Listen to your subconscious when writing

“Things will come to you and you’re not going to know exactly how they fit in. You have to trust in the way they all fit together, that your subconscious knows what you’re doing.” I came across this fantastic quote about writing by acclaimed American author Donna Tartt. A New York Times Book Review article…

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Don’t miss the Bali Bird Park

Since I travelled to Bali, Indonesia this past summer with two kids in tow, I needed to offer some incentives for visiting lots of Balinese temples and art museums. I’ve already posted about our visit to the Bali Tree-Top adventure, a fabulous rope course in northern Bali. Another kid-friendly activity visited was the Bali Bird…

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Keep going all you amazing NaNo writers!

I’m not among you, all you fabulous NaNoWriMo participants, but I do know many of you must have reached a writing slump, and I  wanted to cheer you on from the sidelines as you reach the final stretch. For those of you unfamiliar with it, The National Novel Writing Month  is an annual challenge to…

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Reason #5368 to love Rome: History around every corner

You can’t spend ten minutes in Rome without realizing how true this is. Rome is a city that lives and plays around its antiquities. Each day, we walk over the fabulous subterranean remains of the Roman Empire – sadly, only few of them open to the public, although many can be arranged with advance appointments.…

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Happy National Short Story Week 2013!

This is a good year for the short story. Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the (well-deserved) Nobel Prize for Literature last month. Plenty of online journals and e-readers provide possibilities for short story writers to get their stories out there to a reading public. In the words of the talented author, Lorrie Moore:…

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Skyscraper Tourism: Taipei 101

I have two little skyscraper fanatics with me when I travel. And, if you twist my arm, I may admit that I’ve always enjoyed skyscraper tourism myself. I was excited to go to the top of New York’s former World Trade Center and Chicago’s Sears Tower, back when they were the tallest skyscrapers in the…

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Admiring Gaudí ‘s Palau Güell, Barcelona

On a recent trip to Barcelona, Spain I was excited to see that Antoni Gaudí’s first major project, the Palau Güell, is now open to the public. The impressive family home of the wealthy Güell family, built between 1885 and 1889 is now a UNESCO Heritage site. I was unable to see this beautiful family home on…

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