Walking into this bookstore is a different experience than walking into pretty much any other bookstore for one very good reason: it isn’t any other bookstore. It isn’t just another of a large chain of stores striving to make every shopping experience absolutely identical. This bookstore has an identity. I’m talking specifically about Shelf Life Books in Calgary, but I’m… (more…)
As writers, we tend to be solitary creatures. It’s the nature of our work. Sitting in the dark pounding away at a keyboard for hours upon hours doesn’t really lend itself to rich and varied social life. Add the fact that most ‘normal’ people don’t want to hear how our characters hijacked our story yet again, and it looks like… (more…)
In a bit of a continuation of my previous post on planning after the fact, I thought I’d share with you one of the things I’m doing to help myself figure out what I’m doing with Fallen Things. It started as a spur-of-the-moment suggestion from my critique group to help me with identifying and writing description: going through a favourite… (more…)
There’s something amazing that happens when you join a good critique group. You begin to develop a keen sense of what is and what isn’t good writing. This can be a mixed blessing as it means never being able to read (or in some cases watch TV) for pleasure without critiquing ever again, but the impact on your writing is well… (more…)
The other day I was working on some rewrites, and found myself giggling at the irony of a character dismissing as irrelevant a piece of information that would later become very important. Then it occurred to me: the only reason I find this ironic is because I know how important it will be. To a brand new reader, this is… (more…)
If you’re a writer, you know what I’m talking about here. We’ve all been there, merrily writing away, when along comes some new character we hadn’t planned on. Or maybe it’s a character we’re well acquainted with, but they decide to go in a completely different direction than we’d anticipated. Suddenly we’re left standing there going, “Wait, what just happened… (more…)
Now that I’ve had some sleep and can think clearly, if not rationally, I can give you a more objective run-down of how the Read-A-Thon went. Did I say I was going to do a lot of research during this thing? I lied. I only got a little bit of research done around the 1-2pm mark. I might have to… (more…)
6 AM *Stumbles blearily out of bed* …And a good morning to you too! I’m up, I’m packed, I’m ready to go. On today’s menu is everything from graphic novels to scripture, with stops at fantasy novels and historical essays along the way. Mixed metaphors aside, I’m off like a herd of turtles. 7:15 AM What an adventure! Both in the book… (more…)
So, starting at 6am tomorrow (my 6am–your time zone may vary,) this blog is going to start getting weird. All right, weirder than usual. Let’s face it, I’m always weird. Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in the April 2011 Dewey’s Read-A-Thon, where I will stay up for 24 hours and read. That’s it. Read. And then blog about it. When I first… (more…)