The immense benefits of a writing group are not always obvious from the beginning of an adventure. You may have mixed feelings as you sign up for a writing course or attend a conference or sit in on a writer’s group meeting as an observer, but I can tell you, there will be benefits you could never have imagined. Read more
It began innocuously enough.
The setting aside of writing time for all the demands of the season.I was not to know the full repercussions of this decision until weeks later.
Way back in December, I found myself immersed in the Read more
This past week I’ve procrastinated with my writing deadlines more than any other week over the past couple of years, even though I have multiple deadlines for stories and contests in the very near future. I’ve also noticed that I am checking the news more often than I need to. I’ve NEVER EVER been much of a “need-to-know-news-immediately” kind of person, but I am NOW.
Why? What has happened in the past week or so that has changed everything? Read more
I have a square paper cube with words written on all six sides. It sits on my desk. I made this cube many years ago at a motivational talk given by a world champion archer.
I roll the cube like a die; the word “drive” is on top. Along with this word is “stay focused” and “Don’t give up!” Read more
Happy New Year everyone! It’s January 2 and by now, you’re into your second day of that resolution you made, or you’ve broken it, either once or several times, or you’re still thinking of one, or some.
Resolutions are not for the faint-hearted. You need to summon the willpower to make a resolution stick. It’s all about change! Can you change from your before to your after all in one day? It only takes one second to create a pivotal moment in your life, but a whole heap of drive to keep the momentum flowing in the direction you’ve decided to go in. Read more
Along with the mid-December blizzards here in Grey County, there’s been a flurry of activity around the launch of a new book.
This blog, I promise, will be the last sentimental gushing from me regarding the Ascribe Writers’ recent project of publishing the short story collection, Beneath the Surface. But gush I must, for just a few paragraphs.
Completing the story-writing marked the end of the project in one sense but once the books were in our hands, the journey continued to unfold. Read more
From the first word we ever typed, penned, or scribbled, all of us who have written anything have always dreamed of one day seeing our work published.
And that’s what happened this week for The Ascribe Writers: the book launch of the first anthology of our short stories, Beneath the Surface: A Collection of Grey-Bruce Stories. Read more
I’m not sure where, but I’ve heard this before: A poem is an affair, a short-story is a relationship and a novel is a marriage. I couldn’t agree more. I’m always amazed so many people write novels considering the time and commitment it takes. And even when we think one novel is done and we’re ready to move on to the next, we may still be revisiting the old novel, working on other projects all while we try and get something going on the new novel.
I’ve been “between” novels for a couple years now. That doesn’t mean I’m not writing, just that I’m not firmly planted in one project or another. Not to mention things come up, other things to be written. I tried my hand at a non-fiction essay, something I hadn’t done in a number of years. I wrote small “story-starters” for the Ontario Writers’ Conference, I wrote blogs, and I wrote letters, lots of them. Read more