Your long weekend reading and writing list.
Plus: Free workshop! Grab your ticket to next week's Business Basics for Freelancers.
Hello and happy long weekend for all Canadian readers!
Whether Monday is a holiday or not in your community, I think we could all benefit from a little lovely long weekend reading and writing inspiration, don’t you?
(But before we dive into that, I want to remind you that my Business Basics for Freelancers workshop is just ONE WEEK AWAY. Oh, it’s also FREEEEEEE! If you’re curious about how I set up my marketing goals, how I keep track of my pitches, or simply want a bit of info into how I come up with story ideas, please come next Friday, May 23rd. You can sign up here.)
Here’s something unexpected that I’ve been LOVING lately: Reading magazines. Yeah, I know, I read all the time. And I write for magazines, so you think I’d get around to reading them, right? But as many writers will know, it’s not so easy, especially when you’re reading an article that makes you think “Wait a minute. I could have written that!” But I’m determined to do a reset for my magazine love and I picked up a small stack of Canadian titles the other week that I’m slowly making my way through.
First up: Canadian Living. You know what I love about it? There are ample recipes but not endless recipes. Right now there must be eight trillion recipes on the internet. And the current edition of Canadian Living has about two dozen, more or less. I can handle two dozen! It feels so refreshing that someone else has taken on the burden of figuring out if a recipe actually works (thank you, test kitchen!) and curating things by seasonality and throwing in a mix of simple and practical as well as elaborate and fancy.
Honestly? It’s a joy. Their chicken parmesan meatballs were wonderful.
Other reading recommendations…
The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan. If you love the real life mystery of Nova Scotia’s Oak Island treasure and you’re keen on mysterious old women, exuberant bookstop owners, and charming bonds between grandfather and granddaughter (oh, and dead bodies), you will love this.
The Antique Hunters Guide To Murder by C.L. Miller. An estrangement, a mysterious death, and a long lost love killed in Egypt anchor this on-the-lighter-side read.
Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux. Underestimate a semi-retired Louisiana lady who is also a part-time bookie at your own peril.
Some springtime writing prompts…
Do you love gardening? Hate it? Have you nurtured a tiny seedling to life? Are you sick and tired of people admiring the blooms that make your life a misery with their pollen? Write about it.
A number of national celebrations are just around the corner, including Canada Day and the Fourth of July. How do these annual fetes make you feel this year? More patriotic? Less? Eager to do more than just write tired listicles of ways to celebrate? Is there an unsung regional recipe that deserves some attention? A forgotten historic patriot that more people should know about? Get that pitch in.
June 30th is the halfway point of the year. Uh, that’s less than six weeks away! What story did you swear you would pitch this year? What publication did you set your heart on? It’s time to get cracking!
… And take some time to enjoy the sunshine.
Till next week,
Vanessa
PS: Seriously, sign up for the workshop!