Featured Writer: Jennifer LoveGrove
On creating space to write and writing advice.
Welcome to Women Writing! It’s my pleasure to feature Jennifer LoveGrove in today’s issue of Women Writing.
About the author…
Jennifer LoveGrove’s latest book is The Tinder Sonnets (Book*hug, 2026). She is the author of the Giller Prize-longlisted novel Watch How We Walk, as well as three poetry collections: Beautiful Children with Pet Foxes (longlisted for the Raymond Souster Award), I Should Never Have Fired the Sentinel, and The Dagger Between Her Teeth. She is currently working on a new novel and creative nonfiction. She divides her time between downtown Toronto and Squirrel Creek Retreat in rural Ontario.
On a writing routine …
At some points in my life and with certain books, I had a writing routine. I don’t currently; it’s whenever I can work it in. I have a full time job and freelance work and sometimes I find it challenging to make time for new writing. I like long blocks of time where I don’t feel pressured to create something reasonably good within an hour before I rush out to work. But I rarely have that luxury, so instead I use long weekends, vacation time, evening writing sessions with others, and some early mornings before the day job. Though I am not a morning person, I do like that period of the day for writing, before my mind is distracted by other preoccupations and demands. Workshops and classes and writing groups are also very helpful for me. I work well with deadlines and accountability.
On writing spaces …
I don’t like to put constraints on where I write too much, since finding the time is difficult enough. I’m fortunate to have an apartment in Toronto and co-own a retreat space in the country, where I have an office. The desk at either place is fine, though the quiet and more space around me in nature at Squirrel Creek Retreat is better for writing. But the apartment works too. I can’t write or edit with a lot of noise around me, or music with lyrics, or unpredictable sounds around me. Instrumental music, ambient or jazz or the rumble of a cafe or pub in the background is fine. But recently I was trying to write in a bar, for example, and the folks at the table next to ours were playing some sort of game that involved loud and sudden banging on the table. It was impossible to focus with that sonic assault. Sometimes, especially when I’m tired, I am easily overstimulated - mostly with sound or touch. I don’t write near or with any meaningful objects, but of course reading something powerful is always a good way for me to get in the mood.
On writing communities …
I’m a member of the Writers Union of Canada and the League of Canadian Poets, organizations that do good work to support authors. I’ve recently joined an informal writing group that meets not far from my Toronto apartment weekly, and I hope to join them as often as I can. It’s important to me to be in contact with other writers and to support each other and to remember that we’re not doing this weird writing thing in complete isolation. Even if I don’t seek feedback or editing, it’s great to just have writer friends and remember Oh yeah, I’m a writer too. I also like going to readings and launches and hearing folks’ new work and meeting new writers and publishing industry colleagues.
“I don’t really recall any bad advice, to be honest. Most everything is useful in some way, and even if you disagree with something, it may help you develop your own process or approach by knowing what doesn’t work for you. “
On challenges …
As mentioned, it's always hard when a writer has a non-writing fulltime job, but living is more expensive than ever, so what choice do we have. I come from a very working class background, and I'm single, so I don't have the financial safety net some others do and can't quit my day job. So time is always a challenge, as is the fact that I have a lot of interests that aren't writing and have to be careful to ensure I preserve writing time. Sometimes I'm good at that and sometimes I'm not. I'm fortunate to have a good job as a university administrator, and I hope to retire from it early so as to devote more time to writing and editing and making art. But I can't just wait for that, so I do my best with my time.
Like many writers, I find the blank page dauting, so I do like workshops and prompts and generative exercises to get myself going, and to uncover what it is within me that wants to get out into the work.
On the best advice …
It’s widely known but useful to remember: take a break from a draft before you return to revise it. Time will make you more objective and with distance, you’ll see more. I’m always astonished at what I see when I go away from a poem or a chapter then return later. My mindset, my mood, my energy level all play a factor, and those things will change and affect the writing. Something I thought brilliant might turn out to be deeply flawed, or I may pick up on a pattern I wasn’t aware of when I wrote the earlier version. These things can be developed and shaped, but if you’re too close to the initial writing, you won’t be able to approach it with effective ruthlessness.
On the worst advice …
I don’t really recall any bad advice, to be honest. Most everything is useful in some way, and even if you disagree with something, it may help you develop your own process or approach by knowing what doesn’t work for you. I guess though I really dislike the sentiment that if you don’t write every day, you’re not a real writer. Who can really live up to this? I suppose if you count work emails or gossipy texts maybe, but I don’t. I always have a project underway, but I don’t always work on it every day. But note apps are great. I jot down random ideas or leave myself voice notes when I think of something.
On advice from personal experiences …
Be in community with other women writers. Be friends with other women writers. This may be contentious, but think long and hard about whether or not you want to have kids. You don’t have to. Having a full time job, being a parent, and writing is a lot, particularly when the bulk of caregiving, emotional labour, and doing household chores still falls disproportionately on women. Writing is not just a cognitive action; it is often physically draining. “Doing it all” is a myth unless you have a lot of help. I have a fulltime job and parttime freelance work and my writing and hobbies that are important to me. I honestly can’t imagine being a parent as well. I have a great deal of respect for writers who are also mothers, but it’s not an easy path.
On rekindling creativity …
Reading. Reading. Reading. Other poets and novelists inspire me. Music, especially live, inspires me. Making collages inspires me. Exercise resets my brain, and is helpful if I’m stuck, and in general is essential for my mental health. Travel too, being jolted out of the familiar is good for writing and creativity. Traumatic, difficult events in life, unfortunately, have always resulted in my best writing. But I don’t really recommend that.
On a recent publication …
My latest book is a collection of experimental feminist sonnets about sex and dating and misogyny called The Tinder Sonnets. I’ve been working on a challenging novel on and off for years, and recently enjoying creative nonfiction. And I’m working a lot on promoting The Tinder Sonnets!
Jennifer’s online spaces …
This month, I’m sharing a great selection of books (including Hygge and Homicide) created BookMojo. I’m thrilled to be amongst this group of mystery, thriller, and suspense authors.
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Happy writing!
I am always quietly making peace with the fact that my writing life looks nothing like the prescriptive version. The note app voice memo habit, the long weekend drafts, the accountability of being in community with other writers: this is what actually works. Thank you for this series, Liisa!
Thanks for posting another intriguing glimpse into a writer's life, Liisa. I'll see you one of these days.