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April 2013

TheGayUK Articles: Vices – Mr Perfect & Book Review: Strange Bedfellows

By Creativity, Journalism, Reviews2 Comments

‘Mr Perfect,’ a piece of my journalistic writing is on TheGayUK:
TheGayUK-vices-screenshot

Here is the full article:

Mr Perfect

Can someone ever have no vices? Be so flawless that they seem perfect? And if so, is perfection what we seek? In this article, I’ll share an experience I had a few years ago; along with a realisation I had about aspiring to be perfect.

I met this devilishly hansom guy online. We exchanged a few messages and decided to meet up. I took all the usual precautions when meeting up with someone from the online world: I arranged to meet him in a public place (a well known coffee shop), let a friend know who I was meeting and what time I’d call in safe.

He was one of those people that look even more stunning in real life than in their profile pictures. He had short-cropped hair, deep hazel eyes, a five o’clock shadow and his fitted tee a showed off a taut body. Our first coffee date went well and I established that he wasn’t an axe-wielding murderer.

We shared a few dinner dates, a cinema date and even a countryside walk with a picnic date. I discovered that he didn’t smoke and rarely drank. When he did have an alcoholic beverage, he’d only have one or two. He told me that he liked to go to the gym three to four times a week and easily got his five-a-day in one meal.

When my friends asked how it was going between us, I referred to him as Mr Perfect. I explained that I couldn’t find a single vice or flaw that he had. Comparing Mr Perfect with myself gave me a twinge of inadequacy. I had plenty of vices; I smoked and liked the occasional alcohol-fuelled night out. On top of these I was a chocoholic; lazy at times and could only manage to eat three of my five-a-day.

Mr Perfect had noticed my vices and flaws. He was too polite to point them out, but did suggest that I try to cut down on the amount I smoked and offered to sign me in as a guest at his gym.

Then one day I had a eureka moment; I realised that Mr Perfect’s vice was aspiring to be perfect. That he spent all of his time trying to be flawless. Mr Perfect wanted every aspect of his life to be perfect including his potential boyfriend: me.

I grew up with Disney films that showed me that the ideal man, Prince Charming is hansom and flawless. And I thought that’s what I wanted; until I had Mr Perfect sat opposite me. We had a conversation and decided not to date anymore.

I realised that as much as Mr Perfect aspired to be perfect, whatever his definition of that was, that he’d never achieve it. As every time he gets close, he’ll move the goal posts further away. Perfection is an unachievable goal, like trying to live for eternity.

Through my experience with Mr Perfect I discovered what I want in a man. I want a man that has vices and flaws; as these are part of what makes us unique, diverse and multi-faced individuals. Remember – those who truly love us, accept us for our whole selves, flaws and all.

Here is what I learnt from writing this article:

  • I can write something even when I’ve been on nights and with a short deadline.
  • I reverted to storytelling, probably due to the deadline. I could have wrote the article in a more journalistic way.
  • I can say a lot with 534 words.
  • A few typos. I need to finish articles or short stories a day before the deadline, take a 24 hour break and then complete a final re-read before submitting.

TheGayUK have also published another one of my book reviews: BOOK REVIEW: Strange Bedfellows by Rob Byrnes.

Write soon,

Antony



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Bravely Sharing My Short Stories

By CreativityNo Comments

Hi all,

Just a quick post to let you know that I’ve released my two short stories: Stuck Between A Rock… and A Few Amazing Moments online for FREE Download. Here is what they are about:

Stuck Between A Rock… – Gina and Tom have just got engaged. But she’s got a secret and worries about his reaction when he discovers the truth. She’s also got an interview for the Director of Sales job, but she has some unexpected competition. How will Tom react when he discovers her secret? And will she win the Director of Sales job or is fate leading her in a different direction?

A Few Amazing Moments – In A Few Amazing Moments Shaun shares his journey to find love through the decades. From his teen experience of rejection; to living by the philosophy of grabbing a few amazing moments of love where he can. The moments always coming to an end as he expects. But with Nathan his best friend and lover, will it be a happily ever after or is it another one of those relationships with a shelf life?

As well as releasing the stories themselves, I’ve also shared what I learnt through the process of writing and afterwards. I have already said how the thought of sharing these stories makes me slightly nauseous; but I’m still bravely choosing to share. Hope you enjoy.

Write creatively soon,

Antony

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TED Talk: Elizabeth Gilbert – Your elusive creative genius

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Creativity, ThinkingNo Comments

This is a TED Talk video from Elizabeth Gilbert:

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This is what it’s about:

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Elizabeth Gilbert‘s best selling book Eat, Pray, Love she went in search of a psychological construct to deal with her work and her natural anxiety about writing her next book.

What I like about Elizabeth Gilbert‘s talk is her use of humour and storytelling. She looks at creative people in history and how they managed their anxiety; as well as talking about brushing up against devine creativity. I found myself in agreement with everything that she says and certainly related to brushing up against devine creative. I’ve had inspiration and ideas appear from nowhere in my mind and in these cases it feels Like they are not coming from me, but from somewhere else.

I have shown and shared this video with the many creative people in my life. The feelings were mixed. Some agreed with all of what she says, some agree with bits and some totally disagree. I guess it’s a perspective thing.

In the near future I will be sharing some of my short stories as free downloads. I’m stomach wrenchingly nervous about it. But the having a genius concept makes me feel less anxious. If people don’t like my short stories my genius can take the blame.

Blog soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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