You’ve probably noticed that I’m not writing much these days. My productivity on the blog usually mirrors my fiction writing–the more you see here, the more I’m putting on my own private pages. For the past couple of months, instead of writing, I’ve been reading non-stop. Hopefully, this will recharge my literary engine and help [...]

My writing group gave me a talking to, and I have accepted this awful fact: my new novel requires an outline. My mind has been turning the plot elements over and over, and I just can’t piece them together in any satisfying way. I think it’s because I’m fast-tracking this one–writing it cold, without having [...]

This is an update as to the status of the novels I currently have in draft. My novels are around 80,000-100,000 words when complete. My plan is to write, refine, polish and grow as a writer without thinking about the publication phase until I have a novel that I am thoroughly and in all regards pleased with. [...]

Many writers have set forth rules for writing fiction–tips that have stood the test of time–like these. But rules are made to be broken, as is shown by these winning entries in CBC`s All Hell Breaks Loose writing contest. The aim was to break as many of  Elmore Leonard`s ten rules for writing as possible in a single sentence. I [...]

After 10 years working successively as Mediator, Investigator, Legal Counsel and Senior Policy Analyst with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, I’ve decided to move on. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be Senior Program Coordinator in the Strategic Operations and Management Centre (SOMC) of the Ministry of Attorney General (Criminal Law Division). Though I’ll be building on my existing [...]

Quick note to say … things are going well with the novels, and the rest of life. Am finally immersed in creating a new story world and enjoying it — I am leaving aside my old novels (for now) and starting on something that seems to be piquing interest among professionals I’ve run it by. [...]

The achievements that follow are both grand and modest. Some are mine and some are my friends but I take pleasure in recounting them and hope you might share in appreciating these highlights of 2011 with me.
1. Emily Saso getting an agent. Emily is a fellow aspiring writer, and a fellow blogger who I met through this [...]

This is a guest post by Carolyn Swadron and Bill Wrigley about Toronto’s first Little Free Library at 304 Lee Avenue. If you would like to write a guest post for the Fiction-For A Change blog, please contact Evadne Macedo at evadnekm@gmail.com. Read on to find out more about Toronto’s first Little Free Library … I’ve [...]

Work on my novel has been progressing, with expert advice from my new writing class. It’s been brutal–I read my writing aloud and hear what they think of it. But I’m grateful to have a chance to be part of this group. The calibre is high, and it’s forcing me to grow as a writer [...]

Sunday was International Trans Day of Remembrance, a day on which people around the world meet to commemorate the lives of transgendered people who have been murdered. At these events, a list of names is usually read. This year’s list had 221 names – 221 people killed since 2010. The words blur into each other, a soothing [...]