All That Jazz.

Last time, I read half of the "Jade City" and "The Blade Itself" and chose "The Blade Itself" as the winner. I also read four samples. This round I went over eight books' premises and finished reading the samples of the chosen four.

How I attempted to delete browsers and infinite content apps from my phone.

I often ask myself: "How do some people write with style?" Is it a talent? How much of it depends on being a native speaker of that language? What about higher education? What's the balance between l...

A writer's mind generates ideas and observations in the most unexpected, sudden ways. Anne Lamott describes this mindset as "seeing everything as material"

It's been a while since I've published an update on [my fantasy tournament](/posts/fantasy-tournament-w1). Finally, I am ready to give you some updates. I've read some great pieces of fantasy these past weeks. Next, I'll briefly review what I thought about each book and why I chose the winner for the next round.

Recently, I saw a YouTube short arguing why A Song of Ice and Fire became a breakout series in the early 2000s. She argued that the young audience back then was disappointed with the era's social an...

In the past two weeks, I read The Blade Itself and The Emperor's Soul till the 25% mark and chose some new samples for next week!

I'm supposed to write a short note and publish it. It's on my content calendar. I am trying to figure out what to write about, so I procrastinate. I opened my browser to browse for ideas. Unconscious...

After recovering from a minor "reading slump," I returned to reading and read four samples I had chosen last time.

As an amateur writer, I often find the process overwhelming. There are so many steps to producing a final result. I hear a lot of advice on letting go of perfectionism, writing bad drafts, revising, ...

We're in week four! I read two books until I reached the 25% mark, chose a winner, and shortlisted four books to read their samples over the next week. Check out the previous weeks to catch up with the progress!

Last week, I discussed my new initiative to read more books and find new favorites. This post is an update on the tournament status. I read four samples from the chosen books for round two and decided on the winners.

I tried different ways to read more, such as joining online book clubs, practicing 'did-not-finish,' reading before bed, binge reading, etc. None of them worked that well for me. I was still left with slow reads that barely grabbed my interest.

"Save the Cat" is a fun book. From its iconic name to the classic concepts, it's a staple in storytelling techniques. There's a part in the book dedicated to the "beat sheet." Beats are smaller story...

The author writes against journaling in this article: > The minute-by-minute might interest the future self, but often not the self who is living it. However, journaling comes with its upsides when...

I love classification. Sometimes, it's fun to traverse the tree of knowledge from top to bottom instead of vice versa. Recently, I found out that folklorists created these amazing classifications for...

G.R.R. Martin has this famous quote about different types of writers: > I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like a...

Sometimes, I wonder how wise it is to publish vulnerable content on one's beliefs, experiences, stands, etc. And more importantly, if you went on and published the work, are you supposed to retract i...

Recently, I wanted to write a short story with a limited word budget set in a specific environment. I didn't know how many characters to consider, how many scenes to include, or, worst of all, how many plot points I needed to have a compelling story.

A salad without some protein is a side dish, not a meal.

This is the system that helps me turn “new year’s resolutions” or “activities on a whim” to long-term goals and viable results.

The season finale left me reeling—impatient for more, a feeling I haven't had in ages. This cliffhanger ending, with characters scattered and facing new struggles right before the climax… _chef's kiss_. It got me thinking: why did I even like this show so much?

It doesn't make sense. It sounds foolish to think they're similar. You write beautifully crafted prose to steer emotions in human beings, and you call it literature. Then, you write carefully built code to serve users efficiently and reliably and call it a program. How can writing be compared to the rigid way of creating a black box to output...

The term was new to me. So I gave my undivided attention to hearing what Sanderson responded to it. It turns out this concept has been familiar to me all along. I simply didn’t know one’s gaze into their navels could be the term for it.

I add the pasta to the boiling water per package instructions. Then, get to some chopping. I slice one onion and cut one rib of celery into cubes. I opened a can of lentils and rinsed it with water to wash off the excess starch.

Pasta is the obvious go-to for a weeknight meal. Today, I will make a rich but relatively fast alfredo-style pene with mushrooms.