We're nearing the end of January, as you may have noticed. February is around the corner, and for me, this means a number of things: a new semester at school, increasingly chilly weather (if that's possible!), and, of course, the release of my first novel, Amber Rain.
If you're not in the know, my sister Celesta and I wrote Amber Rain a few summers ago. It was her idea to embark on this writing project together, and to be honest, I was a little nervous about it. I'd only just started writing again, having recently completed a draft of my novella "Dragonfly". Even more worrisome was that my sister and I are both passionate people, by nature, and I was worried about damaging our relationship - I'd seen, first-hand, close relationships permanently damaged by business.
It didn't take much to be convinced to go ahead with it anyway. We'd come up with the title and general idea when we were teens, and the story had waited long enough to be told.
Writing this novel with my older sister was absolutely exhilarating. I'd even go so far as to call it "A thrilling literary adventure," as we shaped our characters individually and then together, bringing them and their world to life. Not that we never disagreed, mind you. To my surprise, in writing conflict, it turns out my sister is the level headed one! Eventually the story was finished, and then it was on to editing, and more editing, and more editing. Now, our baby is almost ready. The cover is designed, the manuscript is edited, our release date is set - now, just we just need to release it!
It'll come out on e-book in February and paperback this spring.
Stay tuned, readers! Hey, and thanks for joining me on this journey!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back to Work We Go...
It's been a beautiful two weeks, celebrating the holiday season and enjoying our time together in our crisp, cold, Canadian winter. Now, Sunday night has arrived, and as I sit here, listening to the overdue laundry drumming in the dryer and resting my laptop on the stack of tests I intend to mark before bed, I am incredibly thankful for the time of rest and rejuvenation offered by this Christmas season.
Tomorrow, work begins again. I'm looking forward to seeing my students and teaching my classes, but I will miss the peaceful freedom of having nowhere to be and nothing that takes me away from my children and my husband and the sweet joy of being with my family.
But I think it's true, that "in this world of change, nothing which comes stays, and nothing which goes is lost."(Anne Sophie Swetchine).
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Motivation and My Writing Journey
I once heard someone say that if you can find the right punishment or reward, you can make a person do anything. The speaker was one of my Faculty of Education professors, and he was making reference to classroom management and encouraging student success.
He was talking, of course, about motivation. Not everyone is motivated by the threat of detention or low marks, he said, just as not everyone is motivated by stickers and good grades. But, he was sure, everyone was motivated by something, and the key to success was finding the right motivation for each student. I think he was definitely onto something, although I must admit, I still have not been able to find that one motivating factor for each individual student. I work on it daily.
The same idea can apply to most areas of life. It's January 2nd now, and of course, Facebook is full of New Year resolutions, bravely announced to the masses. And to be honest, I've made some of my own, too - not that I'll be posting them publicly. I've tried to be specific this time around, wording them as "goals" rather than vague promises. I'm not so sure I'll have any more success than in the past, but time will tell. I wonder, though, if I have the motivation I need to achieve my goals, and if it will be enough.
Some of my goals, of course, are health related, habit related, hobby related. Some relate to my physical self, some my mental self, some my spiritual self. And I'll admit right here, some have to do with my writing. I want my writing to continue to move forward. I don't want to lose my momentum or my motivation.
I used to have this great passion for writing, back when I was much younger. The first time I thought I wanted to be a writer was in third grade. I wrote all the time back then. In high school, I wrote my first novella, a drama about a good girl who "saves" a bad boy. I still grin when I think about it: my teenage angst, crushes, worries, and creative spark working to create a rough, heartfelt tale written by a fourteen year old. I also started a novel with my sister, which we didn't, of course, finish.
Soon, life and time happened. I got married young, and married life proved, at various periods throughout the last fifteen years, to be moments of great freedom and no curfews, times of serious challenge, and a series of grand adventures with my best friend. My years at university and my hilarious job as a video store clerk didn't allow a lot of time for creative writing, although I dabbled in poetry and short stories and dreamed of writing my great novel.
When I became a teacher, and then a mother, time for writing grew more scarce and, moreover, my creativity was better served dreaming up new units for my high school English students and creative play with my kids. I was completely fulfilled with my amazing jobs as a mother and as a high school teacher. On maternity leave, I did some professional business writing, with three longer, non-fiction articles published in magazines and far too many uncredited on-line articles. I still dreamed of writing a novel - in fact, a friend of mine and I came up with a plot outline and first chapter of a book I may still write one day - but that was as far as it went.
