On Creative Writing

Go to @sheelaghcaygill.bsky.social for all of On Creative Writing's posts, which include sharing stories on books and writing, site news, podcast show updates, new author interviews, and more! Thanks!

The Third Self: Mary Oliver on Time, Concentration, the Artist’s Task, and the Central Commitment of the Creative Life “The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”

For an artist, concentration can be difficult, but when you're there: “World and self begin to cohere. With that state comes an enlarging: of what may be known, what may be felt, what may be done.”
www.themarginalian.org/2026/01/29/m...

Announcing the winner of the Writers’ Spark Coaching Contest! Holly B. Gutwillinger won the Writers’ Spark Coaching Contest with a project born from a poem about her dogs. After fifty years of searching for her passion, she overcame a loud "inner critic" to embr...

Meet writer and podcaster Holly Gutwillinger - the winner of our Writer's Spark contest! We'll be publishing Holly's Writers Reveal soon!
www.oncreativewriting.com/post/announc...

YouTube video by The Science of Creativity with Dr. Keith Sawyer Inside the Creative Brain: How Your Mind Changes When You Create

Or watch it on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=al4t...

Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography 2027 The Barbara Spohr Memorial Award for Photography provides financial and creative assistance to a mid-career Canadian artist.

The Banff Centre is a wondrous place, and this award includes 100% tuition remission plus accommodation and meals!

banffcentre.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?...

Can a writing retreat help you finish your book? Fiona McAuslan says yes!
www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...

Coming this Sunday! Poet and novelist Kim Fahner in conversation with Sheelagh Caygill about her new poetry collection The Pollination Field. Kim explores her influences, writing the poems, and how her Irish heritage influences her work.

YouTube video by The DemystifySci Podcast What Evolution Gets Wrong About the Mind - Dr. Liane Gabora (Part 1), DemystifySci #390

Recent interview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mnH...

How motherhood, autism, and radical acceptance shape the narrative Author Julie M. Green discusses her memoir Motherness: A Memoir of Generational Autism, Parenthood, and Radical Acceptance. She explores how motherhood, autism, and radical acceptance shape the narrative, and how parenting an autistic child fueled a "seismic shift" in her work. She shares her love for lyrical prose, and her commitment to longhand drafting for emotional honesty. Julie also recounts her journey to publication, offering advice on overcoming the primal fear of failure.

Nonfiction author Julie M. Green has shared an impressive interview about her work and writing her first book, Mothernesss. She reveals how she turned a "no" from an acquistions editor into a "yes" and got Motherness published!

Exploring the human condition in writing: A conversation with Michael Mirolla In this interview, Canadian author Michael Mirolla is exploring the human condition in writing by examining the intersection of self-identity and society. He reflects on his formative years in Canada’s first MFA program and his "Holy Trinity" of influences: Kafka, Joyce, and Beckett. Mirolla emphasizes stripping away external labels to find what is essential, while expressing skepticism toward AI’s creative potential. Michael's latest book is How About This …?

Michael Mirolla, author of the new novella novella, How About This …?, gives a deep interview with On Creative Writing. He also includes some guidence for creative writers.

Families Can Be Everything · Blog Post · 49th Shelf A recommended reading list by the author of the thrillers Behind the Door and The Tenant. 

Author M.S. Barry profiles her two new thriller novels, The Tenant and The Door, published by Turnstone Press.

Exploring the human condition in writing: A conversation with Michael Mirolla In this interview, Canadian author Michael Mirolla is exploring the human condition in writing by examining the intersection of self-identity and society. He reflects on his formative years in Canada’...

A substantial and rich interview with Canadian author Michael Morelli! He explores his growth as a writer, his favourite authors, and more! Thank you, Michael!
www.oncreativewriting.com/post/explori...

BBC Audio | Desert Island Discs | Margaret Atwood, writer Margaret Atwood, writer, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

If you haven't yet listened to Margaret Atwood on BBC's radio classic Desert Island Discs, here she is. And she sings, too!

A Professional Guide to Writing a Nonfiction Book Proposal - On Creative Writing's Ko-fi Shop Writing a book proposal can feel like building a business plan while navigating a storm of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. I’ve created this compreh...

Our latest free guide details how to write a really good nonfiction book proposal. And there is free template to go with it. You can download both at our Ko-fi page - link in bio! Good luck with your proposal!
ko-fi.com/s/c89ac45adb

Podcast | On Creative Writing On Creative Writing is a monthly podcast show exploring all things creative writing, including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, scripts, and essays. Host Sheelagh Caygill interviews authors and w...

Explore a newer take on nature writing, people's connections to urban environments, and the deep-rooted Indigenous bonds with the land in this new episode from Author Ken Wilson:
www.oncreativewriting.com/podcast-1/ep...

