Read my Spring/Summer 2022 Favourite Sounds here. Alfabet/Alphabet: A Memoir of a First Language by Sadiqa de Meijer Winner of the 2021 Governor General Literary Award for Non-fiction. Finding this book about the adjustment from Dutch language and culture to Canadian was somewhat serendipitous, since my father made the same journey a few years beforeContinue reading “Spring/Summer 2022 Favourite Reads”
Author Archives: Emma Lammers
Spring/Summer 2022 Favourite Sounds
You know how some people define different stages of their lives by the TV shows or clothes that they loved? For me, it’s music. So it’s odd that I’ve never written about my love of music before.
All Writers Need to Believe in Stories
New writers are encouraged to read, and so read I did – about the evils of misrepresentation, the cleverness of subverted tropes, the laughable Mary Sue phenomenon, fantasy clichés, fantasy subgenres, new books, classic books, books that I could have written better, books that put my prose to shame, books that irritated me for reasons I could not identify…
Leaving the Novel in Progress (Part 2)
My fiction feels like a way to prove myself, and that isn’t healthy. The relationship must either change or end. A follow up to my last post.
Yes, it’s been a while. Forgive the delay – I had a strange work schedule and several class projects to juggle. Anyhow, back to the matter at hand, which can be summed up like this: “I’m writing a book, but I don’t know what it’s about.”
Leaving the Novel in Progress (Part 1)
How the beautiful promise of a published novel narrowed my focus too much. I did consider stopping, once or twice, but the idea terrified me. Wasn’t the NIP (novel-in-progress) my anchor? Wasn’t it the reason I studied literature and creative writing, and read widely, and started this website – and wasn’t it my lifelong dream to be the Author of a Book? There was no other job I wanted to do. There was nothing else I was this good at. What else could I do with my life?
3 Crafts to Make with Paper: Stars, Bunting, and More
How do I decorate with little to no money? Scrap paper and wallpaper!
Fun fact: stores selling paint and other décor throw away their wallpaper sample books at the end of each season – but if you ask nicely, they might give the sample book to you instead. Apparently teachers have been using them for years as free art supplies. Now that you’re in on the secret, you can too.
3 Crafts to Make with Vines
Making tangible, beautiful things remains one of my passions. Since I’ve become more invested in sustainable living in recent years, I’ve learned to make my crafts more eco-friendly by using repurposed or biodegradable materials. Wild vines are resources that literally renew themselves each spring. In this post, I’ll show you how to turn them into wreaths, globes, and birds’ nests.
November Plans
I’ve got some catching up to do: books to read, a book to write, a new course of study on the horizon…
As always, the Halloween season has been great fun. At work as a tour guide, I introduced people to the wonders of autumn, told semi-spooky stories, and gave out countless candies. It rained, and it was chilly, but the kids wore raincoats under their capes and wings and still had a good time.
Now I’m eyeing the row of books that have accumulated on my shelf over the past few weeks – Ada Hoffman’s The Outside, Perpetual Astonishment by Tomson Highway, and Esi Edugyan’s Out of the Sun.
Links & Pursuits, October 2021
Things that caught my eye this month – including writing by Carolyn Hinds and Johnathon Flowers – plus some DIY pursuits.
October isn’t just turkey and pumpkins month.
Several weeks ago, I learned that it’s also National Disability Employment month, and this guided some of my reading and thinking, as you’ll see below.
…I read:
Review: Everyone Knows your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
The unconventional approach to describing the legal battle, the juxtaposition of satirical characters against the cutting realism of the setting – this will definitely be a favourite book of 2021.
Emma Lammers 