i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
in this world of striving for who-knows-what that is known as writing long, i’m reminded of the importance of one. one word, one sentence, one paragraph. one at a time. slowly, an emotional line is drawn and it pulls the reader through. thanks to Alison Pick for reminding me. she read a piece a couple … Read more
yesterday, i went to the coffeeshop to write. i do that sometimes. i’ve written several stories at the coffeeshop and then there’s editing. so, i’m trying to write a story and it’s not coming. i’ve got some thinking to do. there i am, researching, writing dialogue out by hand and getting in the groove when, … Read more
my thanks to Shaun Hunter for asking me to join in this virtual tour of writers. it’s a kind of relay that proposes four questions to Canadian writers about their writing life/habits/obsessions. links to others in the relay appear at the bottom of this post. and i double-dog dare Lori Hahnel to answer these questions. what am i … Read more
dear imaginary readers of this blog people of the word, i found the antidote to the terminal question: how do i order stories in a collection? the source of this antidote is David Jauss. he’s written a book on writing and within said book, a chapter on the unification of short stories into a collection. an entire … Read more
it’s may and it’s short story month. i have to ask myself, what is the best short story i’ve read this year. i need to think more about what goes on that particular list. that “i fucking love this story and want to steal something from it” list. re-reading is a big deal for me, … Read more
and with him, a unique voice. but his words remain. there’s something about reading Garcia Marquez that frees me. i took a creative writing class at U of C that was beyond hell, but i studied Garcia Marquez’ CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD, a novella. it’s a story told in reverse. here are the opening … Read more
a speech for each of my kids weddings. a story that features Cheap Trick’s song ‘I want you to want me’. i’ll set it at a house party on CPR Hill with a view out over Shuswap Lake. a story about a brave red-headed boy who pulls the driver out of a brand new cadillac … Read more
here’s a quote from Roddy Doyle about writing: If I want to be a writer, like you, should I start by writing short stories? Are they easier or harder?! I find short stories harder to write than novels. But that’s just me. When I started writing, I wrote novels – because I loved reading novels. … Read more
first lines are important. when i think of memorable ones, i remember them for different reasons. some are classic. like Dickens A TALE OF TWO CITIES: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of … Read more
in the 80s i drove a 1970 Ford F100 stepside, short-box, half-ton truck called Blue. the previous owner blew his brains out in the cab one dark January morning. Dad neglected to pass along this information when he brought the truck home.