How my husband and I finally learned to see eye-to-eye on finances
My husband Marius and I are similar in many ways—we both work in the media industry, love to sleep in, and are adventurous world-travellers.
But we’re very different in many ways, too. Marius is an amazing cook, I could burn water. Getting married meant a lot to me, but not to him. Marius is a spender. I’m a saver.
I once watched, horrified, as Marius dropped thousands of dollars on a Canon DSLR and two lenses in one single night. Marius watched, horrified, as I continued working on a broken laptop for five years.
At first it wasn’t a big…
How my biggest habit change of the year is going
I started doing No TV Tuesdays because I’ve been binging a lot more TV thanks to COVID. Watching television started as a great way to stay calm and relaxed during these stressful times, but I discovered you can have too much of a good thing.
Last year in 2020, I saw the extra time at home as an opportunity. I wrote a ton, trained for and then ran a marathon, and had a steady schedule of video calls with friends.
But now in 2021, I’ve lost that motivation. Maybe it was the family-less holidays, or the bleak months of Canadian…
Learn from other people’s experiences when making the most important decision of your life
Deciding whether to have kids is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in life.
Unfortunately, it’s also a decision that everyone feels entitled to weigh in on. It was only six years ago in 2015 when Pope Francis famously said, “The choice to not have children is selfish.”
(Pope Francis, of course, does not have children.)
We’re in the middle of the whole “should we, shouldn’t we” debate, and I’ve been reading a lot, trying to learn from both parents and non-parents alike.
Here are 5 books that helped me. Maybe they can help you, too.
Let’s get transparent on pros, cons, and the $$$ investment
For those of you wondering, Reedsy is an online marketplace that matches writers with established publishing freelancers. After years of local writing classes and retreats, I decided to try something different—I hired a pro on Reedsy to edit my 80,000-word YA fantasy novel.
I won’t hide the cost at the end of this article—I know you’re curious, so let’s dive in!
What It Cost
Most Reedsy editors calculate their quotes based on word count. My YA fantasy novel was 80,000 words, and I received quotes ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 USD.
My editor was on the expensive side—her fee was $2,200 USD. Add…
Starting as an Assistant Director doesn’t mean you’ll direct
The film industry can be confusing.
You might assume that starting as an assistant director would set you up to become a director. Or that operating a camera is the first step on the path to becoming a Director of Photography. You might hear the term ‘producer’s assistant’ and think one day, they’ll be a producer.
Nope! It happens, but it’s exceedingly rare.
Here are three common film career misconceptions that I hope will save you some headache when you begin your journey in film!
Assistant Director → Director
First things first: there are assistant directors (ADs) and there are assistants to the director…
Choosing evocative names, limiting the number of character perspectives, and other unexpected lessons I learned while writing my first YA book
Writing fantasy is tough, but writing Young Adult (YA) fantasy is even tougher.
You want your world to be dynamic, interesting, fully-realized — but have very little time to do so. Writers are discouraged from spending too long writing location or character descriptions, lest they risk losing readers. Tolkien may have gotten away with it (‘The Hobbit’ was over 95,000 words), but it often isn’t possible when convention dictates that YA novels should stay within 50–80k words.
So, how do you make your word count, well, count? Here are three tips.
1. Make the most of your first chapter
Your first chapter should show the reader exactly what…
Stephen King said it best: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
I know what you might be thinking: “Stephen King makes his living as a writer! He doesn’t have to work around a 9–5 job. It’s hard enough for me to find time to write, never mind read.”
You’re right.
But unfortunately, Stephen King is also right. As important as it is to keep writing, it’s just as important to keep reading. Here’s how.
Explore new genres & authors
Every new genre will allow you a glimpse into a different audience and their preferences. There are few ‘purist’ readers who only read one single genre. Most readers are generalists, with different aspects of different genres that…
How Lists Can Improve Your Productivity
I’ve always loved lists. For groceries, chores, work, hobbies…my lists ran the gamut. When I was a kid, I crammed lists into every spare inch of my school agenda. When life seemed overwhelming, I’d make a list and somehow, it would seem a bit more manageable.
It’s a habit I’ve continued into adulthood. I still make lists every day—the only difference is that now, they’re digital (I use Todoist). They help me stay on top of everything; not just work-related tasks but personal goals, too.
This year, I was ambitious. I wanted to write a novel, write a personal essay…
Making a small difference in the off-hours
The first time I walked into the Toronto Wildlife Centre, the rescue team was bringing in an injured swan. Minutes later, they were out the door and onto the next call. The TWC Wildlife Hotline handles an average of 30,000 calls about animals in the Greater Toronto Area per year and, as I write this, they have over 350 patients in their care — over 60 species. It’s a staggering amount of work for very few employees.
That’s where volunteers come in.
According to the Millennial Impact Report, millennials care about environmental and social issues—a lot. We’re far more involved…
