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June 29, 2021How a Filipino Breakfast Changed My Writing
June is Filipino Heritage Month, and to close out the month and my time here as writer-in-residence, I wanted to talk about Filipino breakfast. Specifically, one that influenced both my novel and my life.The ...
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February 04, 2020How Ableism Stopped Me From Writing
“When will your novel be ready to send to agents?”Maddy asked this question as we lay on the beach. It was a hot August day and we were looking out at the water and eating cherries. I smiled and put ...
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September 27, 2017How I Learned to Write What Scares Me
Three years ago, I wrote a poem.Back then, a few very big things happened in my life. My marriage died. I found a new publisher. And, perhaps most importantly, I started teaching.For my entire publishing ...
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April 22, 2022How I look at a map (part one)
Art is all about process. Community spurs us on and the practice of creation is an active one. There is of course the cliché about art never being finished, merely abandoned, but in my opinion, neither ...
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May 22, 2025How I'm Adjusting My Writing Routine For Spring and Summer
A few months ago I wrote about how I’m adjusting my writing routine for autumn & winter. Now that we’re well into spring where I live, I’ve been strategizing for the warmer months ahead. My ...
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October 20, 2015How Tarot Can Help You with Your Writing
I was 13 the first time I tried to see the future in a playing card.I’d been at the grocery store with my parents, and in the checkout line was a small rack of books. I was immediately drawn to one ...
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April 11, 2022How The Guernica Prize Became One of CanLit's Most Unique Literary Awards
For many emerging writers, winning a literary prize is a dream that is perhaps only second is holding a copy of one's own, published book. In Canada, there's a young but exciting prize that offers a two-for-one ...
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August 31, 2020How to Be Exceptionally Editable
When I first started writing children’s books, I possessed the strength and virility of a thousand strong and virile men. I believed in my ideas and held fast to them. While I was open to the editorial ...
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November 08, 2022
How To Cook a Book
This failsafe recipe will transform your bottom drawer of manuscript pages into a tasty treat for readers everywhere. Meatier than paleo, the steps below will spice up your journey from secret writer ...
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October 21, 2020How to Engage Online
Online engagement is a reality of the modern writer’s life. It’s rare now for an author to create a story in solitude, and then remain there once their book is out in the world. Digital media now ...
