We’re all familiar with the adage that we are what we eat. Especially with children, the food we intake makes us who we are, builds us, helps us grow up to be adults. I believe the same applies to what we read. The words we intake help to build us, as well. New ideas, new…
Finding Serenity in Chaos [Mental Health]
Without a doubt, the world is a crazy place. Even taking politics and social unrest out of the equation, our lives can sometimes feel like they’re out of control and we’re simply hanging on by our fingertips. We’ve all felt like we’re being tossed about in a turbulent sea, but there are also times when…
How Real Does Fiction Need to Be? [Writing]
I’ve noticed there are times when I’m reading a short story or novel and come upon a section that, in my mind, seems too unrealistic. It’s like hitting a speed bump in your car. It’s jolting and can take you out of the story. But other times I can read a piece of fiction, something…
Review – Best Japanese Sci-Fi [Books]
In my never-ending quest to read a wide variety of fiction from around the world, I discovered a great collection of Japanese science fiction: The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories. Well, the cover says it’s a science-fiction collection, but it’s arguably more speculative than science. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I love speculative…
A Cut Up Poem [Poetry]
The Beat Generation writer, Williams S. Burroughs, was known for his experimentation with text. One of his more interesting exercises was creating cut-up prose and poetry. Basically, he would take a page of text, cut it up with scissors, then rearrange it into something new. On the surface it looks like a simple repurposing of…
Stimulating Your Creativity [Creativity]
Sometimes we can get into a rut and find it difficult to be creative. For example, I sometimes have the urge to write, but when I sit down at my keyboard I find there aren’t any words. I simply can’t get started. What I’ve learned is that I occasionally have to stimulate my creativity. Sort…
Another Way To Look At Mistakes [Creativity]
I don’t make mistakes when I write. I make spontaneous creative decisions. At least, that’s what I like to tell myself. We all make mistakes when we write or work on a creative project. Typos, grammatical errors, mistyping a character’s name, or even letting the narrative wander off into the weeds. My question is: are…
Bidding Farewell to 2021
Wow, two weird years in a row. It feels like 2020 and 2021 sort of blended together, one being the continuation of the other. At least this year we had a vaccine to help differentiate it from its predecessor. Personally, it was a year of big change. There were some deaths in the family, new…
Cookbook Roundup! [Cooking]
Despite the disproportionate number of recipe blogs that pop up in my search suggestions, I’m still a fan of the traditional cookbook. In fact, I have about thirty or so lining a couple of bookshelves in my kitchen. Yes, I have a bookcase in my kitchen. And in my living room. And bedroom. And home…
Daily Writing Goals [Writing]
Is it useful to set a daily writing goal for yourself? I’ve been giving this question some thought lately. I’ve read that many published authors set a daily number-based writing goal for themselves. For example, they push themselves to write four thousand words a day, and they can’t stop until they hit that mark. Doesn’t…