Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

Do You Take Your Life & Loved Ones For Granted?

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So my girlfriend’s dog just had a seizure.  I thought she was going to die. She’s a beautiful 17-year-old dachshund (about 84 in human years) who I’ve completely fallen in love with over the last few years. She loves to eat cabbage and satsuma. She makes funny sounds when she sleeps or is hungry or needs a […]

How To Prepare For NaNoWriMo If You’ve Never Written A Book Before

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National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo for the initiated) is a 30-day crash course in what it’s like to be a writer.  From November 1 to November 30, you’re going to…. Forsake your relationships Let the laundry pile up Neglect to shower Andddddd……… WRITE A BOOK November is a magical month because writers from all over […]

How To Get More Writing Done In Less Time

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The clock says it’s 13:05 right now. I’m on my lunch break. Lets see how much writing I can get done in, say, 15 minutes. Ready? Let’s go! I’ve written a lot over this past year. It’s been one of the only consistent things about my life. If I could have seen into the future […]

5 Things That Might Shock You About Studying At Oxford University

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When I arrived at Oxford University, ready to start my first year, I knew almost nothing about the place. I knew the university was prestigious and that the city was beautiful but my knowledge of the institution was close to zero. This is not normal for most people turning up to study at Oxford. Most of […]

Feeling Stuck? Do This…

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Did you hear about the constipated mathematician? He worked it out with a pencil. If you’re feeling stuck, the best thing to do is to be like that constipated mathematician. Work it out with a pencil. Feeling stuck is usually the result of being dissatisfied with one or more of these 3 key areas of […]

Difficult But Useful Lessons To Learn In Your 20s

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A thoughtful question popped up on my Quora feed the other day: What are the most difficult and useful things people have to learn in their 20s? Over a hundred wise men and women from all over the world and in many different fields of expertise chimed in. So I thought I’d chug a triple […]

Is reading manga a good way to improve your Japanese?

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Ignore the people who say you can’t improve your Japanese by reading manga. As a level 4 otaku and someone who has spent most of the year blasting through manga at an alarming rate and seeing my Japanese ability soar, I’ve come to the conclusion that… Manga is an awesome way to improve your Japanese.  […]

Halloween Horror Comic Book Haul 2016

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I must be sick. Halloween is my favourite time of year. There’s nothing better than carving pumpkins, squirting fake blood all over the place, and crawling under the covers to scare yourself silly with a stack of terrifying stories.  This year, I’ve focused mainly on reading horror comic books for Halloween. It’s a realm I […]

4 Thoughts On Bob Dylan Winning The Nobel Prize For Literature

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Hemingway won it in ’54. Churchill the year before that. Camus won it in ’57. Beckett in ’69, Neruda in ’71, Golding in ’83, and Morrison in ’93. Pinter in ’05, Pamuk in ’06, and Lessing in ’07. Munro won it in 2013. Modiano in 2014. Alexievich in 2015. And now Bob Dylan has won […]