It’s the same old story.

We indulge during the Christmas break. Then resolve to lose the flab. Wanting, wishing, dreaming about stuff we want but didn’t do very well last year. Make decent money in a side hustle. Master a new instrument. We begin to make it happen. But then lose momentum. In 1 week. In 2 months. In 3 months.

Then at the end of the year, we’ve done the same things we did last year. Urgh! It’s a never ending loop. Are our new year’s resolutions doomed to fail — again — this year?

Nothing will change if nothing changes. …

Growing up, I much preferred exploring the depths of Middle Earth under my warm, secure doona covers than speaking to people I knew. Add to that I was shy and an introvert. It was embarrassing to feel my face heat up, beet red when people turned their attention to me. There was no way I’d willingly go up to a stranger and start a conversation. That’d be too damn awkward.

And it’s not just me as a child. I’ve noticed at events and waiting rooms, parks, and stores: many adults don’t feel comfortable speaking to strangers. We’d rather ignore each other. Mind our own business. …

Market Yourself

It’s so frustrating, isn’t it? Some writers may struggle with not having ideas. Yet for you, perhaps it’s more likely your idea tank isn’t empty. But your problem is you’re not gelling with what you want to write about.

You may have a list of content ideas. You capture ideas on your phone or notebook during your day. But you like to add a little spontaneity into your writing routine: you want to write what you feel like writing on the day. At the time you want to write. You’re a creative, after all.

Thing is, you don’t feel like writing about anything you’ve recorded. You need more ideas. You could sigh for 5 minutes, browse the net for 2 hours getting lost down rabbit holes, scoff down a packet of chips, devour a chocolate bar, and call your mate because he really needs your support…. or you could immediately consult the world’s greatest oracle: Google. …

Do you love it or hate it?

It’s creamy, smooth, and soft. Yet it’s also bland, with a funny taste, and can get a bit mushy and doesn’t look appetizing when black. Then to add to its appeal, the name avocado is thought to have come from an Aztec word āhuacatl, meaning testicle, due to its resemblance. Charming.

My first memories of avocado could have gone either way. Mum, who put me off bean sprouts by dousing them in gravy so they sat sadly in a soggy, wet, gross heap, who steamed brussel sprouts and didn’t do a damn thing to hide its horrid bitterness, who used to make me puke with half-boiled eggs complete with stringy white bits and offputting smell — well she gave me a damn good introduction to avocado. …

Market Yourself

How do you feel when you receive a negative comment about your writing? As writers, we put our hearts into our words like a dangling piece of meat to a circle of carnivorous sharks. Often we feel alone, uncertain, and vulnerable, like the only one walking around naked.

It’s no wonder we’re particularly sensitive to negative comments. We could get 10 positive comments and 1 negative one — yet we pay more attention to that one than all the rest, don’t we? As writers, we understand and feel more than others, the power of words. Negative words are like a punch in the chest. …