A few years back, well maybe 18 months back, so somewhere in that netherworld between a few “months” and a few “years” back, a video-journalist (I know! What a world!) from LaPresse+ (the iPad version of Montreal’s LaPresse) did a story on me. One of the major weaknesses of LaPresse+ (and perhaps its only one […]
Because Social Media is Social!
We’re sharing stuff. Lots of stuff. My last book was partly about this (and that last book is out in paperback this summer – preorder now! And if you don’t like reading, you can get it as an audiobook too!). Not completely but more than one review talked about the “age of oversharing” or something […]
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Tagged bullies, devo, ello, Facebook, first draft, Jones, krakken, trolling, trolls, word count, writing
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This Is What I’m Up To
I believe I’m three quarters of the way through the first draft of my new novel. If I’m following the outline (which has become more like a well-thought out list of well-thought out suggestions rather than an actual set of, you know, instructions that I’m supposed to heed), then I’m three quarters of the way […]
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Tagged almonds, audiobook, bleeding, California, Cosmonaut Avenue, drought, editing, ello, Giller, Joshua Tree, Los Angeles, meerkat, microfiction, overpopulation, Palm Springs, Quebec Writers Federation, Skylight Books, tweet, Twitter, water, workshop, writing
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Here Be Monsters
As a writer, I’m very protective of first drafts. Or have been. For some writers, first drafts are throw-aways, warm-ups, and nothing more. I’ve read of some writers that literally throw away their first drafts and start over because now the story is inside them or something. These people are monsters. The first draft is […]
The New Thing
I’m reading this Sunday at a bar on Crescent Street. Not by myself, because that would be unbelievably awful, but with a bunch of other writers. I’m going to read a chapter from Jones. That’s what the new project is called. It’s still in first draft mode. Half way through the first draft. Meaning the […]
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Tagged cold, Cosmonaut Avenue, Crescent Street, Montreal, Waiting for the Man
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Scenes From the Making of a Novel
What does it look like to write a book? It’s a stupid question. I wrote Waiting for the Man over a long period, in many different circumstances. Some drafts were written by hand. Some were done entirely on computer. I do most of my editing by hand as well, so I’d print out the latest […]
I’m Not Making A Single Resolution
I don’t believe in resolutions. I’d like to say I don’t believe in New Year’s at all, since the calendar is a human construct, but that’s not really true (the earth does revolve around the sun after all and we’re just measuring that passage) and I’m not remotely that cool. As humans we need milestones, […]
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Tagged abs, Bourbon, December, Elvis, new year's resolutions, nostalgia, umami
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The Day North Korea Outdid Itself
Dennis Rodman went to North Korea and became friends with Kim Jong Un, a despotic – and short – heir to the world’s longest running…something. North Korea is something but it’s hard to describe. It is an odd world indeed when “Denis Rodman” is not the strangest word in a sentence but that’s the power […]
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Tagged Betamax, Bobby Ewing, CEO, CIA, Guy Delisle, James Franco, Kim Jong Un, Napoleon Complex, New Coke, Newhart, North Korea, Playstation, Seth Rogen, Sony, Steve Carell, stoned, Suzanne Pleshette, The Interview
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I Haven’t Written Anything Here for a Long Time
There. I just changed that. More to come.
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The Unthinking: der Giller Part Two
The thing about getting nominated for a major award but not really getting nominated is the potential of it. The glimpse it affords to the other side. Being longlisted for anything is like the Pluto of nominations. One day you’re a planet and the next day you’re not. You’re not even considered a planet anymore. […]
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Tagged awards, Giller Prize, length of day on Pluto, nominations, planet, Pluto
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