Writing ProcessTag

Playwright Natasha Adiyana Morris on The Plays that Shaped Her & Why She Won't Remove Local Culture from Her Work

Playwright Natasha Adiyana Morris' The Negroes Are Congregating (forthcoming from Playwrights Canada Press later this month) became a sensation during its 2020 run at Theatre Passe Muraille. Morris, ...

On Listening to Music and Writing a Novel

Do you listen to music as you write? I often do, particularly when writing a short story, but it has been several months since I typed the night away with a melody playing in the background. At this moment, ...

“I Choose My Country Over My Personal Needs" Feature Interview with Acclaimed Ukrainian Novelist Ivan Baidak

In just his early thirties, Ivan Baidak has already established himself as a literary superstar in Ukraine, with his novels and short stories winning critical acclaim while at the same time topping bestseller ...

Read an Excerpt from Harold R. Johnson's Final Book, The Power of Story

The late Harold R. Johnson was a master storyteller. He published a dozen books prior to his passing in February 2022 and was acclaimed for his fiction, which often drew on elements of his Cree heritage ...

On Federico García Lorca's "Duende"

What immediate need of yours has to be satisfied before you can hit the keyboard? If I had to have a clean house before I sat down to write, I would never have written anything after I got married and ...

On Writing as Rehearsal

Growing up surrounded by music was a unique privilege whose ramifications, as a child, I was incapable of comprehending. I developed an impeccable musical ear, of course, but more than that, I bore witness ...

Alex Pugsley on How the Title Story of His Striking New Collection Went from Multiple Rejections to Award-Nominated

Journey Prize winner and filmmaker Alex Pugsley's debut novel, Aubrey McKee was hailed as whip-smart and funny, with comparisons drawn to the likes of Robertson Davies, John Irving, and J. D. Salinger. ...

Playwright & Passe Muraille Artistic Director Marjorie Chan on Writing the Scenes That "Need to Get Out" First

Librettist and playwright Marjorie Chan, who serves as Artistic Director of Toronto's iconic Theatre Passe Muraille while also creating her own plays and librettos, has a knack for exploring power, ...

Bill Richardson on Sharing Writing Space with Irving Layton and Robertson Davies

"In this last week, there are seven days."In Bill Richardson Last Week (Groundwood Books, illustrated by Emilie Leduc), a child knows they've got a week to spend with their grandmother. But unlike ...

"I Knew I Wanted Big Stories" Susanna Fournier on Crafting Hundreds of Years of Dystopian History for Her Plays

Imagine creating not just a fully realized world, but an entire history that spans hundreds of years. That is the creativity Susanna Fournier brought to her suite of three plays, The Empire (Playwrights ...