CL writes:

Before writing to you, I read the most recent article you wrote in your column at Chinadaily, What does alpha male mean?.  I am once again totally impressed, envyingly, with the natural flow of your writing and, in particular, your keen sense of humor.

In this email, I would like to ask you three questions. The first two are normal questions whose answers I guess many readers are eager to know, if the answers are readily available and, even better, easy to execute. The third question is perhaps more serious, asked by a melancholy soul who, despite his age of 25, claims that he has never enjoyed life and remains a total stranger to what they call happiness.

The first question is in connection with the subject matter of your most recent article: how to become an alpha male, if a guy is neither handsome, humorous, nor adventurous? I understand that an alpha guy, by definition, has these qualities inherent in him, but my question is, as a guy who is born average-looking and who, by far, has proved shy, timid, sensitive, and vulnerable to heartbreaking, what can he do to change these unfavorable traits to make himself more popular among girls and women? The most exciting and fulfilling game in this game-life/game-world, after all, is the game between the two genders. It is the most fascinating dream in this neither-short-nor-long-enough dreamy human life. I do wish to be an alpha guy, like many other guys, perhaps also including, I guess, Mr. Zhang, if you are not already one. And if you bother, I am sure you must have a far better chance in this regard. Anyway, any perspective or practical advices will be appreciated.

The second question is about writing: how to write naturally, coherently, lively, and even better, humorously, like you do? When it comes to writing, I am always filled with frustration. More often than not, I write on impulse, begin to write without a general picture in mind. I am conscious that writing is no easy enterprise. It requires a lot to be a good writer. To write, the first thing is that you should have something to say, something useful, interesting, informative, etc to say, something that is of some value to the reader. This is the most important aspect about writing, I think. If you have nothing worth writing to write, it is absolutely impossible to write. But, nevertheless, however ordinary a man may be, everyone should have something to say, everyone has a sensitive heart and things that disturb his heart and things that they can say/write with keen concern. In this sense, the most important aspect about writing should not pose a grave question even for a normal person such as me. But why I am not able to write as smoothly and naturally and lively as I wish myself to be. I am vaguely conscious of the reasons behind my trouble. None of the alpha guys you mention handily in your article I have ever heard of, because I seldom watch movies. Given writing as an activity of output and that without enough input one cannot output, I guess there is still much input and digestion work to do before I can output good writings.