Last month I spent some time on Cortes Island — a remote island off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. At the Hollyhock Centre, I let an incredible group of twenty writers loose in the wild every day for a week. I asked them to come back from the forest with craft lessons from… [Read More]
Digital Minimalism
I was reading Cal Newport’s new book, Digital Minimalism, and after a few chapters, I realized oh hey! I’m a digital minimalist. …for each optional technology that you’re considering re-introducing into your life, you must first ask: Does this technology directly support something that I deeply value? This is the only condition on which you… [Read More]
Deep Play.
This is me (and that’s my dog, Basil). I’m an only child, and when I was little, I spent a lot of time in solitude. I didn’t mind. I read Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew. I had a notebook, and I used it. When I look at this picture now, I can relate to… [Read More]
Abstraction.
When you find yourself writing about intellectualized concepts rather than concrete details that can be felt in the human body, you’re moving into abstraction. This can be seductive for smart writers, because using your intellect and language this way feels clever, and it can be fun to write. It’s also a way for a writer… [Read More]
Who gets to tell Indigenous stories?
In your writing, I always say: remember to enjoy yourself. Take a risk — go into the unknown. Write the forbidden. Give yourself permission to write something you want to read. This advice comes with a caveat. If you are a non-Indigenous writer and you are writing an Indigenous story, consult a sensitivity reader and/or… [Read More]
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