You’ve written a piece that feels tight, polished, and ready. You’ve revised it so many times. There aren’t any typos or POV slips — it’s clean. Your writing group loves it. You’ve been sending it out. But for some reason, it keeps getting rejected. What are you missing? Well, maybe nothing. Stories get rejected way… [Read More]
Mediating
Sometimes we mediate our scenes by explaining what they mean for our characters, instead of letting the details do the work on their own. Mediating is similar to abstraction — it’s another way writers use language to try to control how a story will be received and understood, instead of letting readers come to their… [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]
How to Write An Ending.
As you get closer to the end of your story draft, it might feel more difficult to write. Writing the first part of your story requires curiosity: it’s about set-up, detail, exploration. Writing the middle part of your story requires bravery: it’s about putting your characters in tough situations. You make things difficult for them…. [Read More]
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