Author: Bernice Connell

Verging on retirement from paid work, Bernice is excited to be getting to the work and fun of writing. She's thrilled to be relocated in southern Ontario after 35 years in the northwestern part of the province. Being a writer of short stories is her goal.

Spring is in the Air

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This year, more than usual, I am desperate for spring’s arrival.

A cluster of personal and professional situations has really sent me into a tailspin in recent weeks. It has been impossible to bounce back easily and quickly as I normally do. The hours spent working and worrying are seriously disproportionate to time spent having fun. I am rarely reading these days and writing has come to a full stop. Even recognizing the possibility that what I’m experiencing right now may be helpful to a future character, there is no energy for writing daily pages.

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Inspirations by and for Writers

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“One day I will find the right words and they will be simple.” So said Jack Kerouac. An encouraging adage that resonates for me.

I have been following several blogs that focus on inspirational philosophers and authors and am learning more about many familiar names in the literary world.

Most interesting to me currently is Tennessee Williams. Follies of the Gods is a collaboration between Williams and interviewer James Grissom who collated Williams’ thoughts on the actors he worked with that brought his works to the big screen. Descriptions of his relationships with the actors are beautifully written.

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Witchy Women

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October 31st is All Hallows’ Eve. How could I resist writing about witches, my favourite symbol of Hallowe’en?  

A dark, violent history was the lot for many thousands of women who were condemned as witches over the centuries. Today, the rise of the feminine is countering the dominant negative stereotypes that have endured since then.

I have noticed an increase lately in the number of novels on bookstore shelves that have some form of the word Witch in the titles. Witching and witchery titles usually get a closer. A recent novel by author Bianca Marais included this epigraph on the cover: ‘Why were we taught to fear witches and not the men who burned them?’

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A Writer’s Hike

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A new friend of mine is currently walking the Bruce Trail and writing about her adventure. 

Elisha and I met in May on a virtual forum; a national summit on social activism and advocacy. Biographies were shared among the registrants and we connected over a shared love of writing.

She recently received a Canada Council of the Arts grant to walk the Bruce Trail end to end together with her mother, Donna. Her goal is to publish a collection of poetry, prose and photography exploring their relationship and documenting their journey hiking the Trail.

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Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Summer Writing

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This title perfectly describes how I am enjoying writing during these mid-summer days. Well, not exactly lazily. More like leisurely.  I’m eager to write morning or evening pages and it is fun because there are no expectations attached. I commit to twenty minutes but almost always write longer.

It may be too soon to declare that a new habit is established but this latest attempt at the daily practice has continued for more than a month now. How freeing it is to just write direction-less.

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Vacation Writing

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Life has been too hectic lately and as often happens, writing has taken a back seat to work and all kinds of busy-ness.

So, for the next three weeks, it is vacation time as hubby and I hit the road for beautiful Rainy Lake on the border of Ontario and Minnesota. 

As excited as I am to see friends and to celebrate a wedding, I am really looking forward to having lots of distraction-free time to write as well. Relaxed writing, that is. The meditative, restorative, not worrying whether it is good or not, writing.

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Firing My Inner Critic

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My inner critic’s behaviour has been out of control lately so it is time for it to GO!

We all know the niggling, negative self talk that can undermine us in so many ways in our lives. Mine is especially loud and obnoxious when I write. It is such a powerful force that on countless occasions it has caused me to trash every word written thus far and start over. My inner critic is a slimy slug who sneaks up on me when least expected. 

That is until recently. I started to notice a pattern in the critic’s appearances. They always occurred when I was well along in a project, happily writing, confident with my plan then WHAM! Suddenly everything turned to crap and nothing was salvageable. A strategy was required to put the critic in its place. 

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