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August 21, 2020Why Bother Writing?
A few nights ago, I woke up to the sound of a wolf howling into the bowl of the sky. We all know the sound, I’d heard versions of it my whole life, but I’d never actually heard one in the flesh like ...
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June 27, 2018Why Do We Keep Picture Book Authors and Illustrators Apart? - or How to Play Well With Others
I completely underestimated how emotional the whole process of creating a picture book would be. When my first picture book was being published, I became a horrible self-involved troll-person. I couldn’t ...
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October 01, 2018Why Does It Take So Long to Make a Picture Book?: Or, How To Get Really Good at Waiting
I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t prepared for all the waiting I’d have to do in life. And when it comes to writing, you do a lot of waiting. Waiting for inspiration to strike. Realizing that ...
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January 17, 2025Why Does Your Story Matter?
It’s the start of a new year, and many of us are taking stock. We’re thinking about what we’ve been through and maybe looking forward with hope and interesting ideas. Whether you have a to-do list ...
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April 12, 2016Why Don’t We Take Sports Writing Seriously?
In February of last year, Canadian Notes and Queries publisher Dan Wells kindly approached me with a question. “Brainstorming a games issue of CNQ,” he wrote in an email. “Wondered if you might ...
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June 11, 2015
Why I Am in Love with Margaret Atwood
I wanted to do something different, so midway through last term, I wrote a proposal for Mutants and Monsters, a new science fiction course.Since I teach biochemistry for a living and have been reading ...
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July 23, 2019Why I Don’t Announce My Social Media Breaks
Over the past couple of years, I’ve watched several writers announce that they’re taking a break from social media. Sometimes they edit their profile so that their status, “on hiatus,” is added ...
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October 27, 2015
Why I Don’t Want You to Buy My Book (From Me)
“I want to buy your book, but I want to do in a way where you’ll get the most money. Should I buy it from you?”I love this question. It’s one of I’ve had several times over the years from well-meaning ...
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August 14, 2016Why I Led a Boycott Against Stuart Ross
I spent the first forty-five minutes of my own Toronto book launch this past spring standing outside the venue holding up a sign calling for a boycott of myself. This led to an enthusiastic round of jeers ...
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June 24, 2015
Why I Read Obituaries
To get out of a dry writing spell several years ago, I had to take drastic measures. To take drastic measures meant calling my writer friend. In Ontario.She was shocked but not surprised when I called ...
