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February 05, 2013I Have No Idea What I'm Doing
As someone who spends a good part of their life and career on the internet, I have a sneering, love-hate relationship with memes. Many of them are misused and go off the rails, but a good one can be golden. ...
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April 28, 2023Literary Secrets
And this is my last post as Writer-in-Residence with Open Book, and I’m grateful to you for reading and revelling in poetry-world with me. I didn’t know how to start this, or how to quantify the month’s ...
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May 01, 2019"Perspective is Everything!" Fran L. Porter on Crafting Characters, Writing Effective Dialogue & More
Fran L. Porter's second book and first novel, The Wrong Brother (Crossfield Publishing), tells the story of Marigold Iona Anderson, who comes under the charismatic sway of neurologist Dr. Damien Sparks. ...
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July 05, 2016Chasing Ghosts at Four in the Morning
I can only write fiction before dawn. Part of that is simple adaptive behaviour: most of the past two decades have been filled with children and day jobs that happen, by definition, during the day. The ...
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July 28, 2016Service Industry Hell (Part 5): Sex in Cemeteries and a Dancing Monkey
A lot of the inspiration for my new book, Congratulations On Everything, came from the things I saw while working in bars, restaurants, and hotels, and from the experiences of friends who did the same. ...
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!["[He Was] Lacking None of the Graces Except a Core of Essential Decency" Read an Excerpt from This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise](/var/site/storage/images/news/he-was-lacking-none-of-the-graces-except-a-core-of-essential-decency-read-an-excerpt-from-this-time-that-place-by-clark-blaise/110529-1-eng-CA/He-Was-Lacking-None-of-the-Graces-Except-a-Core-of-Essential-Decency-Read-an-Excerpt-from-This-Time-That-Place-by-Clark-Blaise_blog_post_wide.jpg "\"[He Was] Lacking None of the Graces Except a Core of Essential Decency\" Read an Excerpt from This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise")
!["[He Was] Lacking None of the Graces Except a Core of Essential Decency" Read an Excerpt from This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise](/var/site/storage/images/news/he-was-lacking-none-of-the-graces-except-a-core-of-essential-decency-read-an-excerpt-from-this-time-that-place-by-clark-blaise/110529-1-eng-CA/He-Was-Lacking-None-of-the-Graces-Except-a-Core-of-Essential-Decency-Read-an-Excerpt-from-This-Time-That-Place-by-Clark-Blaise_blog_post.jpg "\"[He Was] Lacking None of the Graces Except a Core of Essential Decency\" Read an Excerpt from This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise")
November 01, 2022"[He Was] Lacking None of the Graces Except a Core of Essential Decency" Read an Excerpt from This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise
Clark Blaise has been described as "the greatest living Canadian writer most Canadians have never heard of." Now 82, with more than 20 books of fiction and nonfiction to his name and a staggering c.v. ...
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April 25, 2023Building an Author Website
You don’t need an author website, but it has helped me to have one. The more you start to publish, the more people will want to contact you for interviews, solicitations, and event invitations—and ...
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April 19, 2021Play to your strengths: a short guide to arts admin for emerging artists
And we're back! As promised, these last two weeks of Careful Inventory are a bit lighter, more directly applicable in the pandemic—thanks for sticking with me so far! We’ve covered online safety, ...
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November 04, 2021‘AMELIA THANK YOUS.docx’: The single Word document that kept me going
The first thing I do when I start reading a book is read the acknowledgments. I like to know where the book I’m about to read came from, and all the people who helped the author along the way. I love ...
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April 12, 2021Practice in the mirror: "I don't answer that question," and other helpful phrases for poets
Welcome to week two of Careful Inventory, poets and friends! Thanks so much for coming back or tuning in. As promised, today’s post is an opportunity for you to practice setting some boundaries that ...
