Monthly Archives: July 2023

Taking A Walk Down Short Story Lane

When I was in creative writing workshops in university, we studied short stories to become better writers. It’s a time-old tradition that encourages fledgling authors to focus on honing bite-sized narratives before they tackle a full-length novel. Writing a really good short story is a very hard thing to do. Trust me. I learned that the hard way. That’s why I wanted to share some short story collections with you all in the hopes that I may entice you to pick one up, instead of the latest hefty tome from your favourite wordsmith.

Short story collections with multiple writers are also a great way to introduce yourself to new authors you might not hear about otherwise. Crafty editors can surprise you with voices, tones, genres, or writing styles that are straight out of left field, but nonetheless compelling. These are some of the voices and collections that have resonated with me so far. The great thing about them is that you can dip in and out, reading a story here and there as your interest ebbs and flows. You don’t have to remember the plot, characters, or anything else. The next story will be waiting when you’re ready to start again.

Cover image for short story collection Stones by Timothy Findley.

Stones by Timothy Findley

Timothy Findley was a quintessentially Canadian author. If memory serves, we studied the story “Dreams” from the collection Stones in one of my workshops. I remember marking up the pages of my copy with my own thoughts, as well as our professor’s insightful analysis, and being taken with the intense atmosphere and dramatic tone of the piece.

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Artistically Astounding Animated Films

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie poster
image via Wikipedia

…Can you tell I love alliteration? I also really love art, movies, and art in movies! I recently watched the new animated Spider-Man film, Across the Spider-Verse and let me tell you—the art and animation was as jaw-dropping as the prequel, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.

Just like the prequel, the animation pushed the boundaries of the genre and of the silver-screen, was inextricable linked with the multiverse concept, various story beats, and character development, and visually conveyed the humour that Spider-Man is known for as much as he is for his web-slinging!

Because I’m a nerd, I’ve been eagerly exploring behind-the-scenes factoids on how the art of the film came together. Here are some fun tidbits on this movie:

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