Writing informational prose, training others how to write and edit, and working with other people’s words is a great way to make a living, as most writers and editors will agree. But for some of us, like our recently “retired”…
I recently finished reading The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, by one of my favourite authors, New Yorker staff writer Atul Gawande. I’ve been interested in using checklists since the book was first published, in 2009—and increasingly find…
As editors and word enthusiasts, we pay close attention to new entries in the various dictionaries we use to do our work. But in these weird and worrying days, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about the new terms that not…
Almost two years ago, when our partner Georgina Montgomery retired, we said: When she wasn’t meeting writing and editing deadlines, teaching, or parenting, she was dancing around the edges of art, dabbling in things like stained glass and collage. In…
As soon as the “Back to School” signs go up in store windows in late summer, I get that special feeling. Even though I haven’t started a full slate of classes since I finished university, lo those many years ago,…
It’s a year for anniversaries. As we mark our 25th, we raise a collective glass to Room, celebrating four decades of literature, art, and feminism. Three partners—Audrey McClellan, Lana Okerlund, and the newly retired Yvonne Van Ruskenveld—have been members at…
The WCEA partners know how to have fun, but navigating deadlines through the holiday season can be a challenge. Here are some suggestions to help you gain some semblance of work-life balance during the dark days of December. Books and…
When I was a kid, I was certain I’d be a writer. I wrote constantly: poems, stories, plays, cartoons, newspapers, magazines (including the cover and fake ads), and novel beginnings—many, many beginnings. I didn’t care about quality or completion. I…
Every once in a while, a writing or editing project provides an opportunity to work with a person who is a master in his or her field. Most often, it’s someone who works with words—another writer or editor—but not always.…
When I taught business writing, I found many participants grew weary of the “do-the-exercise-discuss-with-your neighbour” training model. Because the course covered a range of strategies for page fright, I hoped that at least one of them would stick. Enter collage.…