Writing | adriana rambay fernández

Writing from the sky

Take to the sky on a helicopter ride for some writing inspiration. When I did a few months ago, I experienced awe and excitement at incredible heights. My mind’s eye took in the expansiveness of the New York City area as the helicopter made its way up the Hudson River. I took the excursion on a beautiful, sunny day when the views were crisp and clear. Tall buildings multiplied into small squares, trees resembled bushes, and the Statue of Liberty […]

Categories: Jersey City, Travel, Writing • Tags: Creativity, Helicopter, Inspiration, Jersey City, Urban landscape, Writing

Capturing loss and uncertainty

*** by Adriana

Through words, film, and artwork, the play “Dissecting Lily,” captures the sense of loss and uncertainty that invades a community after a teenage suicide. A fellow classmate—somewhat obsessed with her—interviews friends and family in an effort to make a tribute video. Along the way, details begin to unfold, and the scenes begin to unlock the mystery behind her death. Footage of Lily during and in between the scenes reveals more pieces of the puzzle including a surprise turn at the […]

Categories: Jersey City, Performance, Writing • Tags: Collaboration, Dissecting Lily, Jersey City, Jersey City Writers, Performance, Play, StageFEST, Suicide, Theater, Writing

On love, days later

*** by Adriana

What happens when you peel back the layers of long-lasting love? What do you find when you step outside of the experience of love and examine it from a distance? What does it look like from the sky? When I read Pablo Neruda’s “100 Love Sonnets: Cien sonetos de amor,” I get the feeling that he traveled to the depths of his soul and to the ends of space as he explored his feelings on love writing to his muse, […]

Categories: Poetry, Reading, Writing • Tags: Cien sonetos de amor, Inspiration, Love, Pablo Neruda, Poetry, Sonnets, Writing

Self-publish in 2014

*** by Adriana

We are nearing the end of January where promises, resolutions, and grand wishes tend to wash away with the melting snow. If you haven’t already pursued your resolutions with vigor in the first three weeks, starting something new now may be an uphill battle. Research reveals that it takes at least 21 days to form a new habit but it could take longer if that habit has any degree of complexity. That resolution could also be a goal that requires […]

Categories: Dominican Republic, Writing • Tags: Dominican Republic, Resolutions, Self-publish, Storytelling, Writing

Where a graffiti astronaut roams

*** by Adriana

I ran into one of my characters from a short story on a walk through downtown Jersey City not too long ago. He stood still at the corner of Second and Hudson Street. Despite his steely silence, he spoke to me from the words and letters painted on his torso. This wasn’t your average José, this was a character that had once been written about in the New York Times. In that 2001 article, he is described as a “Man […]

Categories: Art, Jersey City, Writing • Tags: Art, Fiction, Graffiti, Jersey City, Sculpture, Travel, Urban hiking, Urban landscape, Writing

Take a pen to the past

*** by Adriana

I think I may have found a way to cure my fear of spiders. It involves writing about the past to unlock when I first developed the phobia and to explore what types of emotions came up at the time. Then, I edit my perception of those experiences so that I create a new narrative—one where I feel empowered, perhaps see the spider as a friend, or as a creature that can bestow upon me special powers such as super […]

Categories: Healing, Writing • Tags: emotional writing, expressive writing, Healing, Story editing, Writing

Resolve to read more fiction

*** by Adriana

Reading fiction is good for you. At least according to research conducted by psychologists at the New School of Social Research. While you aren’t likely to lose 10 pounds or eat fewer sweets by reading fiction, apparently you will become a better person and be more empathetic towards others. According to an article published in the Guardian, psychologists David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano, “proved that reading literary fiction enhances the ability to detect and understand other people’s emotions, a crucial […]

Categories: Fiction, Reading, Writing • Tags: Fiction, Reading, Resolutions, Social Media, Writing

Characters drawn in graffiti

*** by Adriana

By the time we arrived at the road named after Juan Montalvo, a famous Ecuadorian author and essayist, the dawn’s mountain mist had given way to gray morning light. The streets in Baños, Ecuador were mostly empty and quiet that Sunday morning as my husband and I made our way to the thermal pools. Without a map or a guide, our desire to get to the healing mineral baths served as our compass. We headed in the wrong direction at […]

Categories: Art, Ecuador, Travel, Writing • Tags: Banos, Ecuador, Graffiti, Hiking, Inspiration, Street art, Travel, Writing

When art inspires writing

*** by Adriana

When I arrived at the cold, corporate lobby at the corner of Greene Street and Christopher Columbus, I didn’t expect to see the Jersey City sky I am so often mesmerized by at sunset. But there it was painted onto a 30×40 inch canvas in brilliant hues of purple, red, and orange. There were gorgeous clouds that loomed above shadowy trees and a house – the sky visible in its windows. I stopped in front of the painting thinking, “I […]

Categories: Art, Writing • Tags: Art, Inspiration, Jersey City, Writing

adriana rambay fernández

writer poet artist

Category Archives: Writing

Writing from the sky

Capturing loss and uncertainty

On love, days later

Self-publish in 2014

Where a graffiti astronaut roams

Take a pen to the past

Characters drawn in graffiti

When art inspires writing