It seems some days, I will never learn from my mistakes.
You would think, from the number of examples I can remember, of my utterly dismal performance, that I would improve, get better, and learn how to re-read my work before submitting.
However, recent events would suggest otherwise. Read more
This is a thank you to everyone involved with the 2018, Muskoka Novel Marathon.
The Muskoka Novel Marathon is an event to raise funds to support programs for adult literacy, helping others to enjoy the things we take for granted; to be able to read this blog or write a message to your children over Facebook.
This writer had a hard week.
My mug… my writing partner and buddy, cracked.
Literally.
There’s a defect in my mug and now it’s leaking coffee tears. Read more
In grade two, I declared I was going to become a veterinarian and even though my personality quizzes in high school suggested I would make a better florist, my heart was set on becoming an animal doctor.
I’m nothing if not determined.
And I’m great at dreaming.
Throughout my grueling University undergraduate courses, I kept visualizing the moment I would receive my acceptance letter to the Ontario Veterinary College. I could hear the envelope ripping, smell the glue, feel the rasp of the paper between my fingers, see the welcoming words on the page and when I was exhausted and frustrated and about ready to give it all up… I imagined a victorious jump into the air with a viscous fist pump. Read more
I came upon a Twitter thread where a frustrated author was venting. This author, who I might add, is already at least a decade ahead of my writing success because she has a published book that in my imagination has a stunning hard cover hugging her words. She was asked by an interested party, “So, how many books have you sold?”
My first thought was, ‘what an honour—to have a book to sell’ but the author was quite upset by the question and expressed how she felt the person had blatantly asked, “So, how much do you make?”, as if the curious person had requested to see her undergarments and T4.
The remuneration we receive for our work is intimately personal. We don’t actively speak about what we get paid in society and often times, the amounts don’t compute. Why does a home care provider, nourishing the future generation and tending to the family home, essentially get no pay, while others make millions buying and selling businesses?
How do you put a value on art? On someone’s creative ability to share a fearfully thrilling, heartwarming or life altering story? Read more
“Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So… get on your way!”
My daughter and I were strolling the aisles of the local dollar store, when this little notebook caught my attention. It was leather, and robin’s egg blue and embossed across the front was “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way!” with a picture of a creature that could have only been doodled by Dr. Seuss. I couldn’t help but feel this little book held more value than a dollar. Read more
I recently learned that although I don’t consider myself to be a procrastinator, when it comes to querying, I am.
There’s always something more to do;
The problem is – it’s a never ending cycle. If I am going to wait until the third book is polished, it could be another ten years before the first book is ready to query, because that’s about how long it took me to edit the first book. Read more
Life is BusyWe all have commitments that fill up our day, our calendar and our thoughts.
At times, it seems as though my life and the choices I have made are overtaking my ability to continue to decide how I want to spend my day.
There comes a point where we need to clean house and decide what must stay on our ‘to do’ list, however, lately it seems the things that tend to get kicked off my plate are things I actually want to do.
Time to give up. Toss in the towel. Zip up the heart and close the computer screen.
If you know me at all, I can already imagine you shaking your head and mumbling,
“What’s the catch?”
Allow me to digress, one last time, into storytelling, because as I’ve stated, I’m quitting this writing thing. Read more