My latest YA fantasy manuscript centres around a young prince, Kynan, the heir to the throne of his land of Tyernas. Kynan embarks on a quest to rescue his mother from her ten-year slumber in the magical realm of Everdream. In the Wake, there is nothing much to recommend him. He is scrawny for his… Continue reading Prince Kynan
Have you ever read a book where you felt like you were actually living the story with the character? Have you read one where the character felt remote and lifeless? I can guarantee the reason for both is showing vs. telling. Telling is the old style of writing—the reader is an overseer in the room,… Continue reading 5 Ways to Turn Showing to Telling
Are you descended from a refugee? The answer might surprise you. With Syrian refugees so prominent in the news right now—and such a hot topic for debate—it's easy to think that refugees are a new thing for Canada. But they're really not. In fact, it was a group of refugees, mainly, that made up the… Continue reading Canada’s First Refugee Camps
What would make a person want to sleep forever? That's the question Prince Kynan would risk his life to answer. In Everdream, my young adult fantasy novel, the queen has been sleeping for ten years and her son has set out to rescue her. But in the process he learns what sent her to the magical… Continue reading To Eversleep…
My current work in progress, a historical fiction, centres around a bit of an enigma: Ann MacLeod MacLean McIntyre Cass. History only records her as a Loyalist widow, mother, and refugee, and her origin is in shadow. But a story told by her descendants to my cousin may shed some light onto an unusual and incredible… Continue reading Who is Ann MacLean?
Everdream is finished now but here's a look inside. Prince Kynan is busy searching for his mother, lost for 10 years in the magic realm of Everdream. In the process of finding her, he learns who she really is. Just then, the mist to their left parted, and for a moment Kynan had a clear,… Continue reading Everdream: The Tower
If you’re writing a novel, you need a setting. If you’re writing a fantasy novel, your setting needs to be an epic world. Whether you’re writing fantasy, historical fiction, or even something in your own backyard, you need to immerse the reader in that world without drowning them. There are a lot of novels… Continue reading 5 Ways to Build an Epic World
I’ve always been a daydreamer. More often than not, as a child, it got me into trouble. But the more I’ve thought about my wool-gathering habit as an adult, the more I realize that my greatest strengths rely on this sometimes misunderstood state of mind. Here are some ways I think we’ve got daydreaming wrong.
Autumn has always felt like the true beginning of a new year for me, after years of back-to-school programming. So it follows that fall is a perfect time to start something new in my writing, especially with Nanowrimo coming up again in just over a month. Now, you might be what they call a “Pantser”… Continue reading Plotline Prep for Planners & Pantsers
Ever get to the place in your writing where you just want to play it safe? I think every writer gets there. Doesn’t every writer have a manuscript that’s too blah because you were too scared to go where you should have gone? Or a manuscript that’s gathering dust because you’re too scared for anyone… Continue reading 5 Leaps of Faith for your Writing
Erin E. M. Hatton 