by Debbie Bateman Photo by evgenyatamenko on iStock. Public domain. A Useful Revision Technique It started innocently enough as a revision technique I learned from Stella Leventoyannis Harvey when I was in The Writer’s Studio program. She suggested we retype our manuscript really fast without thinking too much. What an idea! I love speed. That…… Continue reading My Strange Writing Habit
Tag: creative-writing
Follow the Yearning
It’s an uncomfortable notion—to forget what you had planned and to instead trust what you feel. We don’t usually put so much deliberate trust in emotions, thinking they are transitory and frequently misguided and sometimes even dangerous. What if the opposite is true?
The Deep Meaning of Play
by Debbie Bateman Image use purchased from Adobe Fun Is the Reason Not so long ago, I joined a drumming circle in my neighbourhood. We get together once a week to play our djembes. We have no real purpose other than to connect. We’re not preparing for a concert, or even necessarily learning specific songs…… Continue reading The Deep Meaning of Play
Sitting With Discomfort or Really, Do I Have To?
Image by Cup of Couple, Free Use via Pexels That Backyard Is a Mess It’s happened enough times I should not be surprised. I’ll reach a moment in my writing that is so blessed unpleasant and uncomfortable that I simply cannot continue. At such moments, I’m likely to find clever justifications for not writing. I…… Continue reading Sitting With Discomfort or Really, Do I Have To?
The Feedback Loop
Image use purchased from Adobe Types of Feedback Over the years, I’ve experienced a lot of different forms of feedback on my writing—from encouraging rejection notes to varied insights in workshops and in-depth analysis from a mentor. Most of this has been helpful. I would not be the writer I am without that support. And…… Continue reading The Feedback Loop
Rethinking Competition
Image use purchased from Adobe Scarcity of Opportunities Every accomplishment a writer obtains is gained by competition. There are only so many books a publisher can accept, only so many spaces for writers to read at festivals, only so many spots on shortlists for awards. Then there’s the race to be included on the shelves…… Continue reading Rethinking Competition
Working the Empathy Muscle
Image use purchased from Adobe First Comes Reading My urge to put words onto the page began with reading. Owen Meany, an elephant whose name is Mud, an Irish boy called Henry, couples sat about a table drinking and talking foolish about love—these encounters with fiction can be as real and meaningful as my actual…… Continue reading Working the Empathy Muscle
Flying Pigs
Photo by Debbie Bateman Say Hello to My Friend It’s a good life, no lie. In my office, I have this delightful creature at my back on a bookshelf at eye level. Whenever I turn around, I see its protruding snout and clever wings, and I remember to believe in the impossible. Those beady eyes…… Continue reading Flying Pigs
Ideas That Stick
Image use purchased from Adobe Stock About First Drafts In the earlier days of becoming a writer, I’d panic at any lack of fresh ideas. A lot of the advice I read said to keep going no matter what, that first drafts were all a mess, and the trick was to continue. Good or bad,…… Continue reading Ideas That Stick
Freshening the Mind
Image use purchased from Adobe Stock An Innocent Start It started innocently enough as a habit formed on sound advice from Stella Leventoyannis Harvey. Early in The Writer’s Studio program I completed a few years ago, she suggested to the workshop group that it can be helpful to retype a story as a final act…… Continue reading Freshening the Mind
Debbie Bateman 