Ah, summer. We hardly knew ya. Everything in my garden has pretty much come and gone—the tomatoes, the peppers, the herbs, the flowers. But my senses were surprised a few days ago when a vision of perfection appeared. The rose stands tall—to my shoulders!—and measures a full 6 inches in diameter. The fragrance is big… Continue Reading
This fear? Conquered! Actually, when I stood under the tree on the weekend and looked up, there was no longer any fear. There was only the voice in my head saying, “This is happening!” Up next: making more phone calls to increase my client base. For this introvert, that’s totally scary. What fear have you… Continue Reading
Today, Gretchen Rubin reminded me that it will soon be National Novel Writing Month again. I’ve written before about my languishing novel, and Rubin suggests a writing bootcamp is just the thing to get a novel finished. Instead of doing a little bit each day, Rubin suggests doing more. That way, your juices get flowing,… Continue Reading
CareerFoundry offers great advice for freelancers. If you’re looking for ways to be more productive—there’s a (project management) app for that!—or if you want a glimpse of what freelance life looks like, check out CF’s blog. For me, the best things about freelancing are the flexible schedule, the casual dress, and the work I love.… Continue Reading
Today I came across a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. Facing my fears is an integral part of my mission statement, so I hardly needed the reminder. Forcing myself to network, to make phone calls to potential clients, and to perform myriad other actions that are alien to introverts have become common practice. Except . .… Continue Reading
Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor (2013) is an inspiring book by Sylvia Ann Hewlett that offers practical advice to fulfill your professional goals. Like Donald Asher (author of Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t, and Why), Hewlett informs workers—especially women and visible minorities—how the world of work operates: hard work alone won’t get you where… Continue Reading
Broadcasters and publishers receive a deluge of complaints about grammar and usage. Anna Maria Tremonti, host of CBC Radio’s The Current, dubs these complainers “the grammaratti.” And I’m sure they’ll be expressing displeasure after the grammar discussion on The Current today. Tremonti spoke with Ammon Shea, author of Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation.… Continue Reading
In a previous post, I suggested that if you commit to writing a mere 500 words per day, you’ll have a book written before the year’s out. And printing that book is easy-peasy. One way to do it is with the Asquith Press at the Toronto Public Library. The press is located at the Toronto… Continue Reading
Rebecca Solnit’s latest book, Men Explain Things to Me, is a collection of essays that explores the condescending manner in which some men speak to—not with—women. If you’re female, you know exactly what “mansplaining” is, and I’ll bet you’ve experienced it more than once. Solnit coined the term mansplaining in a blog post in which… Continue Reading
Angela Misri is a Toronto-based author who was recently featured on CBC Radio’s Here and Now. She spoke about her new detective novel, Jewel of the Thames, which features protaganist Portia Adams, a young detective with a Sherlock Holmes connection. Misri tells another story, however, that has captured my attention: her story of writing Jewel… Continue Reading