I’ve thought a lot lately about my mission as a writer. What do I want readers to take away from my work? To answer that question, I keep coming back to the angel teddy bear perched on the bookshelf beside my writing desk.The bear was a gift I gave myself many...
A friend working on her first fiction manuscript emailed me this week to ask if I had “any words of wisdom” to share. I answered her privately, but her questions made me think about the things I wish I’d known when I started writing in pursuit of...
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, was one of my late dad’s favourite books. As a result, many ‘Alice’ expressions became part of our family’s life. I’ve thought of my dear dad even more than usual recently, as the past two weeks have had a decidedly...
A child’s first birthday is a special milestone. A whole year of ‘firsts’ culminates in one special day for family and friends to celebrate. I have that birthday feeling because 28 March is this blog’s first birthday. Every two weeks since March...
When did you last write a letter? Or, a word I learned from Dictionary.com, when did you last epistolize? I’m not talking about sending an email, tapping out a text or posting on Facebook. When did you last put pen to paper and write a letter to a friend or family...