Category Archives: Art

My Writing in my Writing

Although I never made note of it before, I noticed when I was editing my latest book—The View from Vancouver—that I had slipped in references to my other books. At first I made little of it, and presumed I was … Continue reading

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Writing as a Logical Series of Steps

The inevitability of plot is one of the easiest aspects of writing. As a storyteller you shove a metal key into your characters, wind them up like a toy, and watch them perform series of proscribed motions. Many of the … Continue reading

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The Ego in Creative Projects

One of the central problems when dealing with a creative writer is that of their emotional investment in their work. They do not see what they have written as merely product, such as a snail and their shell, but rather … Continue reading

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Something to Show for Each Year

I am frequently asked why I bother writing my various books. I don’t have a huge audience to satisfy like Stephen King or J. K. Rowling. In my case, my books sell sporadically and I don’t know there is a … Continue reading

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Hostile Architecture 2

I have commented before on hostile architecture in Winnipeg, but now that I have collected a few more examples, I thought I would share what we walk by every day and ignore. Perhaps our own privilege blinds us. For if … Continue reading

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Ancient Science at the Planetarium

Whenever we think about our ancestors we are inclined to imagine them as moronic, backward troglodytes, dragging their knuckles through lives as brutal and stunted as themselves. In our rather short-sighted and ungrateful vision, they do not hope to compare … Continue reading

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Gaming Grand Theft Auto

One of the most popular games of all time is Grand Theft Auto. The game features particular missions, in which the characters, or you—depending on game setting—navigate a fictional world to accomplish a goal. Many people play the game “properly” … Continue reading

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Fifty Shades and a Silo of the Publishing Industry

The so-called vanity press has changed little in the public imagination until very recently. Traditionally, paying to have your book published was seen as synonymous with junk novels and sentimental and self-indulgent poetry. The only route to acceptance by the … Continue reading

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Writing is a Poor Person’s Art

Writing is the poor person’s art, just like soccer is the poor person’s sport. All you need to play soccer is a will, for a ball can be made out of torn nylon stockings, my friends from Chile tell me, … Continue reading

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An Authorial Dream of Wealth and Success

Perhaps because my latest book, Not Quite Dark: A Post-Apocalyptic Adoption Story is doing well in terms of sales, I had a strange dream about being a popular writer the other night. I dreamed that Obama had unwittingly endorsed my … Continue reading

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