where deadly meets fabulous
“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 […]
Read MoreIt’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 […]
Read MoreEver 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 […]
Read MoreEver wake up in the middle of the night and think, holly crap what am I doing? This manuscript is garbage! I just wasted six months of my life!? I do. Often. However, apparently that is okay. No, it is better than okay. According to Lainey Lui, “insecurity is the lifeblood of the writer”. […]
Read MoreWhy doesn’t George have a tail? Did he lose in a traumatic jungle event involving zebras and those plastic soda can things? Or did Hans just run out of ink? As I reader, I often stop and wonder about plot twists and character traits, and yes, what it or isn’t on the end of […]
Read MoreThree months and 99 posts later and I have finally made it to number one—a very special space that could only be filled by none than of course, this very blog. I have gained a lot through my challenge to find 100 things that inspire me to write, but two pieces stick out the […]
Read More“The brick walls are there for a reason. .. [they] are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture. Rejection, never ending edits, and oh yeah, the fact that there are so many people out there that are clearly better […]
Read MoreLike setting and conflict, time is one of those Important Novel Elements discussed in every writing class I have ever taken. When does one scene take place in relation to another? How is that conveyed? And whatever you do, don’t go overboard on the flashbacks. All good advice, of course, however, nothing makes me more […]
Read MoreLike a tea kettle in a Disney movie, there are some paintings which almost seem to breath with life. Ted Harrison’s renditions of Northern Canadian landscapes are like that for me—the colors so brilliant, the lines so fluid, the scale so grand, that I feel like I’m sitting on a stretch of Yukon tundra every […]
Read MoreShe acts, used to dance, and has published a growing list of highly acclaimed Young Adult novels. Meg Tilly is one of those people that have the annoying tendency to excel in whatever art they take hold of. And as a writer whose painted mountainscapes look like something out of Dr Seuss book (and not […]
Read MoreThe Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards Blog
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Book reviews, the occasional rant, and more
