May 19th, 2012 
NeoBluePanther 
It has been about a month since I wrote anything on the blog. This is in sharp contrast to my goal, which is to post at least one post on the blog every week.
I know I am not alone.
There are numerous bloggers out there who, like me, set goals for themselves but soon find that they are not able to meet the stiff targets they had set up.
Why does that happen?
April 18th, 2012 NeoBluePanther 
When I was a child, the thing I wanted to buy most was a typewriter. I used to write poems (or at least what I thought were poems) and short stories on paper, and wondered when I would be able to type them out on a typewriter. The typewriter, to me, was that one thing that would complete my life. Of course, I had no idea about soulmates back then.
It was by mere chance that one day I got a chance to use a typewriter in my father’s office. Typing my first poem on that machine was one of the happiest moments of my life. But, I never bought a typewriter of my own, because by the time I had enough money to buy a typewriter, no one was buying one.
The typewriter had been replaced by the computer.
February 24th, 2012 Guest Blogger 
They always say that writers should read. “They,” of course, referring to the infinitely famous and notoriously vague entity that determines what should and should not be done. Pronouns aside, the advice is solid. Reading enables writers to learn more about their craft by seeing what was successful for others. At the beginning, many writers start off their projects by imitating the styles of successful writers before they develop their own–imitation stemmed from reading the works of authors they admire. Along the way, writers can gain inspiration through reading the works of others in their genre, or gain insight into a new genre that writer is considering branching into.
I feel it’s safe to say that reading and writing go hand in hand. Hell, half of us were inspired to go into writing through our passion for reading. However, I would not say that “simply reading” is always enough. In order for a writer to truly gain anything (other than the enjoyment of a good story) from reading, she must read not like a reader, but like a writer.
February 10th, 2012 NeoBluePanther 
One of my New Year resolutions was to write something everyday. This shouldn’t be hard, I told myself. After all, writing is something I love to do. Yet, it hasn’t turned out to be all that easy either.
Why is it difficult to do something that we love, everyday?
The answer, I think, lies in this one word: Distractions. There is always something, or the other, that keeps us from doing what we want.
Our world today continues to have 24 hours in a day, but the number of things – useful as well as not so useful – we can do in these 24 hours has increased exponentially. Some of these things can be avoided easily, but some others seem absolutely necessary for our survival.
December 8th, 2011 NeoBluePanther 
I came across this quote by John M. Ford yesterday. Something about the quote appealed to me, and the quote stayed stuck in my mind for the rest of the day. The only way, I thought, I could get it out of my mind was by writing a post about it. So, here goes.
I think most of us, when we read something good, imbibe some of the elements of the writer’s style. It is a natural process and, sometimes, we do it even without realising. We copy what we like, mainly because we want what we write to be liked too. This is why it is often said that if we want to write good stuff, we have to read great stuff.
However, blind imitation is for apes.
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