And then, my sister began to flourish in her own writing career. She began writing in earnest and independently publishing her work. She began selling her books and calling herself a writer - because that is what she had become. I looked at her with wonder: she was doing it. She was fulfilling her calling and courageously following what she felt God was leading her to do. I can honestly say I wasn't - and still am not - jealous. Not at all. In awe, is more like it. In awe, and inspired.
And so, with her encouragement and example, I tentatively allowed my previous passion to creep back in and I wrote about a character who had been living in my head since I was twenty. When it was finished, I had my first short novel - maybe you'd call it a novella - entitled "Dragonfly." It's 54000 words of urban fantasy. My character has life.
The second piece I wrote, I wrote with my sister. She reminded me of the story that we'd started back in high school, the piece that was unfinished and, to be honest, written like we were back in high school. We started again from scratch, using only the title and the general idea. We worked through it one summer, and at the end, we had this beautiful short novel that I really love. Not only did I get to experience the creative process with my wonderful sister, but again, we gave life to characters we only imagined. In case you're curious, it's called "Amber Rain", and we'll be independently publishing it. So, stay tuned.
Since then, I've written two more pieces, one completely finished and edited and the other in its draft stage. And let me tell you, writing is pleasure: dreaming up stories and crafting worlds and using our beautiful language. It makes life even busier, though, since I'm still teaching (and loving it) and have two beautiful, active, amazing children who absolutely come first in my life. And, of course, I am still blessed with a husband who makes married life a happy adventure.
I mostly write by night, now, and sometimes during that 1:00 nap time that still happens on Saturdays. Which brings me back to motivation. I think back to when I first wanted to write, and how that desire eventually slipped through my fingers. Now that I've rediscovered the joy of creating fiction, I don't want to lose it again, and I wonder - how does a writer stay motivated? When there are so many things that are important to me - relationships, recreation, and of course, my job - how do I make sure I continue to find time for writing?
This new year, I want to continue building on what I've started. Time will tell.
He was talking, of course, about motivation. Not everyone is motivated by the threat of detention or low marks, he said, just as not everyone is motivated by stickers and good grades. But, he was sure, everyone was motivated by something, and the key to success was finding the right motivation for each student. I think he was definitely onto something, although I must admit, I still have not been able to find that one motivating factor for each individual student. I work on it daily.
The same idea can apply to most areas of life. It's January 2nd now, and of course, Facebook is full of New Year resolutions, bravely announced to the masses. And to be honest, I've made some of my own, too - not that I'll be posting them publicly. I've tried to be specific this time around, wording them as "goals" rather than vague promises. I'm not so sure I'll have any more success than in the past, but time will tell. I wonder, though, if I have the motivation I need to achieve my goals, and if it will be enough.
Some of my goals, of course, are health related, habit related, hobby related. Some relate to my physical self, some my mental self, some my spiritual self. And I'll admit right here, some have to do with my writing. I want my writing to continue to move forward. I don't want to lose my momentum or my motivation.
I used to have this great passion for writing, back when I was much younger. The first time I thought I wanted to be a writer was in third grade. I wrote all the time back then. In high school, I wrote my first novella, a drama about a good girl who "saves" a bad boy. I still grin when I think about it: my teenage angst, crushes, worries, and creative spark working to create a rough, heartfelt tale written by a fourteen year old. I also started a novel with my sister, which we didn't, of course, finish.
Soon, life and time happened. I got married young, and married life proved, at various periods throughout the last fifteen years, to be moments of great freedom and no curfews, times of serious challenge, and a series of grand adventures with my best friend. My years at university and my hilarious job as a video store clerk didn't allow a lot of time for creative writing, although I dabbled in poetry and short stories and dreamed of writing my great novel.
When I became a teacher, and then a mother, time for writing grew more scarce and, moreover, my creativity was better served dreaming up new units for my high school English students and creative play with my kids. I was completely fulfilled with my amazing jobs as a mother and as a high school teacher. On maternity leave, I did some professional business writing, with three longer, non-fiction articles published in magazines and far too many uncredited on-line articles. I still dreamed of writing a novel - in fact, a friend of mine and I came up with a plot outline and first chapter of a book I may still write one day - but that was as far as it went.
And then, my sister began to flourish in her own writing career. She began writing in earnest and independently publishing her work. She began selling her books and calling herself a writer - because that is what she had become. I looked at her with wonder: she was doing it. She was fulfilling her calling and courageously following what she felt God was leading her to do. I can honestly say I wasn't - and still am not - jealous. Not at all. In awe, is more like it. In awe, and inspired.
