Most of us, whether during a school class that you reluctantly sat through, or as an aspiring novelist or creative writer, have heard the saying “show not tell.” You may find these three words largely unimportant to your everyday life, or think that they are the most fascinating, useful piece of writing advice that you…
“All of us possess a reading vocabulary as big as a lake but draw from a writing vocabulary as small as a pond.” – Roy Peter Clark Have you ever caught yourself using the same words over and over again in a single piece of text? Or perhaps you’ve been wanting to write and speak…
From TV shows to novels, literature is present in every media type. Writing can be divided into two general categories within media; expository and interpretive writing. Movies, shows, plays, and/or books are all considered media. Expository writing conveys the author’s message directly, often using dialogue or narration to get the point across. This can be…
I started my first official diary in 2011, fresh off the Royal Diaries and Dear Canada book series. I took it very seriously, detailing in colourful language the games and false scenarios I’d made up, the events of my day, and even occasionally roleplaying as one of the characters in books I’d read. One entry…
The best part of a weekend is naturally Friday evening. There’s this sensation that you have all this free time before you. In fact, I think it’s quite remarkable how far my mind is willing to stretch in thinking about the ways in which I could leisurely spend the weekend. (Of course, the converse is…
Calling all writers, readers, TV-watchers, serial binge-watchers, gamers, etc! Do you ever feel like your shiny screens just aren’t distracting enough? Are you bored and/or embarrassed enough of your fictional obsessions to claim that you have ‘no discernible hobbies?’ Worse still, do your favourite pastimes happen to involve the creation and consumption of fiction and/or…
To the person I will be tomorrow: You inherit these memories of mine and every fibre of my physical self. You are like me. I too have inherited the persona and body of my predecessors, and my experiences will become your experiences in a mere few hours. Yet you—and subsequent you’s—will have experiences I—and preceding…
Saturday: a notepad sat on my desk. The paper’s slick surface reflected a curious yellow hue from a lamp. A clear resin pen, filled halfway with a dark grey ink, lay atop the notepad, a conspicuous accessory. I was up late at night, but the late-night writing did little to help with my insomnia. Rather,…
The prospect of robots taking over the world has been floating around in science fiction and popular culture for decades. Many of us might imagine some sort of machine uprising or super-intelligent revolutionaries gone out of control. But at least for now, these fears have yet to become reality. But we shouldn’t write them off…
Despite comprising a quarter of my course load, English Language Arts accounts for at least half of my academic stress. Your experience will vary depending on your teacher’s marking scheme, but I want to contextualize the notoriety of high school English. Timed writing assessments, the personal response to text (PRT) and the critical/analytical response to…
A little tavern off the side of the main street might prove inconspicuous And that’s true with the low grumblings at the tired hour of mid day Soft layers of light filter through the half closed blinds Onto a table held in a stagnant game of cards You’d think the players were caught…
Dear Lover, Some people say that the universe creates things in perfect synchrony, the same reason many people believe in religion, what is the possibility that I fell for and met the perfect person for me. What are the odds they actually exist? Everything in the world sits like a huge puzzle, just yearning to…
Every scientist needs to write and publish research papers on their experiments. In order to understand and further an area of research, we often refer to scientific writing in journals, textbooks, blogs and reports. Because of this, writing is arguably the most important skill in any kind of science. A scientific paper needs to have…
People occasionally ask me why I write with a fountain pen. It’s a remarkably deliberate writing instrument since you don’t see fountain pens all that often these days. It’s certainly become more of a niche hobby than a practical tool for writing. So, you could call me an enthusiast of sorts. In any case, today,…
From starry-eyed aspiring authors to students sitting in the exam hall with their paper wishing they could conceivably bang their head against the desk repeatedly without a) sustaining some serious brain damage and b) getting kicked out for disturbing the peace, almost everyone will have to write at some point. Bonus points if the starry-eyed…