Writing a Novel: How NOT to Begin!

The opening segment of your novel is by far the most important part, not only because you must hook your readers and keep them hooked, but because you are going to rely on your first few pages as a sample when you submit to agents and publishers. Your opening pages should offer the reader everything: gripping story, rounded characters, intriguing plot, believable dialogue, tension, mood, conflict and more. As a freelance editor, I’ve read a lot of opening pages, so here are six of the pitfalls you may want to avoid if you want your novel to stand out from the crowd: The opening chapter begins with the main character having a dream, or waking up. This is a big no-no for most agents and [...]

2024-04-01T09:43:55-04:00March 3, 2020|Home Page, On Writing, Writing Retreats|
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Retreating to Costa Rica again!

Last month was our fifth annual writing retreat to Costa Rica, and while all of them have been wonderful, in some ways, this was the best yet. Eight incredible writers who shared laughter and moved one another to tears. Workshop mornings filled with inspiration. Critiquing sessions, reading circles and endless discussions about the craft of writer. We lingered over meals, took walks together in the rainforest, shared cocktails at the hot springs and spent long afternoons immersed in our writing projects. And the nature! One of my favourite parts of the day is 6am, when the rainforest bursts to life around us. I wrap myself in a blanket and shuffle outside, half asleep, to collapse in my hammock and listen to the world as it [...]

2024-04-01T09:46:56-04:00February 24, 2020|Home Page, On Writing, Writing Retreats|
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Deboning a Dragon: First Review!

I was thrilled yesterday to discover that the Toronto Star had published a review of my poetry collection! There's something quite intriguing about reading what complete strangers have to say about your work. Here's what Barbara Carey had to say: “Deboning a dragon is not like deboning a fish,” Julie Hartley writes in her debut collection. It’s a reminder that imaginary beasts inhabit a different realm than earthly creatures; yet the real and the fantastical often intersect appealingly in her work. The Toronto poet grew up in Britain, and many poems reference real places and are grounded in details that seem authentic, as in “Home Address,” a narrative looking back at childhood, where the speaker describes “the fat-crackle of Mabel’s fish ’n’ chips” and eating [...]

2024-04-01T09:48:45-04:00January 13, 2020|On Writing|
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Building a Writer’s Life

I've always wanted to be a writer, and of course, to be a writer there's only one thing you really have to do: write. That's what I tell my students, and it's true. But building a life as a writer is a different matter, and one thing I quickly learned is that it requires more than writing. It's taken me a lot of years to build a writer's life, but these days, I feel I might actually be there. What do I mean? Well, a writer's job is multi-faceted. I write. Every day. That's a given. But there are other, equally vital components... Marketing and Social MediaWriters promote themselves. They need an online presence. A blog. Website. Twitter. Facebook pages and groups. A Goodreads presence, [...]

2024-04-01T09:52:00-04:00November 12, 2019|Home Page, On Writing, The Finding Place, Writing Retreats, Young Writers!|
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Deboning a Dragon: A Poetry Collection

Yesterday, we settled on the cover for my new poetry collection, out soon with Mansfield Press. I'm incredibly happy with it. The cover, designed by Denis De Klerck, perfectly captures the tone of the book. I've been so fortunate throughout this entire experience: fortunate to have my collection picked up by a press with such an amazing reputation, and fortunate, too, to have Stuart Ross as my editor. The poems in Deboning a Dragon were written over a span of 12 years. I first discovered a love of poetry at a writing retreat in 2006, and half a dozen poems in this collection were written at that time. In the months after the retreat, my life changed dramatically; my partner and I travelled to China [...]

2019-10-30T07:48:32-04:00October 30, 2019|Home Page, On Writing, Writing Retreats|
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Why I love to tell stories

I don't just write stories - I tell them. At camp, in schools and here, at our creative writing space in Toronto. Some of my yarns take an hour or more to spin, and it's safe to say that as such lengthy stories unfold, I am as immersed in the tale as my audience. I was thinking about that today, selecting tales to tell this coming Friday at the Centauri Arts Academy, and it occurred to me that for this writer at least, writing a novel and telling an epic story in front of an audience are really not that different. Often I'm asked: how long does it take to memorize a story that takes an hour to tell? The honest answer is, about fifteen [...]

2019-10-21T12:18:37-04:00October 21, 2019|Home Page, On Writing, Young Writers!|
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Our Costa Rica Writing Retreat

Sometimes, we all need to retreat. From work, from responsibilities, from our endless Canadian winters. And more importantly, we don’t only retreat from – we retreat to. On our annual creative writing retreat in Costa Rica we retreat into nature, healthy food, daily workshops, an immersion in writing, wonderful weather and a community of likeminded souls. We come back rejuvenated and with fresh inspiration for our creative projects. This past 10 days, I took 11 incredible people to Finca Luna Nueva, our magical writing base in the heart of rainforest in Costa Rica. Mornings were spent in writing workshops, on a gorgeous deck looking down on the bamboo restaurant and pool. While hummingbirds flitted past us, cicadas buzzed and howler monkeys roared in the depths […]

2019-05-04T17:00:30-04:00February 22, 2019|Home Page, Life at Centauri, On Writing, Writing Retreats, Young Writers!|
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A Pilgrimage to Spain

Why is it always easier to write when you step out of your daily life and head somewhere new? The Finding Place was written on a beach devastated by a tsunami. Flying Backwards with Pelicans was written on a ranch in Chile. Beyond Chaos began life as the sun was rising over the rainforest in Costa Rica, and the final words of Girl Awake were written in the same hammock. Two weeks ago, I set off for Spain, to research a second location for our writing retreats. My days were spent exploring in a tiny rental car barely able to manage the switchbacks and steep plunges of the single track Andalucian roads, and my nights were spent feverishly plotting ideas for a new novel.

2019-05-04T17:01:09-04:00November 22, 2018|Home Page, On Writing, Writing Retreats|
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A beginning, a middle and an end.

On the wall of our arts studio in Toronto, there is a photograph of a woman writing under a tree. The caption reads: “all stories should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” I was thinking about this quotation today. Is it too basic for us to think of a story as having a beginning, middle and end? Too reminiscent of our elementary teachers? When we talk of rising and falling action, inciting incidents , doorway moments, transitions and transformation, it is still sometimes useful to fall back on the basics. But what did the writer (Tim Burton? Jean-Luc Godard?) mean by ‘not necessarily in that order?’ Here are three writing exercises that explore the old adage that every […]

2019-05-04T17:01:44-04:00November 22, 2018|On Writing, Writing Retreats, Young Writers!|
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A Creative Week in Costa Rica!

Our third annual writing retreat to Costa Rica took place last week, and what a fabulous adventure it was. Here’s a list of our most memorable experiences: The Group! A wonderful collection of people from across North America. We had seasoned writers, and participants writing creatively for the first time. Poets, playwrights, short story writers, novelists, memoir writers and people trying various forms. Some of us had attended retreats before, while others had barely travelled. Our group was supportive, encouraging, positive and eager to launch into this amazing experience. Together we formed a community we will value forever. Finca Luna Nueva! Our lodge is one of the most relaxing, rejuvenating and beautiful places you could ever wish for – a paradise in the heart of […]

2019-05-04T17:20:55-04:00February 13, 2018|Home Page, Life at Centauri, On Writing, Writing Retreats|
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