The world of editing can be a bit murky for the uninitiated. If you're a writer and you are thinking of hiring an editor, it is helpful to get familiar with some of the core editorial services on offer. Depending on what stage your manuscript is at, you are going to need different things from … Continue reading What Type of Editing Does My Manuscript Need?
September was a pretty banner month for me. For one thing, I got to attend a 10-day writing residency on an off-the-grid island, with two other writers, a wood-fired sauna, and some attendant loons and beavers. For another, I got my hands on Claire-Louise Bennett's newest book, Checkout 19. If you aren't familiar with Claire-Louise … Continue reading I Will Follow Claire-Louise Bennett Anywhere
It's the last day of October, and the sun is shining, the leaves are brittle with frost, and the smell of woodsmoke is in the air. It's Hallowe'en, and the moon has obliged by being at its fullest. Tonight it will call out the werewolves and the witches and the ghouls. Late autumn calls to … Continue reading T Minus One Day: Countdown to NaNoWriMo
Fiction or non? The question reminds me of the days of yore (i. e., the 1980s—my childhood) when restaurants would ask you: smoking or non? But much like those questionably-defined sections in restaurants, where the smoke would drift indiscriminately around, the question in writing of fiction or non? is not always easy to define. Last … Continue reading Fiction or Non? (plus a writing prompt)
Today I read the teeniest-tiniest book. It's actually an essay, masquerading as a book. It's Ursula K. Le Guin's The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, and it is, for some reason, quite offensively purple (my copy, that is). But let's not get distracted by the purple. Maybe you love purple. Maybe you even love purple … Continue reading a leaf a gourd a shell (The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction)
It's clear to anyone who has read a Rainbow Rowell book that the woman loves autumn. And so it feels fitting today, this particularly fall-ish Sunday, when the air is crisp and a handful of trees are starting to turn to crimson and gold, to talk a bit about my favourite of her books, Fangirl. … Continue reading Flying the Fanfiction Flag
"Real life is lived when tiny changes occur." - Leo Tolstoy My home is filled with hand-me-downs. This is not ONLY because I like the vintage look (I do), or because I've never had the means to buy new furniture (I haven't), but also because I like to be surrounded by items that remind me … Continue reading Inspiration for the Open-Eyed: The Benefits of a 5-Year Diary
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