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May 29, 2020
Making Time: Why Now is the Perfect Time for Tarot
I don’t want to pretend that I know the history of the Tarot or how it should be used, but I’ve been using it for the last three years because it’s been immensely helpful. I’m not an “expert,” ...
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February 12, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 4 of 9
The creation of tension and suspense and mood shifts to me are just as important as creating characters and the plot themselves. Tension and suspense is what makes the story come alive. For the short ...
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April 12, 2023
Annahid Dashtgard on Her Exploration of Belonging, Racial Justice, and "the Glorious Messiness" of Being Human
As CEO of Anima Leadership, Annahid Dashtgard has helped countless organizations create more inclusive and equitable workplaces. And one of the most powerful ways to create those needed changes, both ...
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May 30, 2023
Feed Your Brain, Read Widely
Writers are often advised to read within their genre to better understand it. And when it comes to readers, it can be tempting to stick to their favourite genre too⎯it’s a favourite for a reason!I'm ...
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June 30, 2021
Brain Fog: An Essay
Brain Fog: An Essay[1]“I am…” I type.But then a thought fords the sentence. My fingers hover above the keyboard, like soldiers awaiting a command. I have… forgotten something. But what?I can ...
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February 21, 2024
On Writing the Same Book Over and Over
In a 2015 webchat on The Guardian’s site, Kazuo Ishiguro was asked about his varied subject matter. He replied:“My subject matter doesn't vary so much from book to book. Just the surface does. The ...
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October 08, 2020
On Querying into an Apocalypse
"I feel so cooped up in my house with this smoke and the moths that keep flying by my window. Is a weekend really a weekend in 2020 if it doesn't include plague, pestilence, and Hell fire?" - @a_h_reaumeI ...
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September 27, 2018
Coming to Voice
I worked on this piece while at a residency for BIPOC writers in the fall of 2017. I did not pick it up again when I returned. While workshopping it there, I was not convinced it captured what I was trying ...
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February 23, 2018
Sorry 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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March 23, 2020
On Road Maps
Before beginning a project, is it worthwhile to do a detailed outline? Or is it preferable just to dive in? I’ve tried both approaches. In writing my first novel, After the Bloom, I outlined extensively. ...