Tag: Writing

The Snow Encore Plus What’s Next

Environment Canada calls today a 'light snow shower.' The snow falls off and on throughout the day, with the temperatures between -5 and -10 depending on, you guessed it, wind chill. (For Americans that's 14-23 degrees Fahrenheit.) Tonight after handing in my final exercise in Reading Fiction POV with Gotham Writer's Workshop, I will switch … Continue reading The Snow Encore Plus What’s Next →

A New Book in the Story

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 →

The Day Jobs That Inspired Famous Authors

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.

Kobo Writing Life

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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Up For Air IV: Cut Your Losses and Keep Writing

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 →

Grammar Gremlins

  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 →

October Means NaNoWriMo Prep Time

It's October! Already!? It means in just a month I will scribble my heart out. But Fatima, goes the peanut gallery, you can write anytime. Why wait until November?  I don't wait until November. I write all the time, and people see one aspect on this blog. The other times I write in notebooks, and wrote a short … Continue reading October Means NaNoWriMo Prep Time →

It’s Accountability Time

In July I wrote a few goals as part of Blogging 201. So how did I do? I can take one approach and write 'failed miserably'. Overall not so bad. I just need to adjust some goals to make them realistic. Here's the semi-stream-of-conscious report. Goal 1: Visit more blogs and comment on them. I … Continue reading It’s Accountability Time →

Scattered Drafts and Upcoming Appointments

I have a mental list of things to do over my holidays. I checked the 'Drafts' portion of my blog, and saw some entries to change/add/eventually publish. Stacks and Ranges will hit 400 posts very soon. I never imagined the last hundred, but I did read my early posts, and saw a some growth. Hope does … Continue reading Scattered Drafts and Upcoming Appointments →

#weekendcoffeeshare: Drinking in Semi-Darkness to Gear Up for Things Ahead

It's Daylight Savings this weekend, bad news as my brain already feels like it's made of teflon, things sliding off as soon as I try to remember them. Now we add a time shift to really screw things up. The blinds to my living room and bed room remain closed as I write this post … Continue reading #weekendcoffeeshare: Drinking in Semi-Darkness to Gear Up for Things Ahead →