Category Archives: Writing

Shopping locally this Christmas is a gift to the Royal City

Posted on November 25, 2011 by

Check out my new article on Occupying Christmas by shopping and celebrating locally on New West blog Tenth to the Fraser! As the Christmas shopping season arrives with Black Friday in the US, I can’t think of anything more ridiculous … Continue reading →

Posted in Webwriting, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

3 good reasons to edit your work with human eyes

Posted on March 14, 2011 by

Computers are dumb. You’re smart. And in the frenzy of writing, it’s easy to make dumb human errors. So before hitting send, publish, or print, use your eyes, those of a friend, or your trusty neighbourhood editor to catch some … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Grammar, Punctuation, Resources, Writing | 1 Comment

Cooks Source learns public lesson about Internet, public domain and copyright, sort of

Posted on November 10, 2010 by

The Cooks Source story that exploded on the web this past week is one of victory for every writer whose work has ever been plagiarized.  It started when Monica, a food writer, discovered that a previously published article she had … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Publishing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

If it sounds like writing, rewrite, says Elmore Leonard

Posted on November 9, 2010 by

Like all advice, these rules for writing should be taken with a grain of salt. And then only from the writers you actually like: Ten rules for writing fiction. I’m trying to particularly follow the oft-mentioned one about turning off … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Call a proofreader next time

Posted on October 15, 2010 by

CBC News – British Columbia – Carr statue unveiling marred by bronzed typo. News of an unveiling of a statue dedicated to Emily Carr, a famous BC artist known for her paintings of West Coast forests and coastal villages, got … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Grammar, Language, Literary, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opposing thoughts on a creative career

Posted on June 26, 2009 by

Admittedly, I’ve not been feeling rah-rah-rah about the writing/editing game lately. But this post came along just in time to provide some motivation: Five Opposing Thoughts on an Art Career. I hope it picks you up, too.

Posted in Business, Writing | Tagged | 2 Comments

Kerouac’s Rules for Spontaneous Prose

Posted on June 25, 2009 by

Here is one my favourite resources/inspirational thingies. I used to keep this list pinned up over my desk (but then I moved and took it down and didn’t put it back up again). Here they are, for you (my favourite … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

Proactiveness

Posted on April 17, 2009 by

My two favourite stops to look for freelance writing and editing job leads each morning are Freelance Writing Jobs, a network site out of the US with a daily list of leads culled from from the web, and Canadian Freelance … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Resources, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Why you shouldn’t write custom samples to get a writing job

Posted on March 26, 2009 by

I found a link to this discussion board that illustrates very starkly both why you should be skeptical of very low-paying ads for writers on Craigslist, and why you shouldn’t write samples specifically for a job unless you know who … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why I write

Posted on March 2, 2009 by

I can answer that question pretty simply: I write because I’m hungry. Not just for food, but for communication. To talk to someone and create some kind of reaction with them. When I was a kid, dreaming of being a … Continue reading →

Posted in Webwriting, Writing | 2 Comments

…but you can’t make them think

Posted on February 23, 2009 by

Am I getting cranky in my old age, or is a university degree officially worth nothing nowadays: http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/wri/1048831736.html. Here’s the text of the post, which seems to be getting flagged a lot: Hi, I have a few essay assignments for … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

I made that

Posted on December 15, 2008 by

Last month, I attended a life coaching seminar put on by my friend Lara. The topic was work-life balance and as many of us were involved with creativity in our professions, we got onto the topic of making time to … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Leave a comment

It’s an honour being norminated

Posted on August 12, 2008 by

Yesterday morning, I received an e-mail with the subject line (in caps): “THE PULITZER PRIZE 2009 NOMINATION LETTER.” Well, isn’t that exciting. After all, I am a nationally published writer and all. Here is the e-mail, cut and pasted, warts … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Resources, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A Grab Bag of Spring Writing Contests

Posted on March 8, 2008 by

Get going, kid Event Non-Fiction Contest #21 Deadline: April 15, 2008 Booty: $500 plus publication for the top three Details: http://www.douglas.bc.ca/community/event-magazine/contestdetails.html Better not procrastinate too long subTerrain‘s Lush Triumphant Deadline: May 15, 2008 Booty: Prize breakdown undisclosed, but there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary, Resources, Writing | 2 Comments