Welcome to Teach Write! This column draws on my 20 years’ experience teaching writing to kids, university students, and adult learners. It includes ideas and exercises that teachers can use in the classroom, and creative writers can use to level up their process. And today we’re going to focus on that word: process. One of the biggest misconceptions that people of all ages have about writing is that they’ll sit down at their keyboards, and…

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Welcome to STEMinism Sunday! As a former woman in science, I have a deep and enduring interest in the experiences and representation of women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). This series will be an opportunity for me – and you – to get to know some of these intellectual badasses. Have you ever heard of Maud Leonora Menten? I hadn’t, until last week, when I read this fascinating post about her life…

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Welcome to Cantastic Authorpalooza, featuring posts by great Canadian children’s writers! Today’s guest: Karen Spafford-Fitz. Take it away, Karen! Grab Your Yoga Mat: Flexibility in Writing Kidlit Even before I sent away my very first query package, I’d heard stories about the long, torturous waits for a response from publishers, and about the demoralizing form-style rejection letters one might expect. So I was not surprised when those things occurred. Thirteen years and six kidlit books…

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Welcome to Mad Science Mondays, where we talk about depictions of science in movies, TV shows, and books. We dissect the good, the bad, the comical and the outright irresponsible. Who says learning about science can’t be fun? Let’s talk about The Silence. When The Silence popped up on my Netflix browser, I admit I was a bit skeptical (Bird Box knockoff, anyone?). But I watched it because, quite frankly, I consider anything with Stanley…

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It’s a grey, rainy Friday and I’m seriously tempted to go back to bed until spring shows up. I’m also feeling very grateful that I live in an area that is not seriously affected by flooding, and a great deal of helpless compassion for those in Ontario and Quebec who are not so lucky. And a lot of rage for people who continue to deny that climate change, which affects patterns of precipitation as well…

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Tech Support and I have been playing Pandemic for a couple years now, ever since good friends of ours introduced us to the game. The dreadful diseases we combat include sniffilis, syphilherpetitis, zombiebomb, and gout (don’t ask me, Tech Support named them), and it’s kind of astonishing how much anxiety we feel as the disease cubes spread across the board – almost as if we really are responsible for saving the world. Who knew the…

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Of all the dinosaurs in all the world, SUE the T. rex might be the most famous. The most complete T. rex skeleton ever found, SUE is likely also the most well-traveled. Her bones, or at least casts of them, have been displayed all over the world. The casts I saw in Nova Scotia came with bilingual displays written in English and Arabic! But there’s a new king of the dinosaurs in town, and his…

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Welcome to a new occasional series here on ye olde blog! As a former woman in science, I have a deep and enduring interest in the experiences and representation of women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). This series will be a opportunity for me – and you – to get to know some of these intellectual badasses. To kick us off, paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler. Yes, yes, I know. Ellie Sattler is…

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Sometimes there are weeks where you work 8 hours a day every day and feel like you didn’t accomplish a single thing. This was not one of those weeks. This was one of those weeks when the stars align and projects that have been going on for years – in one case, over a decade – are suddenly… done. Which is amazing, but also a little weird? Monday: I completed copy edits for a new…

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Scene: Lindsey and Tech Support driving home after seeing Aquaman Lindsey: I want my very own angry seahorse. Tech Support: I thought you wanted a bioluminescent octopus to play the drums for you. Lindsey: Yes. To play the drums while I ride my angry seahorse. Tech Support: Like Guitar Guy from Fury Road. Lindsey: Exactly. Tech Support: And all the manta rays are yelling “WITNESS ME!!” This is why we’re married. The post Thoughts on…

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