Category: How To and Tips
Overcoming Mom Guilt: Why I Un-Quit
When fellow mothers of young children found out that I was a writer, some smugly said that sure, they’d like to write too, but couldn’t possibly take the time from their children. No, those mothers would write when their children were grown. Cue mom guilt. I had several little ones, a demanding church assignment, a […]
The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful: Being an Author on Social Media
I’m not sure if it’s because I have a background in marketing or because social media can be hugely addictive, but I enjoy the social media side of being an author. Yes, it does take time that could be spent on writing, but the rewards are more than worth the investment of time. To explain […]
Dodging Bullets
When we wake up each morning, we never know what to expect. A bus might run us down. A drive-by shooter might gun us down. A mugger might knock us down. A terrorist or lone madman might blow us up. A heart attack might finish us off. And so on. None of us knows what […]
Creating Colour In Words
As a reader, I love to be transported into a world of imagination and my favourite modes of transportation are metaphors, similes and idioms. As a writer, these are also my favourite moments of creativity. I would much rather read about ‘the bruised sky’ than ‘the purple-grey sky’. Of course, the sky is not literally […]
Common Writing Mistakes: A Beginner’s Course
Just starting out writing? Want to make sure your work shines enough to grow a career? Here are some tips. To Market to Market, and Why You Should Not Write For It I know, I know. You go to a bookstore or read the bestseller lists and it seems like every novel has the word […]
How Objects Inspire Fiction
Just about anything can serve as inspiration for a work of fiction. Often, it’s a person, someone we knew, cared for, or had trouble with when we were younger. It can be a place, somewhere we hold dear, or couldn’t wait to escape. In my own work, a single scene has many times been the […]
Encouragement for the Mother Who Writes
As I walked in to teach at the writing workshop, I saw one of the attendees following her toddler around in the hallway. The sight of her made my heart lurch, because I had left my three children at home with my husband so that I could be there that day. While I had been […]
Eight Ways To Read More, Even When You’re Deep Into Your Own Manuscript
Read often and widely: it’s the first commandment of writing. And as any writer committed to her craft knows, there’s no better instructor than the written word itself. Finding time to read, however, is a perpetual challenge when you spend much of your day trying to fill pages with your own thoughts (say nothing of […]
Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch Their Careers
There is an expression – you write what you know. I say I’ve pivoted so much in my career, I’m pirouetting. “Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch their Careers” was inspired by my own journey of trying to stay relevant as technology disrupted the workforce, blowing up certain industries — including my […]
Decluttering The Mind
Have you ever stopped, looked around and wondered how your home had become so…chaotic? So downright disorderly, even? A few weeks ago I finished my final book for the year. The last deadline was met with a certain feeling of jubilation, but then I had Christmas to contend with, and a much needed family holiday […]
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