I’ve been thinking a lot about writing style lately. Actually, I’ve thought a lot about it for a long time — as long as I’ve been writing, which is most of my life. I find that my response to a book or to a writer, no matter what the subject is, depends a lot on […]
What is writing style? It’s an elusive topic, in many ways. To help me chase down the essence of writing style, I’ve called upon some author friends for their opinions. First, we have Roger Escbacher, author of a number of middle-grade books, such as the Leonard the Great series, Dragonfriend and Giantkiller, middle-grade/young adult fantasy adventure […]
As you, my faithful readers know, I recently published the third book in my Eastern Front trilogy about the experiences of my father-in-law, Maurice Bury, during the Second World War. Writing those three slim books took me more than 10 years. Not only because the story itself is dark and difficult, but also because it […]
Independent review of Sugar for Sugar by Seb Kirby With the first few pages of his latest novel, Seb Kirby seemed to have challenged his abilities as a writer by choosing two elements that many writers find difficult to pull off: the unreliable first-person narrator, and present-tense action. It seems challenging at first, but within […]
Last week, I wrote about the benefits of using Styles in your word processing program to make your writing more consistent, efficient and professional. This week, I explain some of the resulting efficiencies that come from understanding how to use Styles. I am using Microsoft Word as the example, but the same concepts apply to […]
Last week, someone wrote racist comments under a story on the Ottawa Citizen’s online edition, about the death of Inuk artist Annie Pootoogook. Charles Bordeleau, Ottawa’s Chief of Police, called the comments “inappropriate.” “I can tell you that the comments are inappropriate. They don’t reflect the values of the members of the Ottawa Police Service, […]
