It was raw experience I was after. That, and vibrancy. I applied to a college in Greenwich Village to major in “Creative Writing” and moved on a student visa when I was still 18. I packed fake ID, duffles of clothes, and a tax-free carton of harsh, Canadian cigarettes—Belmonts—which I regret now because smoking’s dicey but also because it was uncreative of me; kids in my program rolled their own. I lived and read and wrote, but never cooked on Cornelia St long before Taylor sang about it, above a still-thriving Papaya Dog. That money, I’d saved from six years of TV work. I would spend nearly all of it in Manhattan in three. Out of my depth, too young for most things, I looked for myself. And the questions I’d moved with—the early ones that felt urgent about language and “voice”—were addressed in class, but not answered. September makes me nostalgic. 🌱
It was raw experience I was after. That, and vibrancy. I applied to a college in Greenwich Village to major in “Creative Writing” and moved on a student visa when I was still 18. I packed fake ID, duffles of clothes, and a tax-free carton of harsh, Canadian cigarettes—Belmonts—which I regret now because smoking’s dicey but also because it was uncreative of me; kids in my program rolled their own. I lived and read and wrote, but never cooked on Cornelia St long before Taylor sang about it, above a still-thriving Papaya Dog. That money, I’d saved from six years of TV work. I would spend nearly all of it in Manhattan in three. Out of my depth, too young for most things, I looked for myself. And the questions I’d moved with—the early ones that felt urgent about language and “voice”—were addressed in class, but not answered. September makes me nostalgic. 🌱
It was raw experience I was after. That, and vibrancy. I applied to a college in Greenwich Village to major in “Creative Writing” and moved on a student visa when I was still 18. I packed fake ID, duffles of clothes, and a tax-free carton of harsh, Canadian cigarettes—Belmonts—which I regret now because smoking’s dicey but also because it was uncreative of me; kids in my program rolled their own. I lived and read and wrote, but never cooked on Cornelia St long before Taylor sang about it, above a still-thriving Papaya Dog. That money, I’d saved from six years of TV work. I would spend nearly all of it in Manhattan in three. Out of my depth, too young for most things, I looked for myself. And the questions I’d moved with—the early ones that felt urgent about language and “voice”—were addressed in class, but not answered. September makes me nostalgic. 🌱
I absolutely LOVED working with @darenkagasoff and @realmarcsummers on our new holiday movie, which airs on Hallmark tomorrow! December 13th. 8/7c. We felt lucky, making this one together. 💙💫🎬
I absolutely LOVED working with @darenkagasoff and @realmarcsummers on our new holiday movie, which airs on Hallmark tomorrow! December 13th. 8/7c. We felt lucky, making this one together. 💙💫🎬
I absolutely LOVED working with @darenkagasoff and @realmarcsummers on our new holiday movie, which airs on Hallmark tomorrow! December 13th. 8/7c. We felt lucky, making this one together. 💙💫🎬
I absolutely LOVED working with @darenkagasoff and @realmarcsummers on our new holiday movie, which airs on Hallmark tomorrow! December 13th. 8/7c. We felt lucky, making this one together. 💙💫🎬
I absolutely LOVED working with @darenkagasoff and @realmarcsummers on our new holiday movie, which airs on Hallmark tomorrow! December 13th. 8/7c. We felt lucky, making this one together. 💙💫🎬
My friends left Toronto for dormitories and campus pub crawls, but I stayed. I was bound to a Degrassi contract that wouldn’t expire for another year. What I wanted then, at 18, more than any job I’d auditioned for (aside from The O.C. and Juno) was to understand how writers did what they do. The transmission of ideas from writer to reader through the books and scripts I’d read felt paranormal. How—how—did a writer build a new world, depict scene, humanize made-up characters, or put language to still-embryonic thought with just 26 letters of the English alphabet and punctuation? I enrolled in the only relevant degree program I knew of that was local and not journalism: the uninspired, blandly-titled, “Professional Writing”. Its coursework was fusty, matter of fact and too corporate for undergrads, but it had me look closer at specificities like authors’ “syntax” and “jargon” (i.e. their sentence structure and choice of words), exposing the central magic of writing I liked: voice. I didn’t have that—my own voice; not then, not really, not even conversationally, but I longed for one. And I wondered how, if I found a voice, I might warp it to sound like whatever made me, me. 📷 @vanessaheins @luckymakeup
happy new years eve yall 🥂 @staceyfarber
I’ve never really been a wedding gal—never dreamt of walking down the aisle—but I have to admit, I was overjoyed to attend what I still consider the WEDDING OF THE YEAR!!! We celebrated Mel & Jack’s nuptials at a gorgeous, sprawling, twinkle-lit venue that Netflix built from scratch (👀🎬💫💰) on farmland in rural British Columbia, and it was one hell of a party. The cake! Her dress! Those vows! Congrats to the newlyweds and to the millions of Virgin River fans worldwide. I hope you LOVE your long-awaited season 6 binge!! X #virginriver #virginriverseries #virginrivernetflix
I’ve never really been a wedding gal—never dreamt of walking down the aisle—but I have to admit, I was overjoyed to attend what I still consider the WEDDING OF THE YEAR!!! We celebrated Mel & Jack’s nuptials at a gorgeous, sprawling, twinkle-lit venue that Netflix built from scratch (👀🎬💫💰) on farmland in rural British Columbia, and it was one hell of a party. The cake! Her dress! Those vows! Congrats to the newlyweds and to the millions of Virgin River fans worldwide. I hope you LOVE your long-awaited season 6 binge!! X #virginriver #virginriverseries #virginrivernetflix
