The winner of this year’s Little Bird Contest is: Rea Tarvydas from Calgary, Alberta, for “The Party Porch” The runners-up are: Dolly Reisman from Toronto, Ontario, for “The Father King” Anna Rumin from Ottawa, Ontario, for “The Catherine Series” Governor General’s Award winner Cherie Dimaline picked three stories out of the 86 blind entries… [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]
Filtering.
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]
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