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April 07, 2023I Just Got Published - So, Why Don't I Feel Great?
When I was 18, I resolved to be a published writer one day. It was something I’d dreamed of even before then. As a younger teenager I wrote simple books inspired in varying degrees by The Outsiders. ...
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July 31, 2023Managing a Writing Career and Mental Illness
As someone who's dealt with chronic depression and anxiety for most of my life, I know how difficult it can be to balance mental illness and writing. Sometimes, the thought of working on my latest book ...
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February 03, 2020Blogpost #1: Meet Nadia L. Hohn, or selected musings of a Black-Canadian djeli
Here ye! Here ye! My name is Nadia L. Hohn and I am proud to be the February 2020 Open Book writer-in-residence. Not only do you get to read my posts about writing, #kidlit, and Canadian publishing ...
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March 17, 2022A Great Kids' Book is "a Kind of Graffiti": Sara Cassidy on Why Wonder, Not Instruction, is at the Centre of Her Writing
A little girl tosses a snack to some birds at a bus stop. It's a small gesture, but in Sara Cassidy's Flock (Groundwood Books, illustrated by Geraldo Valério), it becomes the jumping off point for a ...
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May 22, 2025How I'm Adjusting My Writing Routine For Spring and Summer
A few months ago I wrote about how I’m adjusting my writing routine for autumn & winter. Now that we’re well into spring where I live, I’ve been strategizing for the warmer months ahead. My ...
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![Banner image with photo of author Elizabeth Ruth, and a purple background of houses. Text reads "Interview with Elizabeth Ruth. [My novel was] written with a heightened awareness of mortality"](/var/site/storage/images/news/elizabeth-ruth-on-exploring-coincidences-in-her-mesmerizing-icy-new-novel/119406-1-eng-CA/Elizabeth-Ruth-on-Exploring-Coincidences-in-Her-Mesmerizing-Icy-New-Novel_blog_post_wide.jpg "Banner image with photo of author Elizabeth Ruth, and a purple background of houses. Text reads \"Interview with Elizabeth Ruth. [My novel was] written with a heightened awareness of mortality\"")
![Banner image with photo of author Elizabeth Ruth, and a purple background of houses. Text reads "Interview with Elizabeth Ruth. [My novel was] written with a heightened awareness of mortality"](/var/site/storage/images/news/elizabeth-ruth-on-exploring-coincidences-in-her-mesmerizing-icy-new-novel/119406-1-eng-CA/Elizabeth-Ruth-on-Exploring-Coincidences-in-Her-Mesmerizing-Icy-New-Novel_blog_post.jpg "Banner image with photo of author Elizabeth Ruth, and a purple background of houses. Text reads \"Interview with Elizabeth Ruth. [My novel was] written with a heightened awareness of mortality\"")
September 26, 2023Elizabeth Ruth on Exploring Coincidences in Her Mesmerizing, Icy New Novel
Anyone who lived in Toronto in 2013 remembers the ice storm of that winter, which brought the city to its knees. It's against this dramatic backdrop that celebrated writer Elizabeth Ruth's new novel Semi-Detached ...
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April 02, 2019Poetry Intelligence and the Intelligence of Poetry
In fifty years, poetry will no longer resemble what we read today. Let’s riff a bit on some serious, playful, and radical thinking about how poetry, language and reading are changing, as well as ...
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February 10, 2014Writer's Block Does Not Exist (Part 1)
Or it does. But for the sake of this blog it does not. What is writer's block? I don't know, because it does not exist. Here's the thing, whether you are a professional creative writer, a skilled hobbyist, ...
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February 12, 2014
Writer's Block Does Not Exist (Part 3)
Step three: writing your draftsFirst draft (punctuation optional)."Have you ever rolled down your windows to smell the aroma of an organic orange plantation on a summer night? Dreaming the ecstasy of ...
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February 13, 2014
Writer's Block Does Not Exist (Part 4 Final)
Step four: Editing and final draftDo you know the difference between a creative writer and a hobbyist? Editing. Can you handle criticism? Can you give good criticism? Can you critique your own work?So ...
