Writing Workshop in Toronto
I’m giving a writing workshop in Toronto on May 28th, exclusively for fans of HarperCollins Canada’s Facebook Page. To be part of it, click on the link and see the details. You have to ‘like’ the page and send HarperCollins Canada an email saying why you wish to be part of the workshop. Hope you…
Read MoreA Great Day At The Prison
Some days are just wonderful. It’s My Best Beloved’s birthday, and it’s Bailey’s birthday (our dog, known asThe Rescuepoo), and the hot-off-the-presses copy of my new novel arrived in the mail, which just makes me giddy with grinning . . . . but. . . the most wonderful thing about today happened in a prison.…
Read MoreWe Know Not What . . .
Sometimes people ask me why I write. This is a good question, and one I’ll probably spend my life trying to answer. I usually say it’s because when I’m writing I feel as though I’m doing what I am intended to do. I say I write because I’m saner when I do than when I…
Read MoreThe Solace Of Ousia (And Of Reading)
Every morning I spend a little time reading before I begin the real work of the day, which is writing. I choose the books I read in this time slot for inspirational value, either spiritual or psychological or artistic. This morning I finished The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, by Madeleine L’Engle, which is the second…
Read MoreWhat We Talk About When We Talk About 'Voice'
If you’re a writer or someone who loves literature, you probably read the title to this blog and understood immediately that I’m referencing Raymond Carver’s short story, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” How wonderful for a writer to be known simply by the syntax of a title, a single sentence, or…
Read MoreIts Own Reward
I just came across this wonderful essay on writing (although the world “writing” could easily be substituted by a number of other things, I’m sure). In fact, it’s SO good, I’m posting it here in its entirety. It was written in 1921 by Arthur Clutton-Brock, the British essayist and critic best known for his studies…
Read MoreDing! Round Two!
THANK YOU for the support so many of you have shown OUR DAILY BREAD by voting for it in the first round of Harper Collins’ March Madness. Because of you, I’ve made it to the second round. I’m delighted and incredibly grateful — especially since I beat out Colm McCann’s terrific book, LET THE GREAT…
Read MoreMarch Madness
OUR DAILY BREAD needs your help! It’s upon us! Harper Collins Canada is running their March Madness event and OUR DAILY BREAD is competing. It’s what reader Christie M. calls “the book lover’s hockey pool.” Here’s how it works, every week 2 books face off in 4 ‘divisions’ and at the end of the voting…
Read MoreNarrative Braid — The Teller And The Tale
The other day in the Sharpening the Quill Writers’ Workshop I lead every month, I talked about what’s known as the Universal Story in narrative — the common structure beneath all kinds of narrative. It has a triune form (as do most fairy tales and religious imagery, but that’s something for another day) and consists…
Read MoreWill I Write Again?
Perhaps it was Philip Roth’s announcement that he’s throwing in the pen that got me thinking about retiring from writing, but the thought has been skittering about in the darker corners of my mind over the past few weeks. It could also be a merely my usual pre-publishing state of mind. My Best Beloved assures…
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