V.L. Perillo's Blog

3 Tips to Make the Best out of a Scientific Meeting

Do you wait all year long to go to a meeting and you come back feeling like you missed all the good talks? Did your friend get to talk to the keynote speaker –maybe even got invited to spend some time at their lab– and you only got yourself a one-person audience at your poster? Do you feel awkward and frustrated when it is time to ask questions at the end of a talk and you can't for the life of

An unusual tool to stop procrastinating on your dissertation writing

Does your heart tremble when you think about writing your thesis? Do you hyperventilate when you imagine the number of pages you need to write to finish it? This will undoubtedly mean more words that you may have written in your life! Have you tried to start writing it but keep putting it off? Following the rabbit into procrastination land is so much easier than facing the fear of that blank page

Fiction Writing: Sometimes a detour goes a long way

       I’ve always been a writer, a story finder. I was writing short stories ever since I learned to string two sentences together. I even made use of writing during the hard teenage years, when everything seems bleak and you’re looking for your way. It was my refuge when there were no friends to be found when there was no one who seemed to understand.        I lost it, though, as I went into

Life of the hypocrites

There was nothing more privileged than being a hypocrite, and Meli was proud to be one. Money flowed where pretence ruled, and Meli liked her money. However, all her words of advice consisted of nothing but long-winded speeches encouraging her friends and acquaintances to part with their greens. Meli was, of course, happy to sacrifice herself for them by receiving all their money and promptly

Nightmare

         Ana woke up late for work, the remnant of tendrils of fire licking her skin fresh in the back of her eyelids, making her heart beat like a rollercoaster. With a curse, she rolled out of bed, threw on a pair of skinny jeans and a sweater the colour of cooling embers, and rushed out the door. She hadn't taken two steps before she paused and crumbled to her knees on the broken tiles of the

Black Tears

         The spill started all of a sudden, no previous warning was recorded anywhere in the world. The black liquid came in startling waves, washing over linoleum floors and rising over shelves and cabinets. No house or building was safe, no matter how high their ceilings were. The streets overflowed, the black watery substance obliterating every computer, mobile phone, TV and gaming console on

Premonition

Hector frowned, his eyes puffy, the result of a meager couple of hours of sleep. He was a man known for his premonitions to come true more often than not. He was going on vacation  today. He was packed. He was ready. Yet, there was still something not quite right. Hector couldn't shake the feeling that his dog was getting married, and the bastard handn't invited him.

Childhood dream

    Her childhood dream became her grown-up nightmare. Melisa earned her beloved fame and fortune but, in the process, lost all the people that would have made them worth it.

The Visit

You don't want to move. You’re tired after a long day at school, and you’re just finally able to relax after finishing the three-page-long essay for English class. It’s the third time the teacher makes you rewrite it, and you’re sick and tired of doing stupid homework on topics you have zero interest in. You're comfortable on the burgundy couch your mom brought back in the '80s from her three

Alma's purpose

Life had given Alma a new purpose. Thanks to her new scholarship, she now had the chance to show each and every one of her school bullies what she was made of, flowers and strength.