Voice to the voices

Writer’s block—wanting to write and not writing—is a persistent problem that every writer yes,  every  writer, even the great Stephen King deals with. At its simplest, it manifests as a lack of ideas.  What do I write about?  At its most pernicious, writer’s block can convince you that you lack what it takes to be a writer. We’re here to tell you: that’s simply not true. Writer’s block is certainly a tough problem to solve. If we all knew how to get rid of writer’s block, the world would be overflowing with books, completed effortlessly and ahead of schedule. Nonetheless, writer’s block doesn’t have to be chronic, or debilitating. In this article, we’ll look deeply into what causes writer’s block, and describe how to overcome writer’s block—in whatever way it might be manifesting in your writing.  But first, what is writer’s block? Writer's block is  a condition in which an author is unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown . It is not ...

Throughout decades, different genres of music have drifted in and out of the popular ear. No matter what music you listen to, the lyrics and messages are perceived by your brain and affect how you look at the world. A study done by Donald Saucier at Kansas State University found that people who listened to patriotic songs, like the Star-Spangled Banner, became less empathetic and more close-minded due to the strong nationalist message. In contrast, people who listened to songs that they associate with their childhood, like the Itsy Bitsy Spider, reported becoming more prosocial, and empathetic and generally reported more accepting attitudes towards other people. Between 90 and 95 per cent of mental activity takes place outside of our conscious awareness. This is called subconscious priming, and it has been shown to dramatically influence human behaviour. Subconscious activity heavily impacts day-to-day behaviours from the emotions someone feels to their satisfaction with life. Once thi...

  I grew up in a cult and a very strict, physically, and mentally abusive family. I wasn't allowed to have friends out of that community, and for that, I was heavily bullied by the other kids. I was not allowed to listen to certain types of music or follow any artistic inclinations. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community is prohibited and punishable with exclusion from the community, including family members, which is what happened to me. Art has always been a gateway for me, a portal for me to ‘escape’ the place where I was. Since I was little I used to create stories in my head and put them down on paper, write rhymes, and express how I was feeling at those particular moments. Creating art has always kept me company and lifted my spirit in those dark moments. My novels, like all my writing, come from a place of truth and real-life experience, and of course a lot of heart. I want to share Joshua Bane's story, this fantastic superhero, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, goes through...

It was a dark Sunday at the end of January, not yet evening but already dark. You know, one of those depressing winter days in England, where daylight seems a distant memory and the sun a rude joke. I was working on taking my lazy multitasking to the next level – meaning: sitting on the sofa in the same position for at least four hours, watching TV with one eye and surfing social media with the other, pretending I am working on notforvanity.com – when something popped up in my Twitter feed. A guy, named Jonathan Cerruto – an Italian surname, maybe New York? I asked myself – shares a tweet. I thought it was one of those ‘shameless self-promo hashtags meant to help fellow authors but, most of the time, only end up in likes and retweets. This one, though, felt different, genuine for once: Jonathan’s words were along the lines of ‘hi guys, l am a writer too and I know the struggles of getting something out there, so help me to help you. I’ll start: here’s my book. Have a look at it and I w...