Thoughts about writing, and the universe.
These last two weeks, I have been taking part in a workshop on nature writing with Granta. With about ten other writers located around the world, I am learning about the genre, reading essays by Kathleen Jamie, Jason Allen-Paisant, and others, and experimenting with how I engage with nature in my own writing. In a... Continue Reading →
My sister is, as far as I can tell, a financial genius. I might, with a knowing air, explain what "bonds" are to a class when teaching The Great Gatsby, but in a conversation with my sister, I realize quickly that I speak really with the self-contentment of naiveté. I might know my "bull" and... Continue Reading →
Can a non-writer learn the tools of the trade, or are great writers born with something different? Is writing a gift--the kind of thing you either have or lack--or is writing a learned skill that any person can develop? Questions of this ilk have sometimes plagued me, as an aspiring writer first, later as a... Continue Reading →
This week's post is part of the monthly Author Toolbox Blog Hop where you will find a community of writers sharing tips and tools for the craft and business of writing. Do check them out! It wasn't since the impromptu graduation ceremony we held in March that I have had such a busy week. Staff... Continue Reading →
This month of school has galvanized my awareness of global heating like nothing before. It began with a presentation by an Australian member of staff about the bushfires still blazing, an impassioned plea that this is the world we are in. Changes are happening now, and not in a distant future. Changes are necessary and... Continue Reading →
Human languages glitter with variety. Rife with synonyms, recursive structures, nuances of tone and pronunciation--the ways we speak and write possess the subtlety of art. Today, we'll examine how sentence structure in English can be modified to bring our texts to life. Let's see. Linguistic Background Multilingual people often debate the merits of their languages.... Continue Reading →
The four faces of revising. Yesterday, I completed a first draft of rewrites to my novel manuscript. It's been three months since I began, thirteen chapters of new material, and copious reworking of the existing. It's a celebration, to be sure, and I'm content to bask in the glory of a milestone passed for a... Continue Reading →
Nine months ago, I began translating my novel from past to present tense. At the time, before a bunch of ruthless cuts, it was about 160,000 words long, and changing the tense of every verb--it took a while. It was grueling. It set my brain reeling into the depths of grammatical subtlety. It also taught... Continue Reading →
Words like trees 