The Ghosts Behind the Novel
Fiction writers do a weird kind of story-dance where they take snippets from their real life, and reinvent them for the sake of the story. Every fiction writer will tell you - swear up and down - fiction is just that, fiction. But underneath the words, lie real events. …
The Joy of Not Writing
Yesterday, I didn’t write a word. It was glorious. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write, but sometimes, I love not to write. To give it all a rest, the pause between actions. I thought about Glenn Gould when I wrote those words, the pause between actions. …
I've Come Full Circle
I can get lost anywhere. Not only in my head while working on a story, but in the physical world. You’ve heard that old saying, her left hand doesn’t know what her right hand is doing? That’s not my problem, I’m quite aware of my right hand and my left hand. …
Stay-At-Home Writer
I looked into the mirror and saw that I had two pairs of reading glasses perched on my head. My only defence is that I was in the writing zone, that interior place where I’m focused on story. Frankly, when I saw that reflection of myself, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude that I work from my home office, and not from a building in downtown Toronto, or another busy public workspace.
Butt-Naked with the Black and Decker Guy
Writers get asked the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” For me, story ideas often (but not always - some of those stories are simply the product of a disturbed mind) come from my everyday life. Take my recent experience buying a lawnmower. …
Tending Gardens, Tending Writing, Tending Life
I used to define myself primarily as a writer, and a mother, too. That pretty well took up my time. I wrote lots. I published lots. And I raised a pretty fine child, who is now a bright independent woman, a mother herself, and also my friend. …
Let's Talk Intimacy
I prefer intimate settings to large gatherings, tête-à-tête shared over a glass of wine (or two) with a friend, or a friend in the making. Maybe that’s why I gravitate to reading, to writing. Books are read one person at a time, a relationship between reader and author. …
What MJ and I Have in Common
A little demon copy editor is jumping up and down on my shoulder, madly waving his arms, telling me I should rewrite the title. I should put it in the past tense, since Michael Jackson is deceased and I am alive. It should read: What MJ and I Had in Common. …
Locked Out of the House
Let's say I had written a story with the recurring symbol or plot line involving keys and locks. A story where the heroine keeps locking herself out of her house, or forgetting her keys. It’s obvious the character's repressed, you'd say, or she needs to find the key to her own happiness, or to unlock some key event in her past that subconsciously has been blocking her from getting on with her life.
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Out on a Limb
My husband, Bob, went out on a limb today. Way out on a limb. Climbed the chestnut tree in our backyard with a dexterity that proves once and for all that man (but not necessarily women) evolved from apes. Three stories up, to give you an idea of height, if he were scaling the side of an office building.
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