And so, with her encouragement and example, I tentatively allowed my previous passion to creep back in and I wrote about a character who had been living in my head since I was twenty. When it was finished, I had my first short novel - maybe you'd call it a novella - entitled "Dragonfly." It's 54000 words of urban fantasy. My character has life.
The second piece I wrote, I wrote with my sister. She reminded me of the story that we'd started back in high school, the piece that was unfinished and, to be honest, written like we were back in high school. We started again from scratch, using only the title and the general idea. We worked through it one summer, and at the end, we had this beautiful short novel that I really love. Not only did I get to experience the creative process with my wonderful sister, but again, we gave life to characters we only imagined. In case you're curious, it's called "Amber Rain", and we'll be independently publishing it. So, stay tuned.
Since then, I've written two more pieces, one completely finished and edited and the other in its draft stage. And let me tell you, writing is pleasure: dreaming up stories and crafting worlds and using our beautiful language. It makes life even busier, though, since I'm still teaching (and loving it) and have two beautiful, active, amazing children who absolutely come first in my life. And, of course, I am still blessed with a husband who makes married life a happy adventure.
I mostly write by night, now, and sometimes during that 1:00 nap time that still happens on Saturdays. Which brings me back to motivation. I think back to when I first wanted to write, and how that desire eventually slipped through my fingers. Now that I've rediscovered the joy of creating fiction, I don't want to lose it again, and I wonder - how does a writer stay motivated? When there are so many things that are important to me - relationships, recreation, and of course, my job - how do I make sure I continue to find time for writing?
This new year, I want to continue building on what I've started. Time will tell.
Monday, December 9, 2013
NaNoWriMo, December, and Other Things I Like
At last, December has arrived. More specifically, December has arrived and is in full swing. Amid the beauty of the winter snow lies the hectic rush that the season always brings. Time blurs by, filled with Christmas shopping, family gatherings, staff parties, piano recitals, outerwear shopping and, of course, the desperate rush to finish student marking before the two-week break. It's a wonderful time of the year, but also an insanely full one. And this on the heels of National Novel Writing Month in November.
If you've never heard of NaNoWriMo, here's a quick summary: it's an international, not-for-profit event, where writers sign up and attempt to complete a 50,000 word novel in a month. Now, I use the word "complete" loosely. The novel is no more completed at the end of the month than, say, a house is once you finish the frame. I don't know about house building, so perhaps the metaphor doesn't quite work, but you get the idea. The 50,000 words, at least for most writers I know, works as the starting point. It is a very rough first draft, subject to months or, for some, years, of tweaking and revision. But it is, at least, a start. And, for me, a thrilling, exciting, exhilarating, emotionally fulfilling start at that. Now, you have those writers who, of course, frown upon the month of writing. They say it encourages bad writing. They say it rushes the process. They say you should be writing every day so why make a month dedicated to it. But I say to those critics... "Nay!" Listen, everyone, people engage in NaNoWriMo for a number of reasons. A number of valid reasons, I might add.
For instance, writing 50,000 words of anything is challenging. When you're creating worlds and characters and conversations in a coherent fictional story within the time frame of a month, I dare say, it can be exceedingly challenging. But some people enjoy a good writing challenge, especially if you're literary minded. For that reason alone, I'd encourage anyone who loves writing to give it a go. It is, frankly, fun. Moreover, though, NaNoWriMo also allows you to set a writing goal - publicly if you wish - and gives you a deadline to meet. It provides a structured opportunity to write and a way to convince friends and family to give you space to do said writing - some people need that. It encourages you to connect with other writers (through forums, local write-ins, etc.), and gives you a designated place to talk about your work. It provides the opportunity to work through writer's block by forcing you to keep going, to keep writing, to make your word count. Sometimes the only way to get over writer's block is to write. When you're trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days, you are forced to write, even amid your writer's block. And let's not forget that it gives you an opportunity to create that first draft you've been waiting to create. As I tell my students on a regular basis, you can't edit what you don't have. Finally, there have been a number of very successful books published that had their start in NaNoWriMo. Ever heard of "Water for Elephants"?
The problem with NaNoWriMo, of course, and maybe a reason the critics dislike it, is that some people think that a month is all it takes to create a literary masterpiece. Unfortunately, unless you are some kind of writing genius, that is not the case. But sometimes, a month is all you need to get a good start.
