Search
-
April 21, 2022
How to Start a Writers’ Group
I spent years working on a novel about a lifeguard who was terrified of drowning. Years, of sitting in the same corner of the same coffee shop bashing out draft after unreadable draft. And the only feedback ...
-
December 23, 2019
How You Get Paid Writing Children’s Books or: Math is Fun!
One question I rarely get asked is how you get paid when you write and/or illustrate children’s books. I know people have a lot of questions regarding how much they might get paid, but how does the ...
-
October 08, 2020
I cannot not write
“If you wait for inspiration to write you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.” — Dan PoynterI have this morning routine that involves the perfect cup of coffee, the right music, and showing up ...
-
June 18, 2022
I Love it When a Plan Comes Together
I don't know what other writers' process is so I've no idea if this will be unique or interesting, but this would be mine. It's evolved over the years because I like to imagine that I've grown as an individual ...
-
November 27, 2023
I think I have a manuscript
This is what I said to myself about four years into publishing my poems in journals, magazines, and through chapbooks. Sifting through folders to put poems into a single Word document, I saw the page ...
-
April 10, 2019
Ian Thomas Shaw on Drawing on his Work and Travel in the Middle East to Write His Debut Novel
Ian Thomas Shaw's debut novel, Quill of the Dove (Guernica Editions), follows French journalist Marc Taragon, a seasoned pro who has been reporting on and from the Middle East for decades. Just as he ...
-
February 20, 2014
If One Can Argue Against Traditional Non-Academic Literary Schools, Then One Can Reason Against a Purely Academic Model (Final)
Part 3: Writing as academic practiceDid I mention these are strictly my opinions?First, I am not saying that English, or English Literature, or Creative Writing degrees are not legitimate degrees. (With ...
-
February 18, 2014
If One Can Argue Against Traditional Non-Academic Literary Schools, Then One Can Reason Against a Purely Academic Model (part1)
Whoo! I'm exhausted writing that title. As stated in my first entry this month, all my posts are my opinion and are not necessarily shared by any members or staff of Open Book Toronto. Before we start, ...
-
February 19, 2014
If One Can Argue Against Traditional Non-Academic Literary Schools, Then One Can Reason Against a Purely Academic Model (part2)
Part 2: writing as an isolating practiceI have a pen pal relationship with a writer from Connecticut. This exact subject has come up in our emails. In 2013, BBC had a series of audio documentaries that ...
-
November 08, 2017
In conversation with Margie Wolfe, publisher of Second Story Press
For almost 30 years, Second Story Press has been at the forefront of publishing books that champion feminism, social justice, and diversity. Orchestrating these efforts is publisher Margie Wolfe, who ...