Monday, 15 December, 2014
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Guest Post by Skye Fairwin: How to Keep Writing After Your Willpower Has Taken a Hit

To call yourself a writer, you don’t need to be published. You don’t need a qualification. You don’t need to have been writing a long time. The only thing you need to do to call yourself a writer is write. And yet…sometimes that’s easier said than done. On those days when you know you should spend time on your work-in-progress but can’t muster the motivation to sit down and actually write, your willpower may need a helping hand. There to offer said hand is a little bit of psychology. Here’s one simple way you can conserve your waning willpower and get yourself writing on days when you feel like anything but.

The first thing to understand is that self-control—being able to deny your impulses and say no to temptation—is not a limitless resource. If you do something that requires a fair bit of willpower, like coaxing yourself into going to the gym or spending a full day at work or school, then you’ll have less available to will yourself to write. So, if you can’t just cut out activities aside from writing that require a lot of self-control, what can you do to make sure you have enough willpower for writing?
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Friday, 12 December, 2014
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We Are Not Invincible (And That’s Okay)

#DailyWings: “Taking care of yourself is the most powerful way to begin to take care of others.” ― Bryant McGill

Originally, I wasn’t going to blog about this. I’d already talked enough about being sick and taking time off from work and blogging to focus on getting better. But until recently, I’d once again forgotten how important it is to take care of oneself – both mentally and physically.

You’d think because I have a disability and acid reflux and a much lower physical tolerance for, well, everything that I’d learned to appreciate my own body more. But nope. I like to push myself with deadlines and check boxes and lots of projects all at once (smart, right?). Somehow, having too much to do is the only way I can compel myself to get anything done. You might know what I mean if you naturally thrive in fast-paced environments with high pressure and lots of stimuli.

Though we might be more productive, we’re not doing our personal well-being any favors. It’s not until your wrists start to ache from hours of typing and your throat starts to feel scratchy and your eyes start to droop from lack of sleep that you finally realize the truth: I have limits.
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Wednesday, 10 December, 2014
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The SELF Diet Recipe: Lemon-Garlic Spaghetti Piccata

#DailyWings: “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ― Charles M. Schulz

I am really excited about today’s edition of “The SELF Diet,” mainly because this was the first dish that made me actually love cooking. This dish, a lemon-garlic spaghetti piccata, was inspired by a recipe for “Linguine with Tuna, Capers and Raisins,” which I found on my Epicurious iPhone application (if you thrive in the kitchen and have a smartphone, download this app now). This dish is perfect for potlucks or, better yet, a romantic dinner date at home (think “Lady & the Tramp“). You can either make the pasta before your date arrives, or you can make it together (there’s no better way to bond with someone than to prepare a meal).

Another reason I’ve looked forward to writing this post is that my favorite food, as some of you may be able to guess, is pasta. (I’m a carb fanatic.) Pasta is an excellent “base” food, just like rice or quinoa. You can add almost anything to pasta and it’ll taste delicious. To me, there’s nothing heartier or more delicious than noodles tossed around with some spring vegetables or chunky meat and a creamy sauce.

While today’s recipe is vegetarian, I’ll give you some tips toward the end of the post about how to incorporate meat and other fixings. I created this dish by being adventurous with a single recipe; a single bit will give you a burst of various flavors and textures. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different ingredients and herbs to suit your personal tastes; let me know in the comments section if you decide to make this dish and what you did to make it your own!
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Tuesday, 09 December, 2014
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Book Review: “Writing Down the Bones”

#DailyWings: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.” – Charles William Eliot

This week, I am back on my regular posting schedule! Today, I present to you – as promised – my long-awaited book review on “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg. But first, I’d like to take a moment and apologize for the roller coaster that was last week! Thank you for bearing it with me, and many thanks to the people who sent me kind well-wishes via social media! For those of you who were spared the details before, I caught a nasty cold and also had a mild case of gingivitis (characterized by swollen, bleeding gums – ew!). Truthfully, I’m glad I took some time off for self-care and for the sake of my physical health. I’m feeling a lot better now!

