So, the latest issue of my blood, sweat and tears is now published (psst, check out Volume 5 Issue 2 here), and I'm so happy/relieved/tired I could cry. I literally slaved over this issue. Reviewing, editing, graphic design, admin work. You name any step in the publication/production process, I've done it. Cover and TOC previews: …
“The H Word”
I just finished binge-watching the Marvel/Netflix mini-series, The Defenders. I sat in bed the whole day, cuddled up with a hot water bottle (Facebook did that whole virtual celebration of spring thingy, but they are sooooo wrong), and watched all eight episodes at a go. Now, I've never paid much mind to what other people think about …
Creative block?
Ever find yourself in a state of creative stagnancy? In a state where all you do is stare at a blank screen/canvas and nothing comes out of you besides a salt-and-vinegar-chips-flavoured burp? If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing that dark hole (literally—cause the blank canvas can certainly drain you dry), you're lucky. I've …
Showdown: Writer vs Editor
Some days, that's my reaction. I'm angrily, frustratedly, despairingly screaming in my head (or sometimes at the loquat tree in the backyard)—NEVER AGAIN!!! Some days, some editors drive me up the wall with edits that have nothing to do with the writing or the story, but everything to do with personal preference. And then there are …
True Singapore Ghost Stories
It's no secret that I'm a firm believer in literature/the arts being able to shape society and create a collective identity/forge a collective bond. It's also no secret that I'm a big fan of horror literature, and even more so of Singaporean (Singapore pride!) horror literature. As a kid growing up, my friends and I …
Getting published
As a writer (and for many researchers and academics as well), getting your work published is one of the biggest goals we have (next to earning enough from our work to keep us going). But why is it so hard to get published? Often, publishers and commissioning editors have a specific work in mind, and …
Last call for submissions!
Writing for different purposes
Being a good writer in a particular genre, on a particular medium, does not necessarily mean that we're able to transpose that same writing ability and apply it to different media. To put it in no-nonsense terms... different media require different styles of writing! While writing an academic/research paper more often than not requires rather long …
Of course we need editors!
So in response to my previous blog post wondering whether we need editors in this technology-infused world... YES, WE DO. (As you can also tell from the title of this blog post...) But why do we need editors when Word has spell-check and most modern phones have auto-correct? The answer is: this and this. As we …
On yet another side note…
If you guys were wondering (I may just be overly excited) — here's where I'm currently doing my Masters degree (in Publishing and Communications, if you were wondering)... The beautiful University of Melbourne. A few days before the semester began, I decided to wander around on campus, just to get a feel of the school …
Geraldine Stallard 