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March 29, 2022
The challenges (and joys) of receiving feedback
I am not proud of it, but my initial response to feedback on my writing is an instant NOPE. No way! ABSOLUTELY NOT. “What if you switched the point of view to third person?”NOPE. No way! ABSOLUTELY ...
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June 17, 2020
On Reclaiming Brokenness and Refusing the Violence of ‘Recovery Narratives’
I’m working on this essay when a friend texts me. His therapist suggested he write a list of things that he likes about himself but the picture that shows up on my phone is just a blank page.“Having ...
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February 02, 2021
Why We Need to Question “Hobbies” in the Pandemic
On a rainy Thursday morning at the end of January 2021, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling for far too long... I couldn’t remember what I had done in 2020. I remember the past couple of years clearly: ...
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September 16, 2020
"I Couldn’t Type Fast Enough" Phyllis L. Humby on First Drafts and Newfoundland Magic
Phyllis L. Humby's Old Broad Road (Crossfield Publishing) is a story of the complications, joys, and risks of taking an unexpected leap of faith. When Sylvia Kramer leaves her comfortable life on the ...
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August 05, 2021
Guelph MFA Grads Simone Dalton and D.M. Bradford on Family, Loss, Writing, and Community (Part 1 of 2)
You've made it into one of the most competitive MFA programmes in the country. Now what? Recent University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA alums Simone Dalton, an author and playwright, and D.M. Bradford, ...
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March 01, 2021
Writing violence (again)
On violence and trauma and repetition...When I was nineteen, I went to dinner at a friend’s, and afterwards, her father invited us all upstairs to see his attic art studio.There were so many canvasses ...
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November 30, 2022
Book Therapy: Cyclettes
“If I had paused for too long to reflect on whether I was making the ‘right’ choices to optimize satisfaction, I might have become paralyzed in a never doing. Instead I sped towards my hypothetical ...
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May 20, 2021
Toilets and the Research Iceberg : Bringing History to Life
The best and worst part of writing historical fiction is research. The best and worst part of research is that chasing every bright and shiny object – oops, I mean fact – can be so addictive that ...
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June 26, 2021
What Makes a Good Writing Routine?
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm fascinated by other people's writing routines. Not only am I just a somewhat nosy person (as many writers are, I imagine), but I don't have much in the way of a ...