Reading time: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes from John Vaillant…. John Vaillant is a writer and journalist who was born and raised in Massachusetts and has lived in Vancouver since 1998. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National […]
The figurative language of John Vaillant…. Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Erin MacNair has had her stories published in The Baffler, The Walrus, Prairie Fire, subTerrain and others. She’s finished writing a collection of literary, speculative fiction short stories and is working on a novel. She lives in North Vancouver. I was excited to talk to Erin about how she approaches
Reflections on writing with Erin MacNair…. Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If I asked you to compare your writing to an animal, is it possible you’d say you enjoy writing like a shark? When you read the headline “writing like a shark,” you might have thought I was going to talk about writing that is aggressive, relentless or fearless. Nope. Not
The problem with writing like a shark Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about how to name your book… Is there anything more fraught than naming your book? You’d think nothing
How to name your book Read More »
Viewing time: 5 mins. 29 secs. The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #132, which discusses whether it’s safe to enter a writing contest. The post first ran on March 20/20.
Is it safe to enter a writing contest? (video) Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about metaphors from Claire Keegan…. Claire Keegan is an Irish writer known for her short stories, which have been published in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, Granta, and The Paris Review. In 2023 she was
The figurative language of Claire Keegan… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Carmen Farrell believes that inspiration doesn’t come out of nowhere. Instead, it’s the byproduct of hard work…. Carmen Farrell is a force behind community initiatives for the neurodiverse: para-athlete opportunities for high schoolers, learning-to-work programs at university, and playground inclusion groups in elementary school. Her published creative nonfiction focuses on
Reflections on writing with Carmen Farrell… Read More »
Reading time: About 3 minutes If you’re inclined to delay, postpone or procrastinate, here’s an argument for why you should start writing today… I talk with a lot of people who want to write… eventually. They have an idea for a book. There’s a blog they want to contribute to (perhaps it’s even their own!).
What learning French has to do with writing Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss a blog post about how to calm your anxiety… If worry and concern over the pandemic has affected your writing, consider
How to calm your anxiety (so you can write again) Read More »
Viewing time: 3 mins. 47 secs The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #131, which discusses how to stop editing while you write. The post first ran on March 6/20. Transcript:
How to stop editing while you write (video) Read More »
