Things that inspire me to write #92: 14 year old Annaleise Carr

October 28, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

At fourteen years of age, Annaleise Carr became the youngest person to swim across the frigid and turbulent waters of Lake Ontario last august. She did it to raise money for children and families affected by cancer. It was a long and cold and dark journey with five foot waves and 10 – 15 knot wind that took her 27 […]

Things that inspire me to write #93: Chapters Bookstore

October 27, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

There is nothing that makes me want to churn out story magic than surrounding myself in a wall of freshly minted YA covers on a dark and rainy Vancouver night. Like the triple chocolate brownies and oat fudge bars displayed behind glass in the downstairs Starbucks, all those shiny images and flashy titles ignite my appetite to write. […]

Things that inspire me to write #94: My fifteen year-old diary

October 27, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

I filled a lot of scruffy looking notebooks like this one with observations and thoughts on life throughout my teenage years–such as this one from my second trip to Japan at 17. And yes, the pack-rat that I am I still have most of them. A few months ago I hauled them out of my storage unit […]

Things that inspire me to write #95: Camilla Gibb

October 25, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

“ So, when are you going to start your Phd?” That was the first thing people asked me after I finished my master’s of education degree several years ago–and I never knew quite how to answer them. On the one hand, it almost seemed inevitable that I should continue on the path I had started and work towards a […]

Things that inspire me to write #96: 1000 awesome things blog

October 24, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

Reading Neil Pasricha’s blog about all the things he’s grateful for is definitely a smile-rising experience, but it’s the story of the blogs creation that captivates me most. According to a radio interview I heard on CBC with the author, Neil first set a goal of 1000 hits for his blog–and when he met that […]

Things that inspire me to write #97: Running

October 21, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

My legs are pumping, my feet are pounding and my heart is dancing in my chest like one of those dapper kids at the Robson square swing night. I don’t know exactly why or how–maybe it’s the faster than usual movement of blood or the sudden uptake of oxygen I can always think much clearer […]

Things that inspire me to write #98: How I live now

October 21, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

We have all read books that changed our lives, and for me one of those was Meg Rosoff’s How I live now, which made me first realize that there was more to Young Adult fiction than Sweet Valley High–and that I might just want to contribute to it. Yes, it is that excellent. Even now, several years later, […]

Things that inspire me to write #99: Margaret Atwood

October 20, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

There is nothing quite like reading a really good author to fuel one’s creative juices–however that’s not why I have included Mrs Atwood here. What I really find inspiring about the lady is her attitude. I saw her for the first time yesterday at the Vancouver Writer’s Festival and was impressed by her humor and humbleness. Despite her amazing […]

Things that inspire me to write #100: The Vancouver Writer’s Fest #writersfest

October 20, 2012.Reading time 1 minute.

Could there be a better way to kick off my Mental Gatorade challenge than spending the day at the Vancouver Writer’s festival? What I love about this festival is the opportunity to hear authors and publisher talk about writing like it matters, like it means something–like when I am sitting alone at my computer I […]

Mental gatorade: 100 things that inspire me to write

October 19, 2012.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Writing is hard: the rejection part, the critique part, and just the sitting down to do it part (especially when you have experienced a lot of the first two) Since completing my latest novel manuscript I have been finding it especially difficult to get back at it. Which brings me to this: a daily challenge to list […]