Writing Through the Pandemic
So... how are you? I mean it. How are you? In my quiet household, where the animals don't seem to be aware that anything's wrong (except for Mowat's amped-up need for evening cuddles as I watch The National), we are muddling along. Talking every day with my mom,...
What Happened When I Tried to Turn My Life into a Novel
I spent over a decade working on my book. "Working" may be the wrong word: I spent over a decade trying to make the book work. I only actually worked on it for the equivalent of a year during that time. The reason for this long, languishing creation period was simple:...
The Magic of the Retreat
I've been lucky to attend lots of retreats. There was a silent, five-day Vipassana meditation retreat back home in Ontario a couple of decades ago, and the memorable Sage Hill Writing Experience in 2014, where I spent two weeks working with an amazing group of women...
Sticky
Once I coached a woman who could not bring herself to write. She spoke of her longing and of abstract story concepts but she didn't jot down a word no matter what I suggested. Then, at the end of a couple of months together, her heart broke. Literally. She disappeared...
Ramble
EDIT (03/16/2020): This group is now wide open to help bring together writers during these COVID-19 times of self-isolation... My creative and working life feels like a bit of a ramble sometimes. I mean, I'm walking a clear path, but I tend to branch off a lot. Grab...
You Write
"How do I write?" people sometimes ask me. And it's clear that this is a big question, one they've been carrying around for a long time. A yearning, really. "You write," I say, as gently as I can. Then I suggest: start with 10 minutes a day, begin anywhere. Begin - as...
Chaos (Again)
These days, I'm working on the fourth draft of a strange, new novel. It is largely plot-driven so sometimes I wake in the night with an aggravating case of "what ifs." What if this happened... Could it? Do I dare? Yes, I do! I get up, stumble to the spare room, and...
3:33 a.m.
Over the past few nights, I’ve woken up at exactly 3:33 a.m. with thoughts about my current novel-in-process running through my head. What if, I’ve been thinking… and following this curve of questioning has led me to discover an exciting twist (at least to me...) that...
Read Canadian.
Private messages from readers who loved This Has Nothing To Do With You keep coming to me through text and email and private message, and it's really a thrill. I'm very thankful, but along with expressing my gratitude I usually respond by asking if they could please...
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