So Far for Beauty – why we can’t stop writing

by | Feb 2, 2017 | 5Rhthyms, Amherst Writers and Artists, AWA, Barbara Turner-Vesselago, Canadian novel writing, dancing, Gabrielle Roth, Kripalu. Restorative Yoga, not giving up, Osho Meditation Resort, worrying about the future

I took it “out on the dance floor” last night. All of it – the feelings of helplessness, rage, terror, and joy, too. Joy in community, in my body’s ability to move so many parts in pleasure and discomfort, in the sweet cold outside air and in the blasts of heat from...

Getting Back on, Falling off Again, Getting Back on, and so on

by | Oct 4, 2016 | applying for grants, Canadian novel writing, creative non-fiction, fiction, grant application, literary agents, memoir, not giving up, Phil Dwyer, publishing, querying

  I’m no stranger to broken bones, concussions, and sprains from the whims of grumpy horses, so after the last rejection threw me flat to the ground I climbed back on my literary horse. In a Facebook post I shared that I was sitting in my car eating dark chocolate...

‘When you will make an end of it?’ – Pope Julius II in The Agony and the Ecstacy

by | Jul 7, 2011 | Canadian novel writing, creative writing, final draft, novel in progress, novel writing, revision, rewriting, Rewriting the novel, second draft, Uncategorized, writing, writing fiction, writing process, Writing retreats

It is day four at Maryholme Retreat Centre on Lake Simcoe and I have just completed another full edit of my novel, Weather Vane. I have been hearing the voices that say bad words in my head again. I heard them and I kept walking over the lawns with my clipboard and my...

The Divine Business of Eating – il Fornello, the synopsis

by | Jun 23, 2011 | Canadian novel writing, creative writing, editing, fiction, inspiration, literary writing, Uncategorized, writing, writing groups, writing mentors, writing process, Writing retreats, writing together

Ever since il Fornello first opened its doors on Bloor Street at Bathurst in Toronto I have loved it. I have loved its wood-fired ovens that produce a pizza crust to bring  tears to the most calloused palate. I have loved its decor and music, its wine and aqua...