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 [...]

If you enjoy writing, and you also love Halloween, here are THIRTEEN writing prompts to get you in the mood for trick or treating! ONE: You take an elevator at the mall. The elevator goes down… and keeps on going. Where are you when the doors open? TWO: It’s a dark and rainy night. Someone hears a knock on their door. They open it – and find themself standing on the other side. THREE: Your character receives messages from a stranger who seems to know everything about them. The messages direct him or her to a disused factory at dusk. There, a dozen other people wait. All received the same message… FOUR: You take a cruise to a deserted island where strange things happen. On [...]