Lately I’ve been working virtually non-stop on a short story about a high school kid with cerebral palsy who struggles to find his authentic voice in the world, despite his Othello complex. When he sees similar reality-warping insecurities in a beautiful young lady, he realizes he’s not alone in the world.

I’ve been scrutinizing every word to get it in tip top shape for a writing contest. And shout out to Kevin Sterne for critiquing this story! He’s given me so many helpful and specific tips on what to do to hone in on my themes.

In this particular contest I’ve made it into the top 50 for the past two years, and so has my entire writing group (whoop whoop!) so I’m hoping to make it again.

The sound track for this story has been James Morrison, one of my favorite musicians. His voice is absolutely incredible. This video really carries those high school themes:

I would be that Asian girl…because I’m Asian…or half Asian anyway…picking the gum off the chair and sticking it in her mouth. Or maybe I’d be the girl sitting on the sidelines wishing I could jump rope like that. Or both.

I’ve been working on some James Morrison covers and have been threatening to post them here, so I recorded them for you this afternoon…same setup with the iPod in the kitchen and crummy sound: