Tag: Jessica Brody

Back-to-School?

Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

 

As the leaves start to turn and the geese gather overhead, it’s hard not to think about back-to-school. I loved school. While many were mourning the passing of summer, I was anxious for the start of September, new books, new clothes, new class. So many exciting possibilities. (Yes, the excitement soon waned by mid-October.)

I LOVE learning and I LOVE reading. Two things that school was all about. Of course, seeing all my friends was a bonus too. Since I loved school, I knew I wanted to go to University—didn’t matter what I was learning, as long as I was in school. I decided to become a Chartered Accountant (now called a CPA). This was a path that would take seven years to complete. The culmination of that was a 16 hour exam spread over 4 days with a 50% failure rate. I made it!

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The Beginning of the End

Diane Ferguson 4 Comments

Living in Canada means living with weather. When I lived in Toronto, there were ways to ignore it, but when I moved to Grey County, I soon realized there was no denying winter as it piled outside my door. I did learn to embrace it through: snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and eventually hockey. And I also learned there was no better time for a writer than in the depths of winter. And then there was that pandemic. For us introverts, it was a perfect time for writing.

Slowly things are opening up, or maybe I’m slowly opening up. Sometimes, I feel like I’m crawling out of a dark cave, adjusting to the light, checking out the horizon. And it’s not just covid, but my daughters have just come of age, so I’m also waking from the world of intense parenting—at least it felt intense! Obviously, the job doesn’t end here, but the duties are less time-consuming.

Barbara Kyle

A night out with writer friends to see Barbara Kyle and C.S. O’Cinneide, presented by the West Grey Public Library, provided lots of inspiration for future projects!

C.S. O’Cinneide

And I’m also coming out of a long period of editing my novel, getting it ready to submit. And as close to the end as it’s seemed, the finish line keeps getting moved back. Al-most-there-just-a-bit-more-to-do. I’d printed off a copy and read through and made edits before handing it to other friends to read.

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Ghosts of Christmas’ Past

Diane Ferguson Leave a comment

Will I ever forget the blizzard of 22? We were stuck home like so many others. But since we knew it was coming, we’d prepared. We’d canceled plans to visit family on Christmas and made sure we were well-stocked with food and necessities. But no more than an hour into the blizzard and we’d lost power. This wasn’t looking good. We hadn’t filled the water buckets yet. Our usual debate about getting a generator ensued.

Without power, we stayed by the fire most of the day. What better time to do some reading! I have the most comfortable reading chair right next to the fire. That, a cat and my blanket and I was all set for a Hygge Christmas. I took the forced digital disconnection to catch-up on some reading on writing. I re-read most of Robert McKee’s, Story.  And I skimmed through, Story Genius, by Lisa Cron, which I’d previously read. And also caught up a bit on, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody.

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This Writer’s Bookshelf

Diane Ferguson 4 Comments
Happy Reading & Writing Place

If you’re a writer, chances are, you’re a reader. And there’s a high probability, like me, you’re a bookaholic. You can’t get enough. Walk by a bookstore? Only with the greatest inner fortitude. But now you don’t even have to walk by! I’ll be quietly working away at my day job, when—DING—there’s an email, Chapters / Indigo is having a sale. Pop to their website, scan the titles, order, pay, and boom, back to work. Or, I’ll be listening to a podcast while I work, a book suggestion comes up, pop over to Amazon, no min order needed to get free shipping, just a click away and the book is somehow already shipped.

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