writer's block

In the last few weeks I’ve been listening to the Mortified podcast, which features adults reading their adolescent diaries in front of a live audience, with no exaggeration, no embellishment, “just god-given awkwardness”. Every episode is guaranteed to produce cringing smiles.

I kept a diary of my own for six years, running from grade nine through my first year of university.

(Unless it's our Instagram you're looking at!)

When you look at someone else’s Instagram account you see the great vacation, the beautiful hair, the new girlfriend, and the winning game. You don’t see the peeling sunburn, all the days she hid under a hat, the heartbreak it took him eight months to get over, or the years and years of practice that led to a single successful game.

Using a Pen to Get Past Writer’s Block

As I sit staring at my laptop, little black characters march neatly across the screen.