headline news today: The Liebster Award ? My Creative Writing Outlet

Welcome all to my corner of the web. And now, as Monty Python say, to something different.

In recent weeks, I was exposed to an interesting and active blog ? Sandscriber. I was surprised, although not altogether unhappy to be nominated to the Leibster Award. What is it? I don?t really know, but beggars can?t be choosers, right?

The way it works is simple. Once you get nominated, you?re tasked with answering 11 questions posed to you by the blog who nominated you. Unlike chain letters, there?s no threat of disaster occurring should you decide to shy away (chicken) from the challenge and avoid posing 11 questions of your own to 11 other blogs.

The way I see it is, you get to write something with the certainty that someone actually wants to read it. You get other bloggers writing and thus participate in a fun exercise as well as giving others reasons to write, and after all, why are we here?

That being said, let me dive in to the Q&A session:

1. Do you deal well with negative feedback?

I?ll go right ahead and admit that this is a ?work in progress?. I?d like to answer ?Yes? but I?d also like to be honest? I do my best to take negative feedback as constructive criticism and focus on what I can take from it rather than on my feelings and ego. I am not a 100% there yet, as my writing coach will attest The good thing is that while I might be a little?defensive?at times, I go home and think about it and in 9 cases out of 10 I?ll be able to get the ?honey? out of the bitterness. In one of my most popular posts (The Lonely Writer) I wrote a bit about the importance of ?brutal honesty? which basically means ? In order to improve, one absolutely has to hear the truth. And the truth is that we can all do BETTER.

What did I do wrong???

2. What is one post of yours you think is over/underrated

Overrated ? I feel that way about a lot of my posts. Unfortunately I often go back and think ?If only I could have done a better job at that one?. But I dare not edit, since that would be against what I?m trying to achieve here, which in part is a journey to become better at writing.

Underrated ? I don?t like patting myself on the shoulder (yeah, right), but some of the ?off topic? ones are really cool to me. Especially the ones related to music. But then again, there?s a reason they?re called ?Off topic?

3. Why should people follow your blog?

I?d like to think that it?s interesting and fun? I also hope that information, experiences and opinions might prove helpful, especially to?aspiring writers as well as?first time novelists like myself. And if by any stretch I?m able to ***shiver*** inspire anyone with anything positive, then I?m absolutely happy.

Help

4. Why do you blog

There are four main reasons:

Improvement ? The first lesson in writing for me was ? write. Write as much as you can, as often as you can. The more I write (and I obviously write much more than the blog), the better I hopefully get.

Help ? As I mentioned in Q#3, I hope that through reading about my experiences and thoughts, other aspiring writers might get something. Ideas, directions, some knowledge, and not the least important ? support! Many people start writing thinking it?s easy only to realize the challenges they face once they really get into it. I hope no one who reads my blog get discouraged. If I can help even a single person in any way, This blog has done its job.

Discussion ? I try to voice my opinion clearly and I hope that people engage in discussion.

Exposure ? I?d be lying through my teeth if I?d say I?m not hoping that this blog reaches many readers and serve as a way for them to ?read my voice?. Of course, writing a novel is one thing and a blog quite the other, but writing is writing.

Blogging

5. What is one thing you want to do but can?t yet.

This might sound too ?new age-y? or holistic or whatever you want to call it, but I sincerely believe that there?s no such thing. So I won?t make it to the moon, that?s true, but everything I set my mind to (As many a parent said) I can achieve. In fact, I already have achieved some of these ?goals? which I set for myself in the past, and as we speak I?m working on one of the most important ones to me ? publishing a novel. To learn more about why I feel this way you can go back to my post about Ho?opononpono.

Dr. Hew Len and Mabel Katz

6. How does your dream holiday look like?

In two words ? Costa Rica

In more than two words, I?d like to simply spend most of the time on the beach, listening to the sounds of the ocean, as they filter through mildly alcohol induced therapeutic slumber. I wish I could say that my wife would be right next to me, but that?s not her style of vacationing. She?ll likely be doing some extreme sports and engaged in some exploration of the environment.

Between one sleep and the other, I?d be reading the complete collections of Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg and Tad Williams.

Obviously this would take a moment

Costa Rica

7. If you could give yourself a superpower, which one would you give?

I recently saw a nice photo on Facebook saying ?I write fiction, what?s your superpower?? and I absolutely love it. We do have that power. Who else can make or break anything with nothing but words?

Among the most popular ones, I?d simply enjoy the ability to fly. Corny? I don?t care.

What?s your superpower?

8. Most annoying celebrity.

I?m doing my absolute best to stay away from that? the last one I saw that was really?embarrassingly?annoying was that orange thing called Snooki. It represents everything I can?t stand about TV ?these days?. Famous for being famous?

Orange

9. Favorite book/tv-show/movie?

Book ? I can?t?possibly?decide on one? 1984 (Orwell), Otherland (Tad Williams), Foundation (Asimov), The man in the maze (Robert Silverberg) among many others.

TV Show ? Here there?s absolutely no problem - Homicide: Life on the street?was the best TV show in history.

Movie ? A toss-up between Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter.

10. Best decision you ever made?

Other than to get married and have kids (What can I say, I?m good at it ), I?d have to say that the decision to get a college education significantly helped me achieve many goals, and being opened to new ways of thinking (Ho?oponopono) proved very beneficial.

College

11. Worst musician in the world.

I?m not sure I want to answer this one I?m really trying to keep things positive, but I?ll go ahead and say that one pair of alleged musicians who never really did anything to me were a band called Modern Talking. Now that was painful?

Doesn?t look modern now, does it?