Tag: Canadian writer

Candid Talks, Nonfiction, Writing

On Time

Pauline Shen

The speech I delivered in eighth grade was all about time. It even included a line from the Alan Parsons song “Time.” I had gotten the idea from helping my teacher referee basketball games. It was my job to hold the stopwatch and call out, “Time!” at the end of each period. It was less pressure than being the score keeper, that’s for sure!

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That memory surfaced while brainstorming ideas for marking time in narrative. The objective is to move away from exact data measurements and dive deeper to reach the reader on an emotional level. This can apply to fiction, but can also be creatively incorporated into memoir. Sometimes using a numerical measurement just does not do enough to convey meaning. I mean, is it a story or a textbook? Yikes!

For example, “He started high school in 1997,” would be an accurate statement but falls flat. If the narrator marks the time with a scene, this same information could be told like:

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Interviews

Interview with Alanna Rusnak

Pauline Shen

In this post, we’ll be hearing from Alanna Rusnak, Author of The Church in the Wildwood, Owner & Operator of Chicken House Press, and Founder & Managing Editor of Blank Spaces Magazine. Curious in knowing the origins of the beautiful Blank Spaces Magazine? Want some insight into what it takes to branch out on your own in the publishing industry? In this interview, Alanna tells us all about these things plus talks about her current work-in-progress and more!

So, you wear a lot of hats, Alanna. Tell us a bit about your average day or work week.

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Story Reviews

Would it Smell as Sweet? A Commentary on Ace Baker’s “Not Julie… Yet”

Pauline Shen

Meet Julianna, a highly self-conscious and more-than-slightly-awkward high school student looking for love. It’s a story that may at first seem cliché, particularly as the narrative scaffolds on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet while also containing Palahniuk-style rules that serve as calls to action and reflections of lessons learned. However, writer Ace Baker has succeeded in crafting a tale that brings the reader inside Julianna’s world, capturing the reader’s attention and heart in a way that is fresh and exciting.

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Story Reviews

Poverty or Clarity? A Tax Return that Delivers. Commentary on Cadence Mandybura’s “Regarding Line 25600 of Your Income Tax Return”

Pauline Shen

It’s Sunday morning and there’s a knock at the door. Who else would it be but two representatives of the Canada Revenue Agency. Yesterday, you see, was the tax filing deadline. This morning, however, is no routine follow-up. In “Regarding Line 25600 of Your Income Tax Return,” Cadence Mandybura pulls the reader into a scene reminiscent of the liver donor segment from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. It’s wacky. It’s zany. But it’s also poignant in presenting a man’s deep struggle with a different sort of tax—that on the heart.  

Continue reading “Poverty or Clarity? A Tax Return that Delivers. Commentary on Cadence Mandybura’s “Regarding Line 25600 of Your Income Tax Return”” →