It’s been over a year since I last wrote a book review. My sister’s boyfriend, Aron, gave me “Writing Down the Bones” as a Christmas gift last year, and I only got around to reading it in August. It normally takes me forever to finish a book, but “Writing Down the Bones” is broken up into three-to-five-page chapters that are easy to fly through if you have a few spare moments.
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Tuesday, 02 December, 2014
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Capturing Autumn: November Monthly Favorites

#DailyWings: “It’s a most distressing affliction to have a sentimental heart and a skeptical mind.” -Naguib Mahfouz

Last night on my Facebook page, I mentioned that I haven’t been feeling very well and that this week’s Writing Remarks post would go up today. I was hoping to post my book review on “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg, but book reviews take a lot of mental capacity that I just don’t have the energy for right now and, honestly, I didn’t want to post a half-baked review for you all.

Instead, I decided to stick with my regular posting schedule and write my very first Monthly Favorites post. I am incredibly excited about this because I absolutely love watching Monthly favorites videos on YouTube and reading them on blogs. It’s such a great way to round up whatever month is ending and, more importantly, remind yourself of all the wonderful things that make you happy.

Without further ado, here are my November favorites:

1) Skone Cosmetics Tattooed Waterproof Eyeliner, $15 — Before receiving this product in my October Ipsy Glam Bag (my first one!), I’d never tried to put eyeliner on before in my life, let alone a cat eye look. I just wasn’t brave enough. (Plus, my experience with makeup was basically nonexistent, hence my subscription to Ipsy). But I fell in love with this eyeliner the first time I used it, and I’ve worn many a cat eye since then for dates and other special occasions.
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Thursday, 27 November, 2014
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27 Little Things to Be Thankful For

#DailyWings: “”The aim of life is to live. And to live means to be aware. Joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” –Henry Miller

It takes only a couple seconds to say we’re thankful for our family, friends, neighbors and mentors – not to mention our education, our food and our jobs. But sometimes, when we’re stuck in traffic during rush hour or we’ve received a terrible grade on a standardized test or the garlic toast burned in the oven or our boss has just laid us off even with the gentlest of explanations, it can be difficult to remember to feel appreciative and to remind ourselves why we work as hard as we do. We forget to stop and take a deep breath.

If you ask me what my favorite part about Thanksgiving is, it’s not the Black Friday shopping or the traveling or even the food (though that comes as a close second, for delicious reasons). It’s being able to take a break from all of the stress and anxiety that come with day-to-day life. Sometimes, we just need space for practicing self-care, to spend time with the people we’re thankful for and to find something to laugh about. To remember why we’re grateful.

Whatever holiday stress or little (or big) anxieties or long-term worries you may have, I’m not here to tell you, “Things could be a lot worse” or “In the grand scheme of things, this won’t matter.” Bad days stink. You might even have a whole bad month, and whatever feelings you have are completely validated. But make yourself a promise that today you’re going to take some time and say, “I am thankful for my life, and I love myself.”

Today, I’ve compiled a list of 27 things that never fail to make me smile and remind me to find joy in the little things. I hope they make you feel the same way:
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Wednesday, 26 November, 2014
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The SELF Diet Recipe: Gourmet Macaroni with Polska Kielbasa (Thanksgiving Edition)

#DailyWings: “Most of us have fond memories of food from our childhood. Whether it was our mom’s homemade lasagna or a memorable chocolate birthday cake, food has a way of transporting us back to the past.”
-Homaro Cantu

 Happy Thanksgiving Week! Even though I can hardly believe the holidays are just around the corner, I’m so excited to be sharing this special time with you all – starting with my first edition of The SELF Diet!

