Quote by Chuck Palahniuk

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."

Loss reveals ourselves to us

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."

- Chuck Palahniuk , Fight Club

            We've all lost something along the way; whether its things that can't be replaced, people who are gone forever or people will just not return. And although we could never be able to truly understand someone else's loss, the emotions are just the same. But maybe its in losing that we can sometimes gain.

            When something is taken away from us, we're given an opportunity to find out who we really are, and perhaps also to find out who we are without what we no longer have. When something or someone is suddenly gone, a layer is stirpped away from our veneers and we're closer to our real selves.

            It is never easy letting go, no matter what it is that is being let go of. Sometimes the most painful experiences can be chances in disguise for us to find out what lies beneath the surface of who we are.

The Novel

“Writing fiction is the art of weaving several lies to arrive at a greater truth.”

-       Khaled Hosseini

A good novel is like life delivered by the author to the world in the form of words between two covers. And there is no such magic as the magic contained in the written word.

Novels try to make sense of the world we live in while creating new worlds in our minds. Through the thoughts of even a fictional character birthed from a writer’s mind, you can make sense of what is going on in your own. The written word possesses a strange kind of power over us humans; it can bring us to tears, make us laugh, leave us craving something we never thought we wanted, or fill us with a hope we never knew existed.

Perhaps it is because it calls for us to be in charge of our own imaginations and to paint our own picture from a pallet of words, which makes the novel so special and unique. Or perhaps it is because it celebrates the art of story-telling that contrasts so much with our daily lives. In a novel, the story has been completed for us by the writer and we are not responsible for the actions of the characters, unlike in life where we have to take charge of what is written next in our own stories and be responsible for the choices that we make.

If you ever doubt the worth of the written word, of the novel, think about a time when you have picked up a book and have not been able to put it down because it had cast its spell on you and wrapped its words around you.

What is your favourite novel? 

Inspiration

‎"The stories you tell yourself to fall asleep, those fantasies, those are a good place to start when looking for a metaphor for a personal issue.

Also, the first moment you’re awake, that’s a great time for ideas to just pop into your head. In this almost-awake state, inspiration and clean connections just seem to happen.

Mid-day, you might try taking a shower. That’s always good for relaxing your mind to a near dream-state. Great ideas happen while washing dishes, too.

Stephen King writes in the shower. Katherine Dunn writes while swimming laps. Like sleeping, these tasks seem to allow… something… to happen. So it helps to keep a notepad beside the bed, and in the bathroom. Also, long, boring car drives – without the radio playing – are good for creating this same kind of “trance” that allows ideas to form." - Chuck Palahniuk