ColumnistsTag
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one day ago
Let’s Talk Books: Five Tips for Starting Your Own Book Club
I love talking about books. A lot. And for years, I wanted to be part of a book club. But there was one small problem: after taking too many English classes in university, I hate being told what to read. ...
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June 24, 2025
Edit Your Writing with Empathy and Curiosity
Are you a writer? How do you feel about editing? If you’re like many writers you’ve probably just groaned or hissed at your screen. I get it—editing can feel like the most arduous thing about being ...
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May 26, 2025
The Key to Publishing a Book: Being a Staunch Celebrationist
Writing a book takes forever. Or, it does for me. I always think I’ll be able to crack the code for the next one, and write faster and be more efficient, but the reality is, it takes me five years to ...
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May 23, 2025
Unlocking Out of Editing
In my April 2025 column for Open Book, I wrote about the difficulties of locking into editing. Coming back to a manuscript you feel you’ve completed is tricky, especially when you’re at the stage ...
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May 22, 2025
How 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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May 05, 2025
The Pros and Cons of Beta Readers
I just finished an early draft of a new middle grade novel and realized as pressed “save” that even though it was nowhere near done, I’d taken it as far as I could.It was officially time for a beta ...
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May 02, 2025
Locking In, Letting Go
I’ve thought of myself as a writer who loves revision. I rewrote large chunks of my two poetry collections between the ‘final’ version submitted to my publisher, and the version that ended up being ...
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April 30, 2025
The Joys of Rereading
Like any other avid reader, my TBR pile can feel out of control most of the time. For me, it’s partly because I’m a mood reader with an aversion to to-do lists of any kind, but it’s also because ...
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April 03, 2025
How to Avoid Blank Page Syndrome: The Jar Method
When I’m editing, there are specific problems to tackle, and I find I have a clear to-do list. Even if there’s a lot to do, I have a road map, but at the beginning of a project, I get so easily daunted ...
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March 28, 2025
10 Self-Care Tips for Writers
Self-care is more than a long candlelit bath and chocolate—it’s prioritizing your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. As someone with anxiety and chronic depression, I’ve learned the hard ...