I’ve never really been a wedding gal—never dreamt of walking down the aisle—but I have to admit, I was overjoyed to attend what I still consider the WEDDING OF THE YEAR!!! We celebrated Mel & Jack’s nuptials at a gorgeous, sprawling, twinkle-lit venue that Netflix built from scratch (👀🎬💫💰) on farmland in rural British Columbia, and it was one hell of a party. The cake! Her dress! Those vows! Congrats to the newlyweds and to the millions of Virgin River fans worldwide. I hope you LOVE your long-awaited season 6 binge!! X #virginriver #virginriverseries #virginrivernetflix
I’ve never really been a wedding gal—never dreamt of walking down the aisle—but I have to admit, I was overjoyed to attend what I still consider the WEDDING OF THE YEAR!!! We celebrated Mel & Jack’s nuptials at a gorgeous, sprawling, twinkle-lit venue that Netflix built from scratch (👀🎬💫💰) on farmland in rural British Columbia, and it was one hell of a party. The cake! Her dress! Those vows! Congrats to the newlyweds and to the millions of Virgin River fans worldwide. I hope you LOVE your long-awaited season 6 binge!! X #virginriver #virginriverseries #virginrivernetflix
I’ve never really been a wedding gal—never dreamt of walking down the aisle—but I have to admit, I was overjoyed to attend what I still consider the WEDDING OF THE YEAR!!! We celebrated Mel & Jack’s nuptials at a gorgeous, sprawling, twinkle-lit venue that Netflix built from scratch (👀🎬💫💰) on farmland in rural British Columbia, and it was one hell of a party. The cake! Her dress! Those vows! Congrats to the newlyweds and to the millions of Virgin River fans worldwide. I hope you LOVE your long-awaited season 6 binge!! X #virginriver #virginriverseries #virginrivernetflix
I’m hosting a workshop! It’s a structured, one-hour class with a little room for my favorite: spontaneity! Each night includes a brief talk by me on a theme and timed creative writing prompts with optional sharing. And don’t worry, busy people— the “homework” I email between our hangouts (any readings, links, musings, etc.) is bonus material, not discussed in session. This space I’m holding virtually, I hope, will be warm and informal. I’ve enjoyed an embarrassingly high number of literary workshops, lectures, and classes in the 15 years since I graduated with my Creative Writing degree. Each one uplifted me in ways I didn’t expect. Intimidated? Don’t be. If you’re a [nice] person with zero writing experience, I want to meet you! Prompts for fiction and nonfiction encourage the kind of self-reflection that leads to self-discovery. I’ll invite you to share your words, but if you don’t want to read aloud, that’s ok. The hour together will still feel expansive. Email us if you’re curious: [email protected]. We’ll respond with a workshop overview and a brief application. We need 30 participants to make this great! And if the interest supports it, we may offer a second class (on Sundays, later) for those of you on the west coast. Let’s reinvent our blue Sunday nights and see how they color our Mondays! 😉💙📝💡💻💫
I’m hosting a workshop! It’s a structured, one-hour class with a little room for my favorite: spontaneity! Each night includes a brief talk by me on a theme and timed creative writing prompts with optional sharing. And don’t worry, busy people— the “homework” I email between our hangouts (any readings, links, musings, etc.) is bonus material, not discussed in session. This space I’m holding virtually, I hope, will be warm and informal. I’ve enjoyed an embarrassingly high number of literary workshops, lectures, and classes in the 15 years since I graduated with my Creative Writing degree. Each one uplifted me in ways I didn’t expect. Intimidated? Don’t be. If you’re a [nice] person with zero writing experience, I want to meet you! Prompts for fiction and nonfiction encourage the kind of self-reflection that leads to self-discovery. I’ll invite you to share your words, but if you don’t want to read aloud, that’s ok. The hour together will still feel expansive. Email us if you’re curious: [email protected]. We’ll respond with a workshop overview and a brief application. We need 30 participants to make this great! And if the interest supports it, we may offer a second class (on Sundays, later) for those of you on the west coast. Let’s reinvent our blue Sunday nights and see how they color our Mondays! 😉💙📝💡💻💫
Soon soon. 💫
Can’t quite figure out how to share this season’s trailer, but it’s a perfect trailer. And this tagline, too. Perfect! Save the date. ❤️🙏 #VirginRiver
“Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular… Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.” — Toni Morrison From my collection of writers’ quotes. 🌱 #narrativeheals #tonimorrison
“Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular… Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.” — Toni Morrison From my collection of writers’ quotes. 🌱 #narrativeheals #tonimorrison
“Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular… Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.” — Toni Morrison From my collection of writers’ quotes. 🌱 #narrativeheals #tonimorrison
“Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular… Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.” — Toni Morrison From my collection of writers’ quotes. 🌱 #narrativeheals #tonimorrison
“Recently I was talking to a writer who described something she did whenever she moved to her writing table. I don’t remember exactly what the gesture was—there is something on her desk that she touches before she hits the computer keyboard—but we began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular… Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense.” — Toni Morrison From my collection of writers’ quotes. 🌱 #narrativeheals #tonimorrison
