I was there as a tourist, so to speak. My roommate was asked to lecture on her area of expertise (set design) to a university class, and I was there to provide feedback and emotional support. I was excited to hear her since I loved everything to do with drama and had always dreamed of […]
Writing
She Wouldn’t Share
When I was 15, I had a great summer job as a mother’s helper (similar to what the French call an au pair, or basically a glorified babysitter-cum-housekeeper). It was in a suburb of Boston with two well-behaved kids that I knew well. I also got to spend time with a group of kids I […]
It Didn’t Even Sound Like Her
It certainly wasn’t the way I would have done it. I took an online course with a well-known author, who shared his writing process and how he had written three bestselling novels. Someone asked about how he revised: did he rewrite directly on the page, or use the first file as a template to then […]
No Noise
I checked my phone for the third time. No new emails. No texts. Not even any new posts on Instagram? That’s when I knew something was seriously wrong. Turns out, our internet provider (one of the biggest in Canada) was completely down—in fact, down all over the country. At first, it didn’t seem all that […]
I Don’t Regret It
There we were, at the art opening of a friend of a friend: abstract oil and acrylic on canvas, plus some random photographs, at a bona fide art gallery in downtown Toronto. (Please don’t ask me the name of the gallery. . . I was in university at the time, way too young to pay […]
You Absolutely Can Do This
I remember the first time I was asked to speak at a conference. My immediate thought was, “But I’m a writer, not a speaker! Who will want to listen to me? I’ve got nothing worthwhile to say. . .” Far too many of us fall into this trap of “I’m not good enough” when we […]