Hamid Ismailov

The BBC World Service has just appointed its first ever writer in residence - Hamid Ismailov - the Uzbek novelist and poet, who is also head of the BBC's Central Asian Service.

For the next two years he will be writing creatively about issues in the news and commenting on world events.

Today on The Strand he meets two writers who've also held positions as writer in residence - the American writer Tracy Chevalier and the Ghanaian poet and novelist Nii Awikwei Parkes.

In his first blog entry, Hamid talks about striking the right balance between your daily work and personal creativity. Add your comments to his blog or send an email to wir@bbc.co.uk.