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August 30, 2017“I think suffering shows us who we truly are.” - Q&A with Gurjinder Basran
A Q&A with Gurjinder Basran, author of Someone You Love is GoneIn 2010, debut novelist Gurjinder Basran won the Search for the Great BC Novel Contest, and the following year took home the Ethel Wilson ...
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February 16, 2019Poetry School: Denise Levertov on form as a revelation
After reading poet Denise Levertov’s 1965 essay “Some Notes on Organic Form,” I had a revelation: I write poetry mainly in organic form. Given that the notion of the work of art as a self-germinating ...
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October 08, 2015
How to Make a Book Soundtrack
I’ve always thought that if I ever make a movie, choosing the soundtrack would be one of the things I would be most excited to do.So I figured why not do the same for a book?Even though I’m not big ...
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October 31, 2015
The Thing That Terrifies Me the Most About Writing
It came out of me the in a journal entry the other day, a fear I know has been swimming around inside for years now, but one that I never fully articulated, or maybe even fully acknowledged, until it ...
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October 24, 2015
Why Your Book Doesn't Really Need a Launch Party
A couple of years ago, I finally admitted something to myself:I hate organizing launch parties.Like, completely just no.I love coming up with ideas for them. I love talking about them. I love making posters ...
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October 15, 2015
Why Writers Need to Talk About Work
Like a lot of people out there, I used to think that anyone who had a book published must be “making it” as a full-time writer. I didn’t wonder how much they might actually be making, just assumed ...
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November 27, 2020
Some Ways To Deal With Writer's Block
I used to think that writer’s block just meant not having any inspiration or ideas. If only it was just that! Now I know it’s many things - and for me, it’s mostly anxiety caused by both lack of ...
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November 30, 2020
Playlist for How Do I Look?
To wrap up my Open Book Residency, and to lead us into December, I thought I’d leave with a little goodbye present: a good ‘ol playlist! I don’t ever listen to music while I write - I get distracted ...
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March 05, 2021
Writing Time
When it comes to writing, I have a hard time wrapping my head around some of the basics—namely space and time. I find it easy to imagine myself into a character’s head—to project myself into a character’s ...
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March 15, 2021Book Therapy: In Praise of Retreat
“Chosen solitude is about agency, self-reliance and gaining clarity.When the churning mind-waters settle, I can begin to dip into the wellspring of my life.If I stay quiet long enough, I begin to forget ...
