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October 17, 2024How I’m Adjusting My Writing Routine for Autumn & Winter
Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are now well into autumn coolness. As I write this I have all the windows open and I actually feel chilly—an unfamiliar, almost exciting feeling.To me, fall feels ...
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October 21, 2020The casting call
“Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head and … as you get older, you become more skillful in casting them.” — Gore VidalThe characters who show up in my stories are truly a mixed ...
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August 13, 2014Pioneer Fashion Strikes Gold
Post-Victorian pioneer style is in. Big beards and work boots (boys); peasant skirts and sensible-heeled ankle booties (girls); huddling in old timey, barn-board-clad bars around old-timey-branded craft ...
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June 26, 2017The Pram in the Hall
There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall. – Cyril ConnollyMy son Gabe and his wonderful partner Anna got married on the weekend. It was a joyous wedding, a moving ceremony ...
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June 04, 2017Finding Your Material -- and This Time, Billie Holiday
The question is, how does a writer recognize what is uniquely her material? Save herself from wrong turns, dead ends, dead writing?The subject has always been central to me—an obsession—and years ...
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February 23, 2018Sorry Not Sorry: On Writing a Good Apology
To some extent, public apologies always are a little false. We’ve had no shortage of them recently. Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K. come to mind. Their statements always feel removed from ...
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February 08, 2017A few minutes with ... Michael Fraser
Throughout the month I'll be interviewing various authors. Today I share my conversation with Michael Fraser. Michael has been published in numerous national and international anthologies and journals. ...
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June 22, 2017Flaneuse-ing
Walking out yesterday afternoon, being a flaneuse on the Danforth. A flanny on the Danny.At Pape, a pigeon flies down from a store awning into the path of people heading for the subway. Turning, it flies ...
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June 08, 2017How to Make an Audio Book
So there I was in the studio, listening to actor Pascal Langdale tape the narration of my novel Mad Richard for an audio book.Born in England, educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, ...
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September 30, 2024Four Weird Tricks for Maintaining Writing Momentum
As someone who doesn’t have a set writing routine, I’m always on the lookout for practical strategies to consistently keep my work going. Today I’d like to share four of my favourite tricks for ...
