November 2023 is apparently Academic Writing Month, a spin off of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where many writers challenge themselves to create a complete novel in a month. It doesn’t have to be a good novel, just a complete one, with the idea being that not only does it encourage writers to actually finish something, but once done, even if it’s not very good, it’s at least a base to work from and tweak to perhaps something that is good.
Academic Writing Month is apparently much the same, only with a focus on, you guessed it, academic writing. In addition, this month has also brought out a call for abstracts for the Journal of Imaginary Research. As if you weren’t already concerned enough about fake news, now there are actual journals, with abstracts written by serious (and not-so-serious) academics about research that has not, and probably will not be done.
In truth, they’re actually a fun read, and the abstract in volume eight about the study on procrastination that posits “leaning into the procrastination and in doing so evading its destructive pull,” is done cleverly enough that for a moment you wonder if that might not actually be the case.
So, with that introduction, welcome to the latest Voice Magazine, where we help you to “lean in”, by including such great things as a brand new Minds We Meet, the column where we introduce students like you to, well, students like you. Although I have to admit, our latest interviewee, working for NASA and with multiple business start-ups involving future space industries, is more of an inspiration for a student like me. (That’s right, I’m officially a student again, but this time it’s graduate studies, with courses starting in January. I’ll let you know how it goes.)
We also have what I think is possibly one of the best pieces of fiction we’ve had in The Voice Magazine for quite some time. It’s a quick little story that, while being in some ways familiar, packs a punch and has a slight twist that I think takes it up a notch. Let me know if you see what I mean.
We round out our featured articles with a look at radicalization and terrorism that ends up being somehow quite wholesome and affirming at the end.
And, with events in the world as they are, the theme of terrorism is understandably not far from the minds of a few Voice writers, with some good and different takes on how these types of things can affect people. Plus, of course we include the latest in events, scholarships, social media, interviews, advice, and more!
Enjoy the read.
