where deadly meets fabulous
On one block I see the windows through which scores of young women once leapt to their deaths, fire driving them from factory floor to the cool of the open air…someone else who remembers place white roses on the sidewalk (Brooks, In the City).” In my attempt to be more mindful of the world around […]
Read MoreMounting phone bills. That bitchy friend who raised her eyebrows when I announced was going to be a Great Novelist in grade ten. Pure fatigue. Though I call it Writer’s Block, the forces keeping my from sitting down at the computer and working on my manuscript are more akin to a mosh pit of baby […]
Read MoreApparently I have the attention span of a month-old shih tzu. Despite making a pledge to be more present, I only managed to reign my mind in to the moment for all of about 37 seconds over the course of two weeks. Pathetic, I know. And yet despite its brevity, I did manage to get […]
Read MoreI have been carrying some pretty heavy writer guilt around lately—and I don’t mean heavy as an office water cooler, I’m talking heavy as-an-Assembly-on-Drunk-Driving, plus the whole damn Mulligan delivery truck. Despite managing to spend plenty of time getting all wet and sandy with my three-year-old, several months have passed and I still haven’t produced […]
Read MoreIt happened again. Despite so many pinky-swear-sealed promises that I would most definitely and certainly get back to my manuscript and write a WHOLE chapter this week, I didn’t even manage to power up my laptop. I need help. Luckily, I found some in the form of Brenda Ueland’s book, If You Want to Write: A […]
Read More“Anyone who’s ever quit smoking knows that feeling. And that’s me if I don’t get to write. It feels like I’m jonesing.” Douglas Coupland I used to think writer’s block was for wimps. For people that lacked the willpower to sit down at the computer and just get to it, and frankly, probably weren’t meant […]
Read MoreCraig’s List made me cry today. And it’s all my fault. I normally confine my job searches on said site to the admin/office assistant range, however today I made the mistake of browsing all sorts of interesting positions–psychiatric nurse, veterinarian, deep water fishing guide–that I am totally NOT qualified for. It was like window shopping […]
Read MoreThere is nothing like moving to make me ball like a teacup chiuaua. It happened when I went to Japan, then again when I moved across the country to Ottawa, and most recently, just a few kilometres away from my Vancouver home—thus giving up my cozy little apartment, my friends, my workplace, and my […]
Read MoreHow doth the successful author lead their lives? In his self-titled book on writing, Henry Miller claims that the key is “writ[ing] first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.” Sure, I can agree that if I’m really serious about my craft I should probably wait till after I’ve reached my daily […]
Read MoreSometimes when I read about the latest Top Novels being featured by the NY Times and realize mine isn’t listed because oh yeah, it isn’t PUBLISHED I start to feel sorry for myself. And by sometimes, I mean always. John Green would probably call that petty. Talking about the Americans’ access to public education, the […]
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Book reviews, the occasional rant, and more
