Writing LifeTag

The Art of the Deadline

Every word I’m typing right now is late. Not a month late, or even a week late, but three days late. And with every tap, tap, tap on my keyboard, I feel a pang. Anxiety. Guilt. Racing thoughts. Why ...

Heads or Tails: On Writing Myself Into the Narrative

Last spring I competed for—and won—an executive position in the arts. When I found out, I was thrilled because, let’s be honest, the industry is predominantly cis, white, and male, and I was all ...

Tough Love for People Who Are Better at Talking About Writing Instead of Actually Writing

I just binge-watched three seasons of Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian. If you’re not familiar with this incredible reality television show allow me to tell you about it: in each episode, two normies ...

The Ultimate Writing Tips Post: We Asked Talented Canadian Writers for Their Best Piece of Literary Advice

There is no shortage of advice for writers out there. You can find endless lists about the importance (or irrelevance) of outlines, writing everyday, having a writing group, and myriad other strategies ...

Why I Don’t Announce My Social Media Breaks

Over the past couple of years, I’ve watched several writers announce that they’re taking a break from social media. Sometimes they edit their profile so that their status, “on hiatus,” is added ...

"I Wanted to Show What an Ongoing Juggling Act It All Is" Lisa de Nikolits on Her Writer for a Year Video Series

Plenty of writers, emerging and established, have questions about how to handle the professional aspects of the writing life. How to approach social media? Are festivals important? What about reviews? ...

Lisa de Nikolits Pulls Back on the Curtain on the Writing Life with "Writer for a Year"

We know what a writer's life looks like in the movies: either endless parties and adoration, jet setting and publicity - or gritty whiskey-swilling and existential angst. But how about a more realistic ...

Poetry School: Feminist re-vision with Ms. Rich

Feminist revisionist mythologies represent a vibrant stream in mid-to-late 20th- and 21st-century poetry. I’m thinking of Muriel Rukeyser’s Orpheus; Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife and Feminine ...

On Burnout

I’ve finished my first book. I’ve done the writing, the rewriting, the editing, more rewriting, the copy editing, the fact checking… I think you get the point. It was a lot of work. But now I’m ...

Bad Reviews and Broken Hearts: How to Deal with All the Feelings

First: Spend several years working on you—I mean, a manuscript. Revise each draft based on feedback from your therapist—I mean, editor. Get Tinder—I mean, get publishing deal. Agonize over each ...