Category: on writing

It’s All About Temperature

Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment
Photo credit with thanks to Sarah McCraw Crow. @sarahmcrow

Blink and their gone.

What am I referring to?

Fall leaves.

It seems that one day I’m trying to remind myself to appreciate the stunning red and yellow canopies and then suddenly, the trees are bare, and snow begins to fall.

Photo credit to Donna Curtin.

But I’m determined this year to slow the clock, to breathe in the leaves fermenting on the ground. Is that what makes that smell? Rotting leaves? Mold? Mushrooms? Some magical combination of rain, cold nights, and the sap draining from the trees and into the ground to hide away until maple syrup season? Read more

Keeping the Magic Going

Seana Moorhead 1 Comment
Photo credit to Ofjd125gk87 on pixabay

I love writing retreats. In my busy life with my work, home, dogs, garden, more dogs, canning and preserving, kayaking, building, wood spilting, and spending time with friends and family, it can be hard to find dedicated extended periods of time to work on my novel.  

Spending a week with writing friends and getting up early every morning to write all day and into the evening feels like stepping into a different world. Not to mention, talking and brainstorming ideas with people who are also passionate about writing and want to help each other write the best possible story. Returning home can feel a little like leaving the magical world of Oz.  

How can you keep the magic flowing for your writing? Or maybe you haven’t had the opportunity for a writing retreat and want to find a way to inspire you to write more consistently. How can you get that magic flowing? 

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The Tortoise and the Hare for Writers

Diane Ferguson 3 Comments
Photo by Ryan Grewell on Unsplash

As a novel writer, I move at a tortoise’s pace, working over my words with a fine tooth comb, re-reading to make sure everything flows as it should, reviewing beginnings and endings…you get the point, it’s never ending. As a first-time novel writer, I have the luxury of time.

But the newspaper and magazine world are all about timeliness. I’ve had a taste of this as I used to write-in to the local newspaper fairly frequently, responding to the current issues of the day. When you need speed, you lose some perfectionism, or at least you have to let some of it go. It feels antithetical to novel writing.

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Writing is life

Kelly Babcock Leave a comment

I was hesitant to actually write down words, for fear I’d have to admit to their ownership I suppose.

Twenty-five years ago I wrote rarely. That is, I wrote rarely with pen and paper or on a keyboard.

I often thought of things I would have written. I don’t mean that I thought, “I should write a story about some cats who tried to change their world.” I mean I used to think long segments of stories that I made up, stopping and fixing things in my mind as I went.

I’d churn out paragraphs of stuff, maybe good enough to be written down and shared with the world, but since I didn’t consider myself Read more

Why Walking More Impacts a Writer’s Brain

Lori Twining 4 Comments
Discovering new places by walking in nature ~ Lori Twining

Last week, I scheduled some time away from work and my every day responsibilities to attend a seven-day writing retreat in the middle of the woods in Haliburton County. I hoped to review and revise my current novel by taking my characters deeper and solving a few lingering issues I had with plot holes.

The weeks leading up to this retreat stressed me out. Lists needed to be made for everything I required to accomplish at work before I could leave. I had lists of food that I must shop for and pack. I also had a weekend wedding in Hamilton to get ready for that followed the writing retreat with only a one-hour break between them. My brain was fried when I finally arrived at the retreat, and I didn’t have a plan of exactly what I would be working on. Poor planning.

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A Writer’s Hike

Bernice Connell 1 Comment

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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What Five Kittens and a Cat Taught Me

Donna Judy Curtin 1 Comment

When our son moved downstairs, I took over his bedroom and renovated it into my writing space. I justified it by calling it an office and a guest room.

This room became my place of bliss. Especially when COVID hit, and I needed somewhere to hide for Zoom meetings, online conferences, and virtual writing gatherings. With a big window, a calming colour palette, pleasant lighting, and an ergonomic desk and chair, my room was always inviting. The small touches helped as well, like having my spare computer plug sitting ready and waiting, making it super easy to plunk myself down. My mood can always be met as I can lounge on the cushioned couch/guest bed or lean back on the perfectly sized recliner.

When a cat in need presented to my veterinary practice, pregnant with nowhere to have her kittens, I volunteered to bring her home. Unfortunately, the only open space for her to take up residence was my writing room. I cleared away my personal belongings, set up a cat litter, removed the soft furniture and covered my luxurious rug with mats and sheets. Read more

Shhh… I want to tell you a secret! 

Seana Moorhead 2 Comments
photocredit to Olya Adamovich from Pixabay

Here’s my secret writing tip:

Tell your reader your secret!  

We love knowing other people’s secrets – it makes us feel connected to that person. Knowing their secret–something that no one else knows–is forming a bond between people.  Think of a time when someone asked you: “Can you keep a secret?”  Usually this makes us feel closer to that person; they trust us with a secret.  Either that or we feel instantly horrible knowing we will tell our other friends as soon as possible even after we promised we wouldn’t. As writers, we can use this as a way to form a bond between your character and the reader instantly.  

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