Jessica MacLeod is a writer, editor, and indexer living in rural Eastern Ontario. She has collected many university credits over the years, including some from Athabasca University. Ever curious and eager to learn, she is continually drawn to new subjects, learning opportunities, quiet libraries, and bookstores old and new. She is so grateful to have found a career in which her love of reading and creativity, as well as her analytical and writing skills, are put to good use.
Jessica also enjoys the outdoors and can often be found hiking, skiing, or snowshoeing local trails, walking country roads, or digging in the garden.
Have you noticed that diction changes during certain periods in your life? That particular words bubble up to the surface of your mind more easily. And I’m not just talking swear words. Despite the storm of big egos, swagger, and constant climate concerns swirling around us, I’ve noticed how I’ve been using hope and humble… Read more »
I don’t know about you, but I make pictures in my mind as I read. When I read clear writing, I can easily gather concrete, specific details that I use to make a better picture. Through the picture-making process, I develop a better understanding of whatever I am reading. Voice influences what, how, and when… Read more »
Kind of like colourful post-it notes that deliver us short, helpful reminders to stay on track, Seth Godin’s The Practice: Shipping Creative Work (Portfolio/Penguin, 2020) presents quick, and sometimes hard-hitting, notes of motivation and truth about the two most important mindsets needed for creative work: a) the practice of showing up day after day and… Read more »
Do you want to slow down and appreciate the little things in life? Do you want to watch and ponder the lone crow sitting on a distant branch? To consider how someone’s eyes can hold you as firmly as his hands? To sense that slight shift in mood when a rhythm changes? Poetry can help…. Read more »
Writers, beware: confused and misused words surround us. We hear them, read them, and have even used them ourselves sometimes. A spellchecker is powerless against them. But we can learn better usage by reading well-written works, developing an interest in words, and staying friends with a dictionary and usage dictionary. The following story attempts to… Read more »
If you enjoy and respect the writing process and plan to keep writing outside of course requirements, you should consider investing in some quality resources to improve your craft. The three types of books I recommend here are basics that I use every day. I can’t imagine working with words (or being an avid reader)… Read more »
Have you recently been diagnosed with DEAD? Does this diagnosis leave you feeling marginalized or perhaps even overrun by the world around you? Do not despair. The prognosis is more hopeful than the acronym suggests. You can likely live a long and mostly satisfying life. You can stand proudly by your bookcases, breathe deeply, and… Read more »
I don’t know about you, but I make pictures in my mind as I read. When I read clear writing, I can easily gather concrete, specific details that I use to make a better picture. Through the picture-making process, I develop a better understanding of whatever I am reading. Voice influences what, how, and when… Read more »
If only I had more money. If only I had more space. If only I had more time on the assignment. If only I had better resources or materials. We all experience limitations that bump against our expectations and ambitions. Like children (or cows in a pasture), we often believe better opportunities lie on the… Read more »
Do you ever feel stuck? Do you work diligently researching a topic for an assignment, but then, when it is time to analyze, synthesize, and compose something organized and effective, you freeze up? Sometimes, thinking too much about our audience or point of view hinders us at the beginning of the writing process. Approaching a… Read more »