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June 30, 2021Brain Fog: An Essay
Brain Fog: An Essay[1]“I am…” I type.But then a thought fords the sentence. My fingers hover above the keyboard, like soldiers awaiting a command. I have… forgotten something. But what?I can ...
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October 07, 2015
An Etiquette Expert Weighs in on How to Handle the Most Awkward Questions Authors Get
“So is being a writer what you really want to do some day?”This is a question that someone asked me when they found out I had just had a book published.“Well, I’m doing it now, actually,” I ...
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October 29, 2015
The Problem with Working for Free
When I first started writing, I took any opportunities I could.First, I interned at a magazine for a high co-op program. Later, I wrote CD reviews for free, got a few poems published in some zines, and ...
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June 21, 20226 Reasons Why Your Kids’ Book Was Rejected
After working in children’s publishing, sitting on various book selection committees, and judging writing for kids contests for 15+ years, I’ve read a lot of manuscripts. Here are the six most common ...
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November 05, 2024Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley's Wonderful Woodland Art Leaps Off the Page in Boozhoo!/Hello!
Teaching young people about wildlife and nature is a crucial part of storytelling, and a great picture book can achieve this with art and language. There are many examples of these titles, but the new ...
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August 12, 2021Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves Hits Another Massive Milestone
To say that Cherie Dimaline's debut young adult novel, The Marrow Thieves (Dancing Cat), was a smash success upon its publication in 2017 is an understatement: the beloved novel swept awards in Canada ...
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July 06, 2021The Listener in the Work: How a Sense of Address Can Transform Your Writing
Who is the “speaker” in your poems talking to? Is there a listener within your story? Who is the narrator’s confidante? I’ve been thinking a lot about a sense of address and I’ve come to believe ...
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June 09, 2023Affirmations for Writers
Pursuing a career as a writer can be hard on your self-esteem. It requires incredible stamina, faith, and unbelievable amounts of patience. Here are some things I like to remind myself of when the urge ...
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April 04, 2024Ellen Chang-Richardson Confronts the Past and Perseveres in Their Debut Poetry Collection
While an author may carry scars from the past, and from wrongs done to their family and ancestors, they are not always visible or clear. Sometimes, they even become so familiar that the author finds them ...
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November 30, 2020When old ways, thoughts, beliefs, and people no longer serve you
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” —T.S. EliotLately I have been thinking about the act of releasing the things in my life that no longer serve me. When I revise a piece of writing, the first ...