Confessions of a Content Creation Connoisseur
Why do I subject myself to this madness of content creation? It’s simple, really. I’ve been in the trenches of creativity long enough to have accumulated a decent stockpile of experience, insight, and a few war stories to boot. But I don’t think of myself as a ‘guru’ or ‘influencer.’ Perhaps I’m more like the […]
Outlining My Childhood Dreams
As a young girl, I entertained four very different career aspirations. The first, believe it or not, was to be a mapmaker, that most ancient of professions, where one spends their days hunched over parchment, tracing coastlines and mountains with painstaking precision. I imagined charting uncharted lands and giving names to the nameless; what a […]
Warships: The High Seas of My Imagination
As a young girl, while most kids were busy obsessing over the latest toy craze or perfecting their cartwheels, I was consumed with the peculiar fascination of naval warfare. As others were pretending to be superheroes or princesses, I was imagining myself as the commander of a grand fleet, barking orders from the deck of […]
How Winnie the Pooh Surpassed Star Wars as the 3rd Highest Grossing Media Franchise
In a plot twist more unexpected than Jar Jar Binks’ continued existence, Winnie the Pooh has quietly slathered honey all over the ambitions of the Star Wars franchise, emerging as the third highest-grossing media empire. Yes, you heard it right. That honey-obsessed bear, who can barely put on a pair of pants, has outperformed lightsaber-wielding […]
If You Blog, Will They Still Show Up?
I grew up in the golden age of blogging, that glorious time when you could scribble a few thoughts on the internet, hit ‘publish,’ and suddenly find yourself the authority on just about anything you please. Yeah, I remember those days fondly. Back then, the most intense competition was between you and that one overly […]
Creativity, Genius, and the Nature of Understanding
I’ve been labeled a “genius” by various well-meaning folks over the years. Some of them even dared to slap on the more flattering “creative genius” tag. I suppose I should be flattered, but honestly, I’ve always found it a bit bewildering. Maybe it’s my tragic flaw, but I just don’t see it. Sure, I’ve got […]
What It Takes to Be an Essayist, According to E.B. White
Writing is a shape-shifting beast. You can be “good” at it in a dozen different forms and still feel like you’re chasing your own tail. For years, I fancied myself the next great novelist — imagining a future where my name graced the bestsellers list, sandwiched between the latest dystopian romance and whatever Stephen King […]
Why You Should Be an Enemy of All That You Read
There’s an old quote by Ibn Al-Haytham — Alhazen as he’s known in the West — where he declares, “The duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads.” Now, Alhazen is mostly known for his […]
How Criticisms of Literature Often Have an Agenda
As a former English major in university, I’m well acquaintance with the supposedly noble art of literary criticism. It’s a realm where words are dissected, meanings are invented, and authors are turned into unwitting co-conspirators in the critics’ elaborate game of “Guess What I Think You Meant.” If you’ve ever had the pleasure of reading […]