Columnists

Creating a Writing Space That Inspires Your Imagination

I’m not one for a set writing routine, but finding other ways to be consistent has helped me feel more connected to my practice and my creativity. My writing space is key to this. It’s not the biggest ...

Grant Writing 101: The New Canada Council Portal

The Canada Council for the Arts has a new portal and truth be told, it’s going to take us all a while to get used to it, but I’ve gathered up all the questions and frustrations I’ve been hearing ...

Writing Protagonists Who Don’t Care If You Like Them

As writers, we want our readers to connect with our protagonists, to root for them and relate to them. It makes sense – human connection is at the heart of storytelling. If a reader just utterly hates ...

In Defense of Procrastination

The procrastinating author is a time-honoured trope. For me personally, I’m at my most productive with other tasks (vacuuming, crocheting, washing dishes, doing laundry, clearing up clutter) when I ...

How to Receive Useful Writing Feedback

For many writers, giving and receiving feedback can feel like the most difficult part. It engages a part of our writerly brains that exists a bit outside the work, much like the editing process.  In ...

How to Give Useful Writing Feedback

Many writers have friends who are also writers, and sometimes those friends ask us to give feedback on their work. Yay! We get to help our friends succeed! However, there can also be anxiety behind it. ...

More Tips on Writing Book Reviews

One year ago, I wrote a column on getting into writing book reviews. The topic of book reviews remains ever-important, especially in a media climate where outlets to review grow smaller and smaller. In ...

Let’s Talk Books: Five Tips for Starting Your Own Book Club

I love talking about books. A lot. And for years, I wanted to be part of a book club. But there was one small problem: after taking too many English classes in university, I hate being told what to read. ...

Edit Your Writing with Empathy and Curiosity

Are you a writer? How do you feel about editing? If you’re like many writers you’ve probably just groaned or hissed at your screen. I get it—editing can feel like the most arduous thing about being ...

The Key to Publishing a Book: Being a Staunch Celebrationist

Writing a book takes forever. Or, it does for me. I always think I’ll be able to crack the code for the next one, and write faster and be more efficient, but the reality is, it takes me five years to ...