Writers Digest

10 Tips For Writing- 08.07.15

Learn what good writing is:  Honestly, there’s so much terrific writing out there, but there is also considerably more garbage as well. I’m constantly surprised by how many people don’t know the difference between the good and the bad. Art is subjective, true, but it isn’t that subjective when you remove ignorance and replace it with education. Duke Ellington said it best: “There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind”. The same applies to writing.

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7 Things I've Learned So Far - 02.19. 14

People think writing is easy:  Practically every second person I run into these days is planning on writing a book. On the surface it seems like an easy thing to do. Already familiar with the language, all we technically need is a computer with a word program and our own imagination. I find people’s desire to write endearing, but the assumed simplicity of penning a good book couldn’t be further from the truth...

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Why Tough Love Is Crucial For Writers - 11.12.13

My writing didn’t improve until I met my mentor, Peter Sellers (former president of the Crime Writers of Canada). When I started showing him my work, he asked me if I wanted his honest opinion. When I answered yes, he came down on me like a ton of bricks. There were no niceties, no sugar-coating, and no handling me with kid gloves...

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How I Got My Literary Agent - 09.05.13

I’m getting an agent for this book, and I’m not stopping until I do.

That was the promise I made to myself in the summer of 2012. I’d finished writing my new novel, Bait, and was determined to gain representation. Over the years I’d learned that agents were incredibly busy people who were constantly inundated with queries and manuscripts, receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of pitches from aspiring writers every month. I figured I’d have one shot at each and every agency I contacted, so I better make it count...

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Disinfo

Eternal Life For The One Percent? - 08.20.15

I’m not a particular fan of science fiction, but this ‘future’ I envision doesn’t seem that far off, nor too implausible. In a world where good jobs are becoming scarce, post-secondary education often means dick for employment, and technology leaves human workers increasingly irrelevant, the wealthiest individuals have the opportunity to take unprecedented advantage of the increasing desperation of all those who are having trouble making ends meet.

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National Post

Fear Is A Motivator - 27.08.13
Sometimes you really need to breathe in the stale air of your current, unsatisfactory life, in order to realize how much you want to escape from it. Fear has a way of snapping you into focus. It’s primal, instinctual...

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A Lifelong Pursuit - 28.08.13
I started to seriously pursue writing in my mid-twenties. For a while I suffered from pretentiousness and what I like to call “windbag disease,” overwriting to the point of embarrassment...

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An Unlikely Inspiration - 29.08.13
I have plenty of problems in my writing, but being uninspired isn’t one of them. There is a catalogue in my head that I constantly thumb through where I’ve filed away many experiences and encounters that I can draw on. An awful lot of them were found in unsavory corners and corridors. Most of my debut novel Bait came from such places...

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What Will People Think? - 30.08.13
If you’re frightening or upsetting people with your writing, I’ll wager that you’re onto something. A reaction of this kind means you’re having an effect, regardless of the alarmed or disturbed feedback you may receive...

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