Human Books…and no, you can’t take these ones in the bathtub with you

I was more than a little confused the first time I heard about one of these. Human Book? What other kinds are there? It’s not like elephants have gotten into the publishing business, they don’t have fingers. Then I remembered that thing called ‘Internet’ and was enlightened. Actually, human books are people, not paper bound […]

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Meg Tilly is coming to town!

Yay! Meg Tilly has come out with another Young Adult novel, A Taste of Heaven, and though I haven’t read it yet, hello, it has rainbow sprinkles on the cover—what more can a person really ask for? Wait I know! How about getting to see her in person? That’s right, Tilly is coming to Vancouver’s […]

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Something I learned about writing today: The Joy of Delete

  “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Stephen King, On Writing. I received some feedback from an agent friend of mine a couple weeks ago and have been doing a lot of work revising the manuscript in question lately. However, when I got to the part where she suggested I cut out any words not […]

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Something I learned about writing today: Covers matter…a lot

  Despite that saying about not judging books by covers and all that, they do. Big time. Just look at all the fervor generated by the recently released version of Anne of Green Gables, featuring a hot blond instead of the classic diminutive red head.  I admit, the change is rather surprising, considering the many reference […]

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Something I learned about writing today: It takes a village

I don’t know if anyone else besides the author and the people listed within them ever actually reads them, but I have soft spot for Acknowledgments pages. They are like a little peak behind the scenes, a tiny glimpse into how the book in my hand was created. And sometimes a much needed lull at […]

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Something I learned about writing today: to write or have written?

“Why do you write?” My mom asked me this question yesterday afternoon, and after my automatic eye rolling response had passed (there are some parts of adolescence that just won’t die) I thought of a quote from Gloria Steinem: “I do not like to write – I like to have written.” (sourced from goodreads) Do […]

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Something I learned about writing today: manuscripts are like cats

I have suddenly found myself paralyzed in an indecision of the Coke or Pepsi magnitude. I recently got some feedback on a manuscript I ‘finished’ several months ago, and would be totally ready to dig into it if however I also happen to be two drafts in to a completely new one, leaving me with in a […]

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Something I learned about writing today: This is not easy

“They just started casting for the movie—when can you fly down to Hollywood?” Despite all the times I’ve been told publishing is a highly competitive industry, I can’t help it. Every time I send a manuscript off to my agent contact, part of me can’t help but hope that this it. She is going to […]

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Something I learned about writing today: Matricide Yay!

It’s okay to kill your mother. According to Miriam Toews, one powerful way to set up conflict for your protagonist, is to take something away from them that you yourself hold dear. Describing her process of writing A Complicated Kindness in Herizon magazine, Miriam states: “The relationship I have with my mother is so strong […]

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Something I learned about writing today: Speling is optional

  Ever since my grade nine English teacher berated me for using ‘allot’ instead of ‘a lot’ in my limerick about Canadian wildlife, punctuation, grammar and spelling have not been my friend, which is why I naturally felt a great joy upon reading Kurt Vonnegut’s quote on the subject this afternoon. “Here is a lesson […]

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