What are three objects you couldn’t live without?
I’m going through a period of hyper creativity at the moment, so three objects I couldn’t live without are my pen, my notebook, and my guitar (don’t make me pick which guitar; the others will never forgive me).
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?
This is probably a boring answer, but I wouldn’t want to be anyone else, even if I could be. I’m enough for me. Yes, I could do with more money, a home of my own, and a partner, but I’d want all those things as myself, not living out the fantasies as someone else. I’m proud of all my achievements, but I also own all my mistakes and regrets. The man writing this is a result of everything, good and bad, that’s ever happened to him. It’s difficult enough to be ourselves in this era of too-fast technology and seemingly endless political controversy and upheaval. Life is unique and complex, and we all need to appreciate ourselves more.
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
It’s more of a phrase. This trend of people saying ‘100 percent’ instead of ‘definitely’ or even just ‘yes’. I mean, it’s probably better than ‘110 percent’, but not really. At least when people used to say ‘110 percent’ it showed some kind of aspiration to reach beyond their limitations, but ‘100 percent’? No thank you.
JOHN D. PAYNE IS WRITING 