Inspiration Unlimited, or the Magic of Writing Morning Pages

“… the first step toward being a writer is to hitch your unconscious mind to your writing arm.” Dorothea Brande First, please allow me to explain what morning pages are. In a nutshell, it’s a form of premeditated self-torture — of a sophisticated kind, mind you — for refined individuals like you and me. That [...]

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Writing Exercise: Show Don’t Tell

As I mentioned in my previous post, I would like to share with you what I’ve learned in my CW101 class so far. I’ll start with my second week’s assignment and skip week one. That one I’ll save for later, because it has the potential to become a full-fledged story, and I would like to [...]

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Adventures in Creative Writing

Taking creative writing classes has been my longtime desire, but until recently I haven’t had the courage to act on it. Unlike many aspiring writers, I never claim to have wanted to be a writer ever since I learned my first letters. Although I remember writing poems in secret. Once, in a summer camp, I [...]

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Are you addicted… to action?

A while back, a friend told me a story of two hapless frogs that were stupid enough to end up in a bucket of milk, and thus found themselves in danger of drowning. One frog gave up the struggle and perished. The story is not clear though whether the frog didn’t believe in action, or [...]

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Year of the Dragon

And here she comes, the black water dragon! (Really, why not the dragon be a “she”?) According to Chinese calendar, today marks the first day of the new year — year of the dragon. Unlike ill-tempered dragons in the western mythology, the oriental dragon is a benevolent creature, an auspicious symbol of wisdom, power and [...]

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Punta Cana Vacation

I read this great post Window to Paradise – Las Ventanas al Paraíso in Los Cabos, Mexico On Indulge Travel blog, and it inspired me to write about my own tropical vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We stayed at Gran Bahia Principe from Jan 6 to Jan 14. The resort was a game changer of [...]

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Memoirs: Teacher

I grew up in the former Soviet Union. By the Soviet standards, I had a completely normal childhood. This short personal essay is about my homeroom teacher, an ardent communist, who left a lasting impression on me, although not necessarily a welcomed one.

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What does success look like in personal blogging?

Since my blog is a fairly new addition to the myriad of existing and already established blogs, I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and the very process of blogging. Although classes and books are helpful, I believe the only way to learn is by doing it (rather than talking about it), as well [...]

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In Books: Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark

This book is an excellent resource for everyone who is writing professionally. Based on the book, I’ve created a 28-point list that I use as a reference/reminder in my on-the-job writing and editing, as well as other types of writing. I do a quick refresher every once a while by going through all points, and once in a while I [...]

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Reflections: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Thanks to Cassie’s recommendation, I am now enjoying this awesome book about writing fiction and all the personal drama of a novelist that seems to come with it. To tell the truth, I am in awe, stunned, speechless. It blows my mind just to think that a book about writing can have such profound effect [...]

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