My upcoming picture book Sour Cakes, wonderfully illustrated by Anna Kwan, explores what happens when a sibling experiences emotions that feel too big to handle. The dual perspectives of a big and a little sister invite readers to delve into how it feels to support a sibling during a hard time as well as how to acknowledge one’s own difficult emotions. Anna Kwan’s appealing conceptual illustrations help readers map out these messy feelings.
My inspiration for writing Sour Cakes was my family history of mental health challenges. Depression, anxiety, and the effects of past traumas have impacted our daily lives and shaped each generation in different ways. I wrote this book to acknowledge and accept this difficulty, but also to honour the ways we support and sustain one another.
My hope is that Sour Cakes will spark conversations about mental health awareness and social-emotional learning in readers young, old, and in between. To help with that, Anna Kwan and I created a Resource Guide that includes discussion questions and colouring pages.
For more about social-emotional learning, please check out the panel discussion below with me, Anna, as well as author Bree Galbraith and illustrator Lynn Scurfield, who are the talented creators of Hold That Thought! – available on August 15!
Exciting news! I’ll be publishing a new fantasy novel for kids with Charlesbridge Publishing. Thanks to agent-extraordinaire Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown for her support. Thanks to Alex McKenzie and Charlesbridge for seeing the potential in this novel. Here’s the official announcement:
I’m grateful to the Ontario Arts Council for awarding a writing grant to this project when it was a newly hatched idea. I’m also grateful to my creative community for feedback and encouragement while writing and revising.
Monster vs.Boy includes a character who might be my personal favourite among all those I’ve written so far. But I don’t think an author is supposed to have a favourite, so let’s just say that I adore writing this one.
Ever since I first heard Erin Nuttall read from her works-in-progress during our time together at the Vermont College of Fine Art’s Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program, I was a fan. She is a writer to watch, and I’m sure we’ll be reading her middle-grade and young-adult novels in the future. Thanks to Erin for interviewing me about side-writing on KidLit Craft – a terrific blog you’ll want to explore. You can check out Erin’s thoughts on side-writing in her inaugural post on KidLit Craft, and stayed tuned for more side-writing exercises on the blog all month.
In a virtual meeting for CANSCAIP Members and Friends across Canada, I’ll be speaking with panelists S.K. Ali and Nadia Hohn as well as moderator Glen Huser about our faculty and student experiences in writing programs and schools.
Have you considered a degree in creative writing? What degrees are out there? What is the workload? What can you gain? And – is it worth the money?
Date and Time: March 10, 7 p.m. ET Guests are welcome, and can contact office@canscaip.org to request the Zoom link.
Our world has been going through extraordinary changes, and so have we as writers. Who are you now? What stories are currently simmering within you, waiting to be told?
In this hands-on workshop, I’ll explore how to tap into ourselves and our stories through the practice of side-writing, which refers to stepping away from the story on the page to explore the raw heart of it through creative exercises. You’ll explore how side-writing can help us to write true to ourselves, plumb the emotional depths of our characters to better connect to readers, and spark joy and play in our writing.
It’s cover reveal day! I’m thrilled to share the cover of my debut picture book Sour Cakes, illustrated by the talented Anna Kwan and published by Owlkids Books! Arriving at an indie bookstore near you in October 2021. It’s been an honour to witness these characters coming to life through Anna’s art.
Do you have a sibling? Are you the youngest, oldest, or somewhere in the middle? Does your sibling ever get sour? Do you?
Full confession: I’m the youngest in my family, and I’ve been known to be both sour and sweet, as my sister will confirm.
Sour Cakes is modelled after sibling relationships in my own family and Anna’s. For me, it’s about how we may annoy one another at times yet we also show compassion. Love you, family!
Heavy emotions meet a deep well of understanding in this uplifting sibling story
Now, you can listen to Catherine’s interview with me on Cabin Tales. It includes my advice to young writers with writer’s block, and tales of terror from my childhood. (Yes, I was afraid of closets. Maybe I still am.)
This week, I signed a contract for my third picture book! I’d like to share all the details, but for now, I can tell you that it’s a nonfiction picture book scheduled for Spring 2023 with Groundwood Books. Oh, the anticipation!
