We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Nothing feels quite so much like jumping off a cliff, then preparing for twenty presentations back to back! With several age groups and several different presentations, I feel like perhaps some circus skills (juggling for example) are
WHEN YOUR BOSS IS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
It’s Friday the 13th, and as if that isn’t bad enough, our entire city, province actually, is under the spell of the White Witch of Narnia. The calendar says it is spring but winter shows no signs of ending. As I sit at my computer, it is snowing AGAIN and underneath the snow is a
How to Get Your Character Out of the Room
At the moment, I’m working on some new presentations for my spring events. It’s exciting to work with young writers and a good opportunity to touch base with my target audience. One of the things I tell them is that “writers need to write before they write.” In other words, practice is just as crucial
THIS EASTER SHOW LOVE
My regular blog post will be back next week, until then… HAPPY EASTER!
THE READ WRITE DIET
“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” Ray Bradbury. All the reading I have been doing recently, is definitely paying off as I contemplate my recent manuscript and make revisions. Locking it away where I
READY, SET, WRITE!
Believe it or not, it is the same principle when you sit down to write a novel. If you are focused on the “jobs” you have to do, such as the what and the where of your various plot points and how many words should be between them, the story will hang over you like
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
How honoured I was when Under the Cover wanted to feature The Journal in their special International Women’s Day piece! The Journal had only been released the month before. Today I am reminded of all the amazing women who fought for women’s rights AND of today’s strong heroine’s who are doing just that for the
WHAT GOOD AUTHORS DO
It’s true that we can be inspired by bad writing as well as good writing. Poorly written novels may give us that boost of confidence that we can “do better than that!” But I’m finding that I want my mind filled with brilliant writing, as I wade through my revisions for Anywhere But Here. My first
OUTLINE YOUR STORY: From a “Panster” Point of View
Are you a “plotter” or a pantster?” From the time I first decided to write a novel, I knew I was a pantster. This, of course, is the word used to describe writers who write “by the seat of their pants,” rather than meticulously planning out every detail before typing Chapter 1. It’s not
INSPIRING KIDS TO WRITE
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” – Phillip Pullman What could be more fun than taking a tin full of treasures to inspire young writers? This week I am honoured to participate in Story Avenue along with groups of Grade 5 and Grade 6 students in