1. Write the best darned story / memoir / article / poem/ novel or whatever else you want to write. So. . . get writing! 2. Re-write and revise it until it cannot possibly be any better! Cut it! Revise it! Rework it! Finish the job! 3. Send your work... Continue reading

Studies show that a book has approximately four seconds to make a good impression on a customer. A short story probably gets even less time! A great title can sometimes be the difference between a story being read and enjoyed and going unread. The title of your story makes the... Continue reading

Or, Imagery, Metaphors and Symbols (Oh my!) Great fiction and creative non-fiction are ultimately about ideas and feelings – causing your reader to think and feel. Since both feelings and ideas are abstract, literary devices such as similes, metaphors and symbols help to clarify or make these conceptions more concrete.... Continue reading

There are essentially three stages to producing an excellent piece of written work: writing, revising, and editing. WRITING Writing your first draft should be a labour of love. Purge those words onto the page with as much passion and fury as you want to. Most of the feeling and creativity... Continue reading

Hello, fellow writers! There are many, many useful books on the art, craft, and mechanics of writing! While this list is far from exhaustive, here are a few that I have found useful: Roget's Thesaurus The Oxford Canadian and Webster's Encyclopedic dictionaries Also, baby naming books are helpful for finding... Continue reading

Hi, there! I'm Richard Scarsbrook, the Toronto Public Library's Fall 2014 Writer in Residence. I will be working from the beautiful North York Central Library, meeting with a large number of deveoping writers to provide them with individual advice on their fiction and poetry manuscripts, as well as presenting workshops... Continue reading