Beyond the first draft: Carter Vance on the craft of writing For Canadian author Carter Vance, the key question animating his writing is: what shall we do and how shall we live? Exploring generational ennui, Vance draws inspiration from authors like Sally Roone...

New Author Q&A! Writer Carter Vance shares his views on the craft of writing. And he has a really interesting take on what constitutes "perfect"!
www.oncreativewriting.com/post/beyond-...

New year, new month! Time for a new book! The top 20 titles arriving this winter, recommended by Canadian independent booksellers! From @indiebookstores.ca
mailchi.mp/cibabooks/tb...

For all those on LinkedIn, The Lundy Model Network is now live, a space for all those dedicated to sharing good practice on meaningful child participation with focus on application of the Lundy Model

Looking forward to sharing our first posts

Head on over and join us!

A Long Game by Elizabeth McCracken review – here’s how to really write your novel The novelist and writing tutor delivers bracing advice that demolishes familiar ‘stick to what you know’ nostrums

Writers! Is it best to write only about what you know? @elizmccrack.bsky.social , author of A Long Game, doesn't think so. Read why, and more thoughts from from this writer:
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

A UNESCO City of Literature writing residency in Barcelona! Closing soon - Jan. 16:
ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ciutatdelali...

Renee Nicole Good, murdered by ICE, was a prize-winning poet. Here’s that poem. Renee Nicole Good, 37, mother to a six-year-old boy, was murdered earlier today by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, a few blocks from her home. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune: [An ICE agent] s…

Renee Nicole Good, 37, mother to a six-year-old boy, was murdered by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, a few blocks from her home. She was also a prize-winning poet.

If Chatbots Can Replace Writers, It’s Because We Made Writing Replaceable | The Walrus A good deal of what gets published already reads like a photocopy of a photocopy

Writer and literary critic Andre Forget says that writers need to stop making their writing like a photocopy of a photocopy if they don't want to be replaced by chatbots.

The long game: rob mclennan on evolving as a writer through decades of daily practice Poet, fiction, and nonfiction author rob mclennan shares how four decades of daily practice have strengthened his writing; he views it as a muscle that has become denser and more complex. He emphasizes reading widely, studying Canadian writing history, and engaging community. rob avoids plotting, sees failure as essential, and generative AI as theft. His process involves continuous editing, moving between digital and multiple printed drafts until he feels a piece of writing is complete.

Slow and steady is the way. Author rob mclennan discusses how a daily writing practice has strengthened his writing.

TMR’s Best Poetry of 2025 Here are our best poetry titles of the year, chosen by our contributors!

Looking for a new poetry collection? The Miramichi Reader unveils its best poetry of the year.

You would be hard pressed to find a better dystopian film than ‘Children of Men,’ which I am re-watching.

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He was in the dragon’s eye, and then he was the dragon' #sample from THE BONES OF THE EARTH, bestselling historical #fantasy. https://writtenword.ca/2022/01/the-first-dragons/

From stolen Orwell to the Camino: Why this author embraced "Dirty Nature Writing" Author Ken Wilson's path was set by stealing Orwell and formalized by The Camino Walk at 50, committing to the craft. His writing evolved from playwriting to creative nonfiction and poetry, now driven...

New #podcast episode alert! Coming in a few days, a thoughtful, relfective, and powerful audio essay from author Ken Wilson - @therealkenwilson.bsky.social , author of Walking the Bypass, published by @uregina.bsky.social Press. Read Ken's Q&A: www.oncreativewriting.com/post/from-st...

Sole Searching | A review of “Walking the Bypass” by Ken Wilson and “Walking with Beth” by Merilyn Simonds | Literary Review of Canada Spencer Morrison reviews “Walking the Bypass” by Ken Wilson and “Walking with Beth” by Merilyn Simonds, two books on taking a stroll.

My book has been reviewed again, this time in The Literary Review of Canada!

reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...

Writing About Writing About Writing Writing book reviews and tools

I've got a writing book problem: When I have a book writing problem, I pick up a writing book, and since writing is hard I've read dozens of writing books in the last decade. This is my attempt to make sense of them.
#writing #booksky 💙📚

Podcast | On Creative Writing On Creative Writing is a monthly podcast show exploring all things creative writing, including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, scripts, and essays. Host Sheelagh Caygill interviews authors and w...

Authors! Ready to publicize your book! Find out how James Cairns successfully promoted In Crisis, On Crisis, published by @wolsakandwynn.bsky.social , and also got to work with professional publicists @riverstreetwriting.bsky.social ! #podcast
www.oncreativewriting.com/podcast-1/ep...