Read this on galpod.com. *Note: I'm not in any way condoning the myth of left-brain and right-brain. This is NOT what this post is about. So, the good news is that I've finished the first draft of the academic paper I've been working on. It's sent. It's out of my hands for at least a few weeks until I get feedback from my co-authors. I was all set to hit the fiction writing again. I've been moaning and moaning about how I want to be back to writing fiction again. And last wee

Read this on galpod.com. I read a fantastic post from James Clear a few weeks ago. He quoted Ira Glass (see picture), who said that there's a phase in the artistic process. During this phase, you notice all the ways in which your creations are not as good as others. This quote made me feel both hopeful and despondent at the same time, which is a paradox. But if anyone can create paradoxes, it's Ira Glass, right? I feel hopeful because it's just a phase. And also, it's not jus

Read this on galpod.com. Yesterday I took a day off and a good friend and went to see the excellent exhibition at The British Museum that focuses on ancient Greece's influence on Rodin's work. The exhibition is fantastic in general and made me think about a lot of things. But one thing stood out, and that was Rodin's occupation with time. Rodin has always been interested in ancient Greece. His early works, The Thinker and The Kiss, were inspired by the Greek sculptures and th

Read this on galpod.com. I had a weird weekend. I'm usually full of energy on weekends, but this weekend was hot, and all I wanted to do was lie on the floor where it's nice and cool. But kids and guests mean that I at least have to have clothes on and plan for dinner, so I might as well cook (and do the dishes and the laundry), right? As long as I'm up, you know. Anyway. Yesterday, I finished writing my midpoint crisis scene in the novel I'm working on. As the name implies,

Read this on galpod.com. I've been trying out this habit in which you write ten ideas every day. It can be whatever you like, but they all have to be on a single theme. So, ten new ways to enjoy your city, ten cities you'd like to visit, ten people you'd like to interview, etc. The hardest part for me is coming up with a theme, so I've been using this website that just gives you a theme. Recently I got an easy one: Ten things your paradise would have. A stream A beach Lots of

Read this on galpod.com. When I was doing my PhD, it took me forever to start writing. I kept reading papers because I felt like I didn't know enough. I wanted to know everything before I started. This approach, of course, is counter-productive, both because there's too much stuff out there and you can never know everything, and because you don't know what you need until you start writing and hit a block. Then you can go ahead and research your specific question, and it's muc

Read this on galpod.com. During May, I did the Ninja Writing Challenge. It was awesome. THE challenge was to write every single day, even if it's just 10 minutes. There are lots of people talking about doing something daily to create a habit, and I get it. I do. It worked for me for a variety of things. But when I wrote every day in my WIP, it became a chore. I started preferring working on my short stories. I would write the mandatory 10 minutes and then stop working on the

Read this on galpod.com. Ray Bradbury was first and foremost a poet. At least, that's my conclusion based on this book. In this book, he writes beautiful words, and he doesn't flinch from the truth. Which is the basic definition of a poet, right? There are some excellent quotes in this book. I already listed my favourites. Bradbury dispenses advice and talks about the process of writing. He talks about inspiration and where it comes from. He talks about the process he went th

Read this on galpod.com. I want to share a debate I’ve had with myself for a couple of weeks now. I’ve been going back and forth on this issue. Here’s the thing. I’m writing a novel. A novel is a big project. It takes a long time, and it’s hard to complete. I’ve been working on this particular one since February, and I’m doing pretty well. I know who my main characters are, where they start and where they'll end up. I also started writing some of the scenes (some of them are

Read this post on galpod.com. Hello! I'm experimenting with blogging every day. Because I'm very new to this, I need your help. Please take a minute to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will post stories, thoughts, and possibly recipes (if I'm having an off day). Here's the post for today. I'm not an art expert. I have no degree in art history or any of the humanities. I can't even tell you if cubism came before realism. Nor do I particularly care, to be honest

Read this on galpod.com. Hello! I'm experimenting with blogging every day. Because I'm very new to this, I need your help. Please take a minute to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will post stories, thoughts, and possibly recipes (if I'm having an off day). Here's the post for today. I'm nearly done reading Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury. A book review is forthcoming. But for now, here are some of my favourite quotes from this book. "...what, you as

Read this post on galpod.com. Hello! I'm experimenting with blogging every day. Because I'm very new to this, I need your help. Please take a minute to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will post stories, thoughts, and possibly recipes (if I'm having an off day). Here's the post for today. Remember when I said that one of my biggest fears is starting to refer to the Muse with a capital M? It wasn't a baseless fear. Although I don't think about this process as b