The Wednesday interview

Reading time: About 2 minutes Melissa Sevigny says no one — apart from the writer — should be able to dictate how or when anyone can write…. Melissa L. Sevigny is a science writer and poet, living in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is author of Brave the Wild River, winner of […]

Reading time: About two minutes Thomas Harrison says that the first draft of any piece of writing is often terrible. “But it’s always easier to edit, and to polish a found diamond in the rough,” he adds. Thomas Harrison is a teacher, lawyer and creative multi-disciplinary artist who lives on

Reading time: About 2 minutes Mackenzie Thornton says that parts of writing are fun, but other parts of it are like banging your head against a wall… Mackenzie Thornton is an author, editor, and book reviewer. A graduate of the Humber College Book Publishing program, she has loved books since

Reading time: About 2 minutes Becky Blake says that new writers are often too hard on their early drafts. They haven’t yet learned to trust the process of release and revision…. Becky Blake is a creative writing instructor at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. Her essays and

Reading time: About 2 minutes Eufemia Fantetti suggests that writers make friends with their writing process — in order to use more energy rather than burn it up with frustration… The short fiction, A Recipe for Disaster & Other Unlikely Tales of Love, by Eufemia Fantetti, was runner-up for the

Reading time: About 2 minutes Fred Estes follows a terrific motto from a design thinking mentor: “You keep revising until you run out of time or money….” Fred Estes taught science for two decades near his home in San Francisco. He wrote Design Thinking: A Guide to Innovation, and Teen Innovators:

Reading time: About 2 minutes Kelly S Thompson believes that some writing problems are ‘Later You’ problems. This means that, when you’re writing, your only job is to write. Worrying about tone and character and plot and reviews are all concerns you can fret over later… Kelly S. Thompson is

Reading time: About 3 minutes Kailash Srinivasan says he doesn’t like rules when it comes to writing, and he believes it is neither glamourous nor filled with suffering… Kailash Srinivasan was born and raised in India and is now living in Vancouver, B.C. His writing often explores fractures of all

Reading time: About 2 minutes Renée Hartleib says that building the habit of writing is far more dependable than relying on inspiration… Renée Hartleib is a Canadian writer, editor and writing mentor based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the author of Writing Your Way: A 40-Day Path of Self-Discovery

Reading time: About 3 minutes Rowena Rae says writers should never believe that everything they write will be publishable… Rowena Rae writes both nonfiction and fiction for kids. Her nonfiction focuses on science, the environment, and health for middle-grade readers. Her most recent books are Why We Need Vaccines: How