Freedom of speech is a really tough cookie, isn’t it? Do we want it? Do we not want it? When is it a good idea, and when is it a bad, terrible, horrific idea? …

For one and all — Being published is the best cure for writer’s block. There is nothing like it. It’s like someone saying, “You can do this.” Seeing your words in print, being read and promoted by someone other than yourself, is the cheer that every writer needs. …

As you can see from my profile, I was born in Bosnia. The war of 1992–95 started when I was 12. I came to the UK before I turned 13, as a refugee, a kid who wanted to play the flute and make cookies. The flute and cookies were quickly…

And I still can’t believe they turned out to be scams — Christmas 2022 was upon us. The rise in the cost of living meant real and serious cutbacks, yet the demands of life seem to be constantly increasing — so not only were things getting more expensive, but we need more and more things. Kids these days need computers. They need…

My preferences and advice to make the site more enjoyable — I wish I had more time to spend on Medium, but between taking care of an elderly person while I don’t have a car, writing my book (or editing), taking courses to become a better writer, taking care of a home and a whole bunch of other things, my time…

A bizarre experiment. If you play along, tag me. — I just read about this experiment in an article by Linda Caroll and I have t take part right now. A few days ago I did a similar exercise. We had the first line and 10 minutes to write. I came up with this, and I am not proud of…

The short answer is: YES! But, how, what, when, why… — Let’s start with why. I was in a writer’s meeting, and they asked about my book. And I started talking about it. Eventually, I said something that made all the listeners sit back, and as I continued to speak, one of the other writers closed her ears and made a…

My New Year’s resolution starts now, 100 days before the New Year, or 94, 93 days… When will this article come out? — Hello world! Did you know that there are less than 100 days left of the year? It came as a shock to me. It seems (a bit) unfair that time is flying by so quickly, yet changes are so slow. …

Part 6 — Gratitude — That list of words that mean ‘thank you’ seems really short, so please add to it. Put a ‘Thank you’ in the comments in languages of your choice. I got a message on Instagram yesterday for a famous actor — we’ve all had those, right? Well, this one was a…