This manuscript took 28 drafts (so far) to find its path, and it’s had plenty of help along the way. A shout-out to my critique groups and partners for all their insights. A special shout-out to the Vermont College of Fine Arts, which helped me learn how to write this new-to-me genre. And much gratitude to my agent Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown for her support, as well as Groundwood for seeing the potential in this manuscript.
No one wants to visit writer’s block. But it happens, especially after months and months of a pandemic. The world can be distracting and disturbing. My brain and body can become too out of kilter to write. I get stuck. I doubt myself and my stories. It happens to all creators at some point.
It can feel like I’m wandering in an endless loop. Or like I’m trapped and unable to move.
When I visit schools, I often get asked how I overcome writer’s block. Here are a few ways that have worked for me. Hopefully, you’ll find something that’ll work for you when you get stuck.
Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
Set a daily word count. Sometimes, I need to push my way through a writing block. By writing a little bit every day, I keep my story in my head. I like to set a low daily word count, like 200 words/day. I often write more, but my goal is to get started each day.
Put the manuscript in a drawer. When I’m not sure what to write next in a story, I write down the unanswered questions I have about the manuscript, then I put it away for a few days, weeks, or months. My subconscious writer’s brain will work on answering the questions while I’m doing other things. When I come back to the manuscript, I’m often surprised to discover that I have the answers to my questions.
Get feedback from trusted critique partners. I’m a big fan of writing critique groups and partners, partly because it’s hard to be objective about our own writing and partly because I adore spending time with other writers. When I’m stuck, fresh eyes on my manuscript can help me find new ways forward. And helping other writers makes me a better writer too.
Re-read what I already wrote on a story. When I sit down to write each day, I usually re-read what I wrote on it the day before. Sometimes, I need to re-read an entire draft of a novel to be able to see how to write the next part.
Talk with a friend about why I’m stuck. I often talk to a friend or family member when I’m stuck. As I talk, the problem usually comes into focus. Sometimes, they have ideas that spark me. Either way, I feel supported and ready to dive back in.
Write outside of the story. Some people call this “side writing,” and it can take many forms. For example, I might write a scene from a different character’s point of view, write a letter from one character to another, brainstorm ideas for what might happen next, ask my character a series of questions to get to know them better, write a poem about my story, and so on. There are a million ways to do side writing, but basically, the goals are to play with your story, to loosen up, to get to know your story and characters better, and to re-kindle your writing.
Take a writing class or read about writing craft. When I’m struggling with a manuscript, sometimes I need to learn more about how to tackle a particular writing challenge. For example, I took screen-writing courses when I had trouble with plotting, and I regularly read books about writing for tips and techniques.
Take a break. Not every day is a writing day. It’s okay not to write for days or even months at a time. Sometimes, I need to get away from my writing desk to rest and recover or to experience the world. So if writing is slow, consider taking a nap, going for a walk, or even launching a grand adventure! Of course, these days, that will be six-feet apart and wearing a mask, but we can still find ways to adventure.
If you have other suggestions for overcoming writer’s block, please let me know. I’d love to hear them!
My writing space has been in transition for three years as I’ve moved from home to home to home. And during this time, most of my books have been in cardboard boxes, shuffled from place to place. I’ve missed them.
One great thing about writing is that it’s accessible. Anyone can do it with only a pen and paper. On a phone. On the back of a grocery bill.
I’ve learned to write in cafés and libraries. While I’m walking or lying in bed. Even in doctor’s waiting rooms. It’s good to know that I can write wherever I am.
Now, I’m in a fresh, new writing space with a new desk and – best of all – bookshelves. Right now, they’re empty, ready to welcome my books. I don’t want to rush this unpacking. I want to figure out how to organize them. By genre? By size? By colour? So many possibilities.
What will I write in this space? What new stories will come to be? What frustrations will I face? I can only imagine the possibilities. But at least I’ll face them with my books, spines out, pages full of facts and stories that are my old, familiar friends.
Each episode of Cabin Tales focuses on one aspect of creative writing, such as setting. They include original spooky stories, excerpts from creepy classics, and writing tips from authors like me. The stories are deliciously monstrous – ones you might tell around a campfire to scare your friends – so Catherine warns that they’re not for very young listeners.
Cabin Tales also encourages young writers to share their own stories with fun weekly prompts. I hope you check it out!
