Oh yes. That little thing called “Weekend Warrior.” This is an in-house contest run by participants of the Codex Writing Forum—specifically Vylar Kaftan along with lots of help from other participants. The challenge is to write a new flash piece (750 words or less) from Friday evening to Sunday night and upload it to the site in order to be judged by your incredibly talented peers. And, to do this five weekends in a row. Whee! This was my first time and I pretty much hated it

The other day while we were taking our evening walk, he told me about a “stupid mistake” (is there any other kind?) he’d made. Then he quoted the man who taught him carpentry, saying, “The sign of a good carpenter is the ability to cover up your mistakes and make them work.” This is a concept I’m familiar with. In art, we do this. You make a mistake in an oil painting, it’s no problem, just repaint it. That’s trickier in watercolor, but perfection is elusive at best, so you f

For those of you in Cape Breton, hope to see you there, and a big thank you to Douglas for the opportunity and the evening. Here is his write up on the event: An evening of good food, short readings by some of Cape Breton’s most prolific writers, book giveaways, great music, and cash bar. Reserved Seating Only – No Tickets at the door – $20 per person (To reserve tickets contact boularderieislandpress@bellaliant.net Saturday, August 25th Ross Ferry Fire Hall and Community Cen

A writer, an editor and a reader walk into an Establishment Pub[lishing] House. The affronted publisher asks, “What’s the story here?” The writer: “I’d like people to read what I’ve written.” The editor: “I’d like to edit fresh, original stories by real people rather than celebrities.” The reader: “I’d like to read the best fiction rather than what will sell whether it’s good or not.” The publisher: “Sorry, you’re not my type.” ***laughter***applause*** Thank you. Thank

Do not give out your first drafts. Do at least one complete revision before submitting it to someone else. Use family members with caution. Because they know you well, relatives may have difficulty critiquing what is on the page, but may instead bring irrelevant knowledge about you into the feedback. They may be too close to be honest or overly critical without realizing it. This is not a hard and fast rule, as some husbands and wives or mothers and sons critique each other e