Many of you who have been around the blog for a long time know that I’m obsessed with macaroni and cheese, and with great reason. It’s the perfect comfort food for rainy days, post-exam blues and lazy Sundays as well as tailgating, office parties and other celebratory functions. More importantly, to take a leaf out of renowned Chef Homaro Cantu‘s book, macaroni and cheese transports me back to my childhood when I used to eat it every day after school as a snack.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I want to share with you a recipe for macaroni and cheese that I came up with while experimenting with food about a year ago. I call it Gourmet Macaroni with Polska Kielbasa. While classic “mac n’ cheese” is delicious on its own, you can do a million fancy things to the basic recipe as well, pairing different ingredients together to create a completely new dish.
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Tuesday, 25 November, 2014
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What I Learned From Launching My Own Website

#DailyWings: “When I write about a 15-year old, I jump, I return to the days when I was that age. It’s like a time machine. I can remember everything. I can feel the wind. I can smell the air. Very actually. Very vividly.” -Haruki Murakami

It was about six years ago: November 30, 2008. Minutes before midnight. I had just reached a little over 50,000 words for my NaNoWriMo novel, Sophie. All the endless nights of writing. All the story maps, character profiles, 20-page long chapters, granola bars, hot chocolate and word count math. After 30 days of literary frenzy and thinking nonstop about my novel, I’d finally reached my word count goal and won National Novel Writing Month for the first time.

It’s the same kind of rush that I’ve felt the last few months while creating this website. Besides NaNoWriMo, I can’t think of any other writing project that I’ve worked this hard on. The website just started out as a “new idea for a blog” way back before the summer even began. It was only when I asked my web designer and good friend Kimberly Li to work on a design with me that the idea started to take concrete form.
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Friday, 21 November, 2014
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We Are Always in the “Real World”

#DailyWings: “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” -Audrey Hepburn

A couple years ago, when I went home for holiday break, I came across a paperback literary magazine while rummaging through my sister’s old things one night. (I know what you must be thinking: “Oooh, you were snooping around!” I totally wasn’t! Well, sort of. I was browsing her closet for clothes to wear. ;))

The literary magazine was from our middle school, Edward Devotion in Boston. Both my sister, who’s five years older, and I have always loved to write, so it didn’t shock me when I saw her name in the table of contents juxtaposed with the name of a poem, Bubbles. I opened the magazine and flipped to the page that contained her poem. It was a cute rhyme about helping a toddler with dumpling-soft skin take a bath, popping bubbles and exchanging dimple smiles.

I almost fell off the bed when I realized the poem was about me.

An instant wave of nostalgia washed over me like it always does whenever I go through faded yearbooks and picture albums and other tokens of our childhood (I like to do this often, just to remind myself about the other two decades of my life that have already passed me by). Although I couldn’t recall that particular memory of taking a bath, it was easy to remember my little Brandeis blue bath tub meant for small children and the checkered tile bathroom floor. The way my sister shampooed my hair until it stood on the ends.
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Wednesday, 19 November, 2014
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Welcome to Wendy Lu Writes!

Welcome! Whether you’re a newcomer or one of the original readers of my previous blog, The Red Angel, I’m so excited to have you visiting my new writer website! Earlier this year, many of my friends started asking me, “I haven’t seen a post from you in forever. How come you stopped blogging?”

I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May. During the last two years of college, I changed not only as a person but also as a writer. My writing style became more flexible, my dreams and goals shifted, even parts of my personality were different. With my mind focused on potential careers for myself and a network of people close to me who taught me to be more confident in my abilities, it felt like my identity was no longer in sync with my blog. I felt lost.

I started toying with the idea of re-creating my blog. It never occurred to me that I would get tired of the layout of my last blog, but I was. I wanted to start fresh, to re-brand my social media presence and really invest in my personal writing career. Finally, at the end of my college graduation, I decided it was time for me to take a leap of faith and believe in myself enough to create what you now see in front of your eyes.
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