I started blogging with Livejournal way back in 2003. I had to get a code to access the site and found myself posting my thoughts and enjoying the process. Facebook didn't happen until 2007 when I started my Library and Information Technology program. Many classmates made up my earlier friend's list, and it taught me … Continue reading Picking My Online Spaces
A while ago, I disconnected this blog from my Stacks and Ranges Twitter account and took a social media break. I reconnected a while ago and noticed I am no on as much as I used and not sharing as much personal stuff. I have people from the college following me at Stacks and Ranges … Continue reading Right, This Time We Twitter Right
College Fans have March Madness, fans of the written word have National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. For me, it's that time of the year to take an idea germ and grow it into a draft. I have done NaNo since 2008 with Talisin2012, who introduced me to this crazy, lovely concept. In the middle … Continue reading A NaNo-ing We Go
Like most writers, I was able to write a novel without explicit instruction, and that’s probably for the best. There are some things we should figure out for ourselves. --Roxane Gay
I thought long and hard about participating in this year's National Novel Writing Month. I have done one every year since 2008, under an old username, in the middle of the third term during the library tech program. It's a way to get rid of the critical voice and do the first draft. If I … Continue reading PrepTober Periods Before NaNoWriMo2017
It's nearly 8 am and with no milk for coffee, I went to my local café for some scribbling and breakfast. The grocery store opens at 9, allowing me time to stock up on lunch items as the library returns to normal hours. The bright-blue bag in the picture is my grocery bag, ready to … Continue reading How Much Advice Before Breakfast?
I carry a journal in my purse. I adapted the notebook idea from the Natalie Goldberg classic Writing Down the Bones. Goldberg would buy bags based on how well they can carry her notebooks, and I even tried to emulate filling a notebook a month. That's still in progress. I finished my black moleskin during Christmas … Continue reading A New Book in the Story
Sometimes an infographic helps keep me motivated in my day job. Call it the writer’s paradox. Here’s to writers, both published or not, with day jobs.
By Stephen Pritchard
To celebrate National Novel Writing Month I wanted to shine a spotlight on famous authors who had written books outside of their working hours by creating an infographic that reminded writers struggling to find time or motivation that a day job doesn’t have to get in the way of being an author.
What soon became obvious is that rather than being a hindrance, jobs could actually be a huge help to authors, as their experiences in the workplace had obviously been a source of inspiration. That must certainly have been true for Stephen King, who was working as a high school teacher when he wrote Carrie, while Joseph Conrad’s journeys to the Congo as a merchant seamen brought his descriptions of the area to life in Heart of Darkness.
You can take a look at the full list of day jobs that inspired famous authors…
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After the success of last year's National Novel Writing Month, this time I had a disaster. The idea did not sustain me over the month and trying to balance it with the Medical Terminology course did not work. I didn't crack 10,000 words. I feel strangely alright with how things went. Either I remain in … Continue reading Up For Air IV: Cut Your Losses and Keep Writing
When we name the parts, we take away the mystery and turn writing into a problem that can be solved. -Stephen King I speak English, but another language embedded itself in my head first. My parents spoke Portuguese back in the days Canadian immigration didn't mandate language benchmarks or fluency for newcomers. My parents … Continue reading Grammar Gremlins
Unpaused Life 