Things that inspire me to write #32: Flow

Time passes by unnoticed. Noises, objects, even people fall away and nothing exists but the keyboard and the screen above it. A few years ago, back in that exceedingly luxurious period of my life when I had loads of free to myself,  not only did I read but also took extensive notes on Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s […]

Read More

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

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 […]

Read More

Things that inspire me to write #97: Running

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 […]

Read More

Things that inspire me to write #99: Margaret Atwood

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 […]

Read More

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

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 […]

Read More

Writer anxiety: the pre-publishing (hopefully) waiting game

MUST stop COMPULSIVELY checking EMAIL for POSITIVE publisher RESPONSES. As of Monday, my manuscript has now officially been sent to FOUR publishers. My agent says to expect a two week turnaround, which, considering that I have been working on this project for probably about 5 years, is pretty darn quick. However, when you average about […]

Read More

In Search of the Ultimate Author Bio

Recently, agent (and yes, writing that phrase still makes me feel all special and bubbly inside)  asked me to put together bio. And I must say, so far the task has proved even more challenging than writing the 58 000 manuscript it is supposed to be promoting. What makes a great author bio?  What makes […]

Read More

Whoot whoot! one more step closer!

Yay for me! My manuscript revisions–which took me about three months to complete and involved reworking practically every damn paragraph in what I now call the BEASTIE–have been accepted by my agent. I think her exact words were ‘excellent and stunning’. Okay, I maybe those weren’t exact words, but they were definitely good ones, which […]

Read More

the perpetual wannabe…

Now that I’m no longer two, I don’t often get chastised—but I did recently.  It happened after I referred to myself as a wannabe writer in an email, to which my friend replied “dude, don’t you think you’re more than that by now?” I don’t. Funny thing is I remember feeling the exact same way […]

Read More

The Great Publishing Hole of Darkness and Death

Publishing a book is no straightforward feat. Thus far in the process, I have  a) produced a manuscript b) secured an agent and am c) still totally full of questions. Yesterday I received an email from said agent acknowledging receipt of my revised manuscript; however, I did not receive any response to my most pressing question: What […]

Read More