‘Inspiration’ Archives
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Every writer dreams of getting The Call. I can’t think of a single writing friend immune to this phenomenon. When it happens, it IS great. But what comes next? This is the one question I never thought to ask. After I received The Call on April 21, I expected to be bombarded by emails and phone calls from my agent and editor for the next [...]
Remembering When
I was doing my version of a walkabout. Yeah, I know the Queen of England does walkabouts, so what makes me think I’m so special? I’m not. It’s simply how I describe those few moments I grab with gusto, moments away from writing, family stuff or people stuff. Anyway, I was in the grocery store, pondering a magnificent pyramid of [...]
A Writer’s Wetsuit
My summer home is a cottage on the east coast of Georgian Bay. Weather permitting, I swim laps across our small bay for an hour. Before I hit the water, I don my wetsuit. That’s right, a wetsuit. Why should a tough Canadian need a wussy wetsuit? We’re all polar bears, right? Um, not so much. I wear the wetsuit for safety, buoyancy, and [...]
Recipe for a first sale
Sift the following ingredients into a large round bowl, preferably one with expandable hips and waistline: 30+ years of writing for pleasure 16 years of formal education, including degree programs A generous handful of writing workshops (note in margin: For best results, include Barbara Samuel’s Voice, Deb Dixon’s GMC, and Stephanie [...]
Stuck in Neutral
I can’t speak for you, but the writing world I live in is filled to overflowing with all sorts of impediments to my writing. Ah! How I love them….and hate them! Speaking of love. Let’s start with my husband, Garry, who, sweet and loving as he may be, thinks the open door to my office is an invitation to come in and chat about what’s [...]
Finding the Right Mood
It’s midnight before Easter as I write this. That’s probably cheating for a blog due on Monday but, unfortunately, the days all run together and if I hadn’t had this on my calendar, I would have completely forgotten I had it coming due. Today was one of those days that quite simply did not stop. Up at Target by 830 for shoes and dresses [...]
We’re in this together
This past week has been quite a week, not only for me personally, but for the Women’s Fiction chapter. With so many fabulous women in our group as finalists in the Golden Heart and the RITA, it can be intimidating for the rest of us. But with Rachel Goldsworthy’s “Using the Power for Good” post kicking off the week, I quickly became aware [...]
Using the power for good
At a dinner party a few years ago, a man I had just met leaned across the table and told me, “You’re very powerful, you know.” Sure, I thought. I can’t even get my teenager to put his sheets in the washer. “Really,” he continued. “As a writer, you have a huge influence.” True. I wrote promotional features – ads that [...]
The Application
The busboy slid a stack of plates into the long grey plastic tub, careful not to bang them or rattle the big cup full of cutlery. With chapped hands and ropy arms, he hoisted the tub off the stainless steel countertop and muscled it between sous chefs intent on their red-wine jus and servers demanding crab cakes with ginger and lemon [...]
Shifting Mud
I couldn’t have been more than ten, and we were reading short stories in my class at school. I don’t remember the name of the story, or who wrote it. All I know is that it affected me so deeply that I’m writing about it now, forty-five years later. It was about a boy that somehow got trapped in a sewer pipe. You know the ones you can [...]
