Are you a Lone Ranger writer?

Rachelle Gardner’s excellent blog poses the question – Are you a Lone Ranger writer? – in this post. Writing is known as a lonely profession, but as Rachelle points out, the ‘Lone Ranger’ writer who writes in a truly solitary manner is a real rarity today. It’s hard to get published, and writers today are…

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200 posts… and counting

As the end of the year rolls around and we start thinking about those dreaded  encouraging New Years’ resolutions to really start 2014 off right, it’s also helpful to reflect on achievements throughout the year. I’m going to give myself a little pat on the back for my two hundredth blog post today. I started…

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The stressful life of a simultaneous interpreter

I loved this London Review of Books article by former UN simultaneous interpreter, LynnVisson. I spend a lot of time working with simultaneous interpreters, and I have tremendous respect for the difficult, high-pressure work they perform. As writers, we can only marvel at the ability to create the perfect words under pressure. I loved this…

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Oh, groan. Sound effects for books?

Call me a Luddite, but I side with the technology-shy on this one, which is probably rather obvious by the fact that I don’t even own an e-reader. The fantastic Nathan Bransford recently had a blog post on this topic, saying it’s only a matter of time until e-books come with sound effects, and asking…

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Listen to your subconscious when writing

“Things will come to you and you’re not going to know exactly how they fit in. You have to trust in the way they all fit together, that your subconscious knows what you’re doing.” I came across this fantastic quote about writing by acclaimed American author Donna Tartt. A New York Times Book Review article…

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Keep going all you amazing NaNo writers!

I’m not among you, all you fabulous NaNoWriMo participants, but I do know many of you must have reached a writing slump, and I  wanted to cheer you on from the sidelines as you reach the final stretch. For those of you unfamiliar with it, The National Novel Writing Month  is an annual challenge to…

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Happy National Short Story Week 2013!

This is a good year for the short story. Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the (well-deserved) Nobel Prize for Literature last month. Plenty of online journals and e-readers provide possibilities for short story writers to get their stories out there to a reading public. In the words of the talented author, Lorrie Moore:…

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