Author: Pen
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Cycling and writing
A people-centred society Riding a bicycle regularly has measurable benefits for your body and immeasurable ones for your brain and creativity. In my last blog I hinted at these benefits and in this one I have the space to expand on some of the glorious results of swapping four wheels for two, and I don’t…
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How to be a gazelle – on health, fitness and match-making two writers
The human guinea pig It was already hot at 8.30 on a Saturday morning. My nightie was on the floor and the sheet kicked aside when I glanced over at my reflection in the large mirrored built-in wardrobe doors. I groaned and said, ‘Oh, God – I’ve put on weight. I’m a beached whale!’ And…
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Puns in life and puns in dreams
Fraught father/son relationships Last post was about the memoir I Am Brian Wilson. There’s an interesting aside in it that involves a pun. I’m not a big fan of puns (notwithstanding the visual one on this site – a sharp pen) but they can be interesting, specially when they involve a Freudian slip. Brian’s father,…
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A struggle with mental illness – I Am Brian Wilson: A memoir
Pet Sounds When I was fourteen my older brother gave me the new Beachboys’ Pet Sounds album for Christmas. It was and remains my favourite. I’d never heard anything like those sophisticated, layered compositions and sublime harmonies – and neither had anyone else. No one had ever put together sounds like that before. It had…
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Go on – make something beautiful
I believe that we’re all creative. We can express our creativity through dancing or drawing, cooking or wood-carving. We can express it in how we live ordinary life or in taking beautiful photos of our life, through making people laugh or by writing a blog. Nigel Andrew once believed that blogs were ‘an outlet for…
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Titans and sex goddesses: on Tim Ferriss and Helen Gurley Brown
What do you have for breakfast? This is one of the questions that Tim Ferriss asks those he interviews in his Tools of Titans: the tactics, routines and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers (Vermilion, 2016). Protein shakes are popular with many of these titans. Tim Ferriss (See www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog ) is the best-selling American…
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Hope and optimism in a world of worry
A single word Rather than making a list of New Year’s resolutions, someone I know chooses a single word to guide her through the coming year. It could be ‘simplicity’ or ‘generosity’, ‘creativity’ or ‘serenity’. Careful thought about the choice of a meaningful word makes decisions during the year easier and quicker. Even though a…
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Brave books about love
I’m back after an orgy of reading. I was still putting piles of library books in the basket of my Trek bicycle and racing home to devour them when I suddenly got another writing job. Before that, one of the many authors I read was the person everyone’s talking about: Liane Moriaty and her recent…
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Writing Ergonomics: Tips for a Healthy, Happy Writer
Don’t do what I do; do what I say… It wasn’t as if I could plead ignorance. I’d done the Alexander Technique course on how to sit properly and how to iron out the kinks in my spine every day. I’d been told about the importance of taking a break every thirty minutes. I also knew about…
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What is story? Intercultural Perspectives on Narrative
[Feature image: Christine Napanangka Michaels’ painting “Lappi Lappi Jukurrpa” © Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation] What makes a good story? Blogger in Residence, Sophie Constable, expl… Source: What is story? Intercultural Perspectives on Narrative