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Testimonials
Katerina Nakutnyy 2017 (Regina Writer)
I met Ted when he and I were partnered through the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild Mentorship Program. Ted is an amazing mentor who shared with me a wealth of knowledge. He helped me to change the entire feel of my novel through a simple change of POV and some lessons in Free Indirect Discourse. He took me through some helpful exercises in editing my own work, showed me ways to vary my pacing, tighten my writing, and teach readers (the teacher in me can't resist) without giving them a lesson. Ted's critiques were always helpful and honest, but he always left me with choices and encouraged my writing to develop the way I wanted it to. By the end of the program, I felt more confident about myself as a writer, satisfied with the way my novel was turning out, and comfortable with taking it further. Ted is an excellent editor, mentor, writer, expert .... I am grateful to have been able to work with him.
Tillen Bruce 2015 (Saskatoon novelist)
Your comments a few years ago (on those first ten pages of the book) were like a life raft I could go back to for assurance and knowledge; these four pages of additional commentary feel like a good size rowboat with a small sail and plenty of food and fresh water ... The way you summarize the novel is so succinct and accurate that it gives me fresh ideas ... I would comment further on your commentary but it is stimulating in a way that I want to savour for myself, and to use in the book.
Addendum:
It is now late in the year 2017. Novels take a long time to write, and rewrite, and rewrite. Ted Dyck's early encouragement has sustained me this whole time. I am now closing in on the end of the novel, after many drafts, and will use Ted as its last editor because I want to understand, with a certainty, that I have told the story the way I always wanted to, as a carousel of voices.
Victor Enns 2014 (Winnipeg Writer and Publisher)
Ted was the very first editor of my very first poetry collection Jimmy Bang Poems (Turnstone 1979). He also edited my fifth and most recent collection, Afghanistan Confessions (AC), published by Hagios (2014) and launched with a Western Canada Tour. He is uncannily perceptive, bringing years of his own experience, reading, research, and writing to his work as an editor, teacher, and facilitator.
His editorial acuity broke the ice-jam of a bloated and unfocused manuscript of over 350 poems like the Amphibexes on the Red River in spring. First, he encouraged me to find a structure to "aid the reader" by considering the voices in the manuscript and how they might be differentiated. In phase two, he suggested using the line and consistent stanzas to further delineate these voices. We are now entering the final phase: some tidying, adding titles, and ordering the poems for effectiveness in four sections (each representing the voice of a Canadian soldier). I will be delivering the manuscript to the publisher in November.
Ted's support went beyond the rewarding process noted above. He read most of the poems initially as I wrote them, developing an understanding of what I was trying to do. Why the poems were so naked, bold, and often brutal. Why "writing degree zero" was the perfect style for voices from the combat zones of Afghanistan. Many other colleagues, Canlit writers, readers, and editors didn't "get it," neither the style, nor my willingness to portray Canadian soldiers in combat as they saw themselves. Ted did, and provided the motivation and editorial expertise to complete what I had started in 2007.
Iene Grobowsky 2014 ( Moose Jaw Bibliophile & Writer)
It is commonly alleged that a good editor is worth his weight
in gold. And as Ted Dyck is more than good, he qualifies as a
treasure. He is an involved reader and listener, providing
guidance so that one can re-vision and move from satisfactory
to truly satisfying.
Carol Rempel 2014 (Moose Jaw Writer)
I was introduced to Ted in 2007 through a poetry workshop he offered when he was Writer-in-Residence with Festival of Words in Moose Jaw. I enjoyed it so much that I joined a writing group he led. He keeps leading me deeper into the world of writing, always challenging me to discover the beauty and meaning created through words and form. I expect there are objective reasons he can lead me where others have failed. One look at his resume, and you'll find a few. Behind his objectivity, smarts, and life experience is a man who simply provokes me. To write. To take risks. To discover where it all leads.
Dr. David Button 2014 (Inuvik NT;�www.capekrusenstern.org)
After over 30 years of living in the western Arctic, I enrolled in graduate studies in higher education through a distance learning format so I could continue to live and work in my home community. Not long after beginning my course work, it was my good fortune to meet Ted Dyck while he was an Instructor at Aurora College, Inuvik, NWT.
Through face-to-face and email exchanges over a period of a year, I benefited in two ways. Firstly, it was through Ted's mentoring that I was able to settle on sentences that coherently and succinctly developed my thesis. Secondly, it was through his manuscript editing services (WorDoctor) of my numerous drafts that I was able to produce a document that met the institutional standards for graduate manuscripts.
Insightful and helpful suggestions; prompt response to and return of edited drafts; patient motivation of a blocked writer ... all of these qualities confirm that Ted's WorDoctor service is of the highest order.
Dr. Mareike Neuhaus 2014 (Independent Scholar)
It's not just his witty editorial comments that make it absolutely fun to work with Ted Dyck.
He is professional, thorough, and has a sharp mind, eye, and ear.�
What more would you be looking for in an editor?�
Linda Biasotto 2012 (Regina)
Ted's workshop on Free Indirect Discourse has been extremely valuable for me. Using F.I.D. has strengthened and tightened up my prose, and I really don't understand why even well-known authors don't use it more.
David Nelson 2011 (Executive Director; CMHA Saskatchewan Division, Inc.)
Ted has done a marvelous and professional job as Editor of our Transition Magazine over the last several years.
His work with our Association in supporting and assisting our branches with their writing groups has been very well
received and has helped produce several "budding" authors and poets.
Many thanks to Ted for his patience and knowledge.
Brent Loehr 2010 (Teacher, Coach, & Writer; Muenster SK)
Ted Dyck is a Jedi. No...rather, Jedi Master. As a mentor he leads you on a reflective journey
and uses �Jedi tricks' to help you ascertain what needs to be improved with your writing.
As an editor he sees aspects and ills of your work that you (and others) will not.
A pro...and absolutely honest. He shares his opinions but does not push them on you.
I am glad he uses his powers for the good. A master editor. One of the best.
Rafe Ring 2010 (CMO, Global Insights Group; Singapore)
So ... you seek
precise insightful input
to make your words
papers poems pedantic posturings etc.
more potent?
WorDoctor I can strongly recommend.
Why? you ask cautiously curious
Because, I say with somber conviction
No one knows words
especially the power
of those written
better than Dr. T
Dr. Martin Kuester 2009
(Professor, and Director of Marburg Centre
for Canadian Studies, University of Marburg)
Thanks are here also due to ... Ted Dyck, ... an expert editor.
Stylistic felicities in this book are his responsibility.
-- Preface, Milton's Prudent Ambiguities, University Press
of America
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