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, my upcoming young adult fantasy novel, centres around a magical realm where dreams are real. It's pure imagination, but it has its roots in a real life video game. My kids are obsessed with Minecraft. They love the limitless possibilities, the raw creativity, the partnership, and even the danger. Watching them play it, I… Continue reading Where Dreams are Real
This is my current work in progress, a historical fiction based on the true story of Ann MacLean, a Scottish immigrant and Loyalist. In this peek she meets someone who will play a brief but important role in her life. A few torches guttered at the corners of the garden beds, hard pressed to burn… Continue reading Hold Fast: Kinship
This weekend I’m heading to Write Canada, a national writing conference put on by The Word Guild. But there’s just one problem. Like many writers, I am an introvert. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be a loner. I love my quiet time. Me and a cup of tea alone with my MacBook —… Continue reading Introvert’s Guide to Writing Conferences
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.
Erin E. M. Hatton 