Tag: writing

I Am NOT In Charge!

Joan McAndrew 2 Comments

Humans insist that we are qualified to run the world. Every so often, the world says “wanna bet?” as it bombards us with proof that we aren’t (i.e., climate change and covid-19). Still our governments assure us they have our backs and that rescue is on its way. Alas, turns out our governments are full of humans. But, being ever hopeful (or stupid), we console ourselves with platitudes like, “Everything will be fine. We just need a little more time.

”This process reminds of the steady thrum of ‘wannabe writers’ as we complain about all the things in our lives that must be done before we find enough time to write.

I, for one, have been saying that since I was 8 years old. I read books that taught me how to manage time and thus find more. Then, twenty-five years ago, I discovered the magic of Morning Pages as recommended in The Artist’s Way. Much to my surprise I stayed steady with this practice until December 25th, 2021. That was the day I realized last year’s journal was full of pages and pages of ‘woe is me’ jumbled up with ‘I am woman!’ declarations, all of it punctuated with daily ‘to-do-lists’, that I don’t complete. Why? Read more

Consulting an Expert

Seana Moorhead 1 Comment
Image by mohamed Hassan, pixabay

Margaret Atwood upon writing “Oryx and Crake” found a young man with commitment issues to read a draft of her story.  She wanted to make sure that she got things right with her main character (who had commitment issues) and didn’t make any major errors.  Atwood explained about how important it is to find a reader similar to a character whenever you write a character who is not yourself.  Small details can make a difference between having a reader commit to your story or fall out of it.  

I had already heard that it can be helpful to have a reader review your work when you add in characters that have a different ethnic or racial background than you.  This is called a “sensitivity reader”. It’s important to ensure that you have the details correct and prevent yourself from falling into stereotypes with these characters  I had never thought I expanding that concept to all my main characters regardless of their ethnic background. Read more

When Is a Writer Considered Successful?

Lori Twining Leave a comment
Lori Twining

The definition of success:

Success (the opposite of failure or defeat) is the status of having achieved and accomplished an aim or objective. Being successful means achieving desired visions and planned goals. The dictionary describes success as the following: “attaining wealth, prosperity and/or fame”.

Last week, I had at least a dozen weird “writerly” things happen to me. Here are two situations that are relevant to this question: When is a writer considered successful?

Read more

Storm-Stayed Stories

Bernice Connell Leave a comment
Curvy windy road in snow covered forest, top down aerial view.

If there is one thing that can ease the stress of being stranded by a surprise winter storm when traveling, it is getting to hang out with folks who are great storytellers.

This was the lucky situation for me last week when traveling to Fort Frances. After a bumpy landing in Thunder Bay amid blustery seventy-kilometer per hour winds, it was a quick ride to a hotel with the hopes of getting a room. Many other travelers had the same plan. The Trans-Canada Highway heading west was closed as was the 350 kilometer stretch of road to Fort Frances.

Read more

Receiving Writing Feedback

Donna Judy Curtin Leave a comment
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

Driving home from the rink recently, my son begrudgingly shared—and I thank the heavens daily he feels safe to share with me—how during practice, a team member made a viscous comment about a mistake he made on the ice. Doing my best not to slam on the brakes and one-eighty-it to drive over the little bastard, I forced myself to reflect on the resilience it will build in my son to take this hard knock and learn from it.

Heaven knows, it sure isn’t easy.

As a writer in the query trenches, rejections are a constant reality. After I pick myself up, and dust myself off, the next step is to search out advice to improve my writing. I, as well, have had to develop a thicker skin and tune into my inner voice to further understand what advice is best to listen to. Read more

Embracing Autumn

Tracey Richardson Leave a comment

There’s something comforting about autumn.

Perhaps it’s the bounty of all the months spent growing food, and we all know that food is comfort. It’s also comforting to know that it’s that season of warm sweaters, flannel sheets and fireplaces. Doesn’t that visual want to make you curl up with a book in your favourite chair, wrapped in a warm throw blanket in front of the fire?

While it is common to think about cozy scarves and autumnal fruit pies, the symbolic meanings of autumn are more profound than you might think. Ancient cultures, science, and astrology have associated many aspects of this beautiful season to human life. These symbolic associations are powerful reminders that Mother Nature has an incredible influence on our lives. Read more

Writing Descriptively

Bernice Connell Leave a comment

Seeing interesting or impactful images makes me immediately think about how to describe them. 

Not long ago, I struggled to describe a sky full of different types of clouds. What I wrote was ‘A variety of clouds filled the sky to the horizon in every direction, tumbling like a slow-motion kaleidoscope’.  Despite the time and effort spent, my description fell short of capturing the image.

Believing the clouds were noteworthy was an emotional reaction to a beautiful scene. As I was not writing about storm chasers or pilots, the clouds had nothing to do with the story. What I have learned is that there are times when good descriptions are critical but I often add many unnecessarily in my writing. It is easy to be too elaborate or flowery when enamoured of an image. Likewise, being overly detailed if focusing on facts and general information can be boring.

Read more

Letting Go

Tracey Richardson 2 Comments

 

“The most exquisite paradox: as soon as you give it all up, you can have it all. As long as you want power, you can’t have it. The minute you don’t want power, you’ll have more than you ever dreamed possible.” ~Ram Dass


As writers, sometimes we want so badly to be published, that we will do just about anything to make that success happen. What ultimately happens is that we get stuck on a gerbil that’s spinning so fast, we can’t get off.

Read more