reasoning for that, however, in case anyone thinks that I simply don’t have anyone to thank for. On the contrary, I would much rather post the acknowledgements on my blog instead, out of time (and space) constraints.

In any case, I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following individuals for their gallant contributions toward the completion of Polaris Music Dingin.

Continue reading →

What My Ideal Writing Day Looks Like

September 28, 2019September 26, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 2 Comments

My ideal writing day starts at 7 in the morning, and usually happens only during the weekends.

The morning routine is not that complicated; I usually wash my face and brush my teeth, apply a light toner and moisturizer to my face, and check my phone for messages as I boil some hot water for my morning caffeine fix.

Continue reading →

Writing Slump

July 20, 2019July 19, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ Leave a comment

I don’t really feel like writing today. And that is okay.

You see, the thing with having a hobby is that, people start to think that we would enjoy doing it every day and every second of our lives, which is just wrong.

Of course there are days when I dread the very thought of having to write something on my blog. Of course there are days when I don’t want to write for prompts for my followers on Instagram. It just happens, and that’s just the way it is.

Continue reading →

Of Crippling Fear and Becoming a Published Author

June 1, 2019May 28, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ Leave a comment

Fear is a language everybody speaks. It lingers like a silent whisper in the middle of the night that keeps you awake until daybreak. It awaits in ambush for your vulnerable moments, and hunts you down whenever the chance for first strike arrives. My whole life—I’ve been afraid of so many frivolous things that it starts inhibiting my movement. Like a horse ready to gallop, but weighed down by the emotional wagon it has to pull around.

crippling fear — Photo by Melanie Wasser on Unsplash

Continue reading →

9 Things to Do Before Starting on a Novel Project

May 11, 2019May 9, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 3 Comments

If you’ve been following me on Instagram lately, you’ll know that I’m currently planning for my next novel project.

It’s a long time coming project, since the last time I published a novel was at the end of 2017—I couldn’t even remember how many times readers and my editor had asked me if I was working on my next book.

Writing a novel is always hard. It doesn’t matter if I’ve done it in a short amount of time; I still shudder in fear whenever I think of the days I’ll spend getting stuck on a nasty writer’s block, trying my best to finish just one last scene before grabbing dinner to-go.

Scared as I was, I kept on trodding the uncertainty of “starting a brand new novel project”. And although it took me quite a while to gather my ideas and build up excitement for the project, I currently feel like I’m ready to start writing it.

Continue reading →

30 Ideas to Go on Your Own Artist Date

April 6, 2019April 5, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 5 Comments

If you’re a writer, or an artist in general, it’s imperative that you take care of yourselves from time to time.

I’ve talked about how you could decompress during a busy week, which are the small things you could do every single day to keep your stress levels in check. I’ve also talked about going on a writer’s retreat from time to time to recharge your creativity.

recharge artist date ideas — Photo by bruce mars from Pexels

But what about the in-betweens? You might not have the luxury to afford a writing retreat, and you might already have been doing all the decompression methods I’ve talked about, but you still feel burnt out at the end of each week. Take a step back; it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. Calm down. Take a deep breath. We’ve got this.

Continue reading →

Writing Spot Review: Fillmore Coffee

March 23, 2019March 22, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 3 Comments

I’ve talked about this place almost devoutly for months, but in case you didn’t know, Fillmore Coffee has got to be one of my favorite places in Jakarta, period.

There’s just something from the cafe’s relatively hidden location, the decor, and the ambience that appeal to me. The inclusion of ivy on the front window, for example, gave the place an almost rustic feel that I absolutely adore.

In any case, Fillmore Coffee is definitely a place I’d definitely return to from time to time, not only because it is a fantastic writing spot, but also because it’s a great cafe in general.

Writing Spot Review: TOSKA, Jakarta

March 9, 2019March 8, 2019 ~ Alicia Lidwina ~ 2 Comments

When it comes to securing a productive weekend, nothing really beats finding the nearest cafe to your house, plugging in your laptop, ordering a few snacks, and just start working. Since I live in West Jakarta, TOSKA provides almost everything I could ask for a writing spot.

As far as I know, TOSKA strives to serve only vegan food to their customers, so even their main dishes (pasta, fried rice, etc.) are all served using vegan ingredients. If you’re a vegan, then you will most likely appreciate this initiative, since there’s not a lot of vegan options to dine in Jakarta.

However, even if you’re not vegan, like me, I reckon you will still enjoy yourselves working in this little cafe. If not because of their surprisingly tasty delicacies, then at the very least, for the sheer comfort this place could give as a writing spot.

Continue reading →