Anyway, this November I wrote 50,000 words of my next novel. The novel is finished, in that it has rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. But it's not actually even close to finished, in that I have about 50+ notes along the margins of scenes to add, details to change, and items to revise. And that's not even including the editing that needs to take place, from mechanics to structure to word choices. The novel won't actually be finished for a very long time. But boy was it a fun way to start it.
Now, we're onto December. And life is so full I can barely breath. Marking and shopping, mostly. And prepping for classes. And planning Christmas activities for my Sunday School kiddies. And attending social gatherings, which I'm not complaining about. Actually, I'm not complaining about any of it really. Life is full, but it is good. The tree is up, the lights are on, and the Christmas music is playing. I have my novel patiently waiting for me on my laptop, a cup of coffee in my hand, and a stack of marking on my desk. I am blessed with work, blessed with family, blessed with the beautiful snow. And of course, with the ability to procrastinate.
My essay marking calls now, I must answer. Happy second week of December, everyone!
If you've never heard of NaNoWriMo, here's a quick summary: it's an international, not-for-profit event, where writers sign up and attempt to complete a 50,000 word novel in a month. Now, I use the word "complete" loosely. The novel is no more completed at the end of the month than, say, a house is once you finish the frame. I don't know about house building, so perhaps the metaphor doesn't quite work, but you get the idea. The 50,000 words, at least for most writers I know, works as the starting point. It is a very rough first draft, subject to months or, for some, years, of tweaking and revision. But it is, at least, a start. And, for me, a thrilling, exciting, exhilarating, emotionally fulfilling start at that. Now, you have those writers who, of course, frown upon the month of writing. They say it encourages bad writing. They say it rushes the process. They say you should be writing every day so why make a month dedicated to it. But I say to those critics... "Nay!" Listen, everyone, people engage in NaNoWriMo for a number of reasons. A number of valid reasons, I might add.
For instance, writing 50,000 words of anything is challenging. When you're creating worlds and characters and conversations in a coherent fictional story within the time frame of a month, I dare say, it can be exceedingly challenging. But some people enjoy a good writing challenge, especially if you're literary minded. For that reason alone, I'd encourage anyone who loves writing to give it a go. It is, frankly, fun. Moreover, though, NaNoWriMo also allows you to set a writing goal - publicly if you wish - and gives you a deadline to meet. It provides a structured opportunity to write and a way to convince friends and family to give you space to do said writing - some people need that. It encourages you to connect with other writers (through forums, local write-ins, etc.), and gives you a designated place to talk about your work. It provides the opportunity to work through writer's block by forcing you to keep going, to keep writing, to make your word count. Sometimes the only way to get over writer's block is to write. When you're trying to write 50,000 words in 30 days, you are forced to write, even amid your writer's block. And let's not forget that it gives you an opportunity to create that first draft you've been waiting to create. As I tell my students on a regular basis, you can't edit what you don't have. Finally, there have been a number of very successful books published that had their start in NaNoWriMo. Ever heard of "Water for Elephants"?
The problem with NaNoWriMo, of course, and maybe a reason the critics dislike it, is that some people think that a month is all it takes to create a literary masterpiece. Unfortunately, unless you are some kind of writing genius, that is not the case. But sometimes, a month is all you need to get a good start.
Anyway, this November I wrote 50,000 words of my next novel. The novel is finished, in that it has rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. But it's not actually even close to finished, in that I have about 50+ notes along the margins of scenes to add, details to change, and items to revise. And that's not even including the editing that needs to take place, from mechanics to structure to word choices. The novel won't actually be finished for a very long time. But boy was it a fun way to start it.
Now, we're onto December. And life is so full I can barely breath. Marking and shopping, mostly. And prepping for classes. And planning Christmas activities for my Sunday School kiddies. And attending social gatherings, which I'm not complaining about. Actually, I'm not complaining about any of it really. Life is full, but it is good. The tree is up, the lights are on, and the Christmas music is playing. I have my novel patiently waiting for me on my laptop, a cup of coffee in my hand, and a stack of marking on my desk. I am blessed with work, blessed with family, blessed with the beautiful snow. And of course, with the ability to procrastinate.
My essay marking calls now, I must answer. Happy second week of December, everyone!
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Words, words, words...
I love words. I mean, obviously I love words. I am an English teacher, after all. And a writer. And an avid lover of fiction. Oh, and a talker. Major talker here.
Words can be beautiful. They can create pictures from nothing, really. Just letters combined in the perfect order, placed in the perfect sentence. And then - life! Colour! Beauty. In fiction, we see entire worlds created through words. People, who existed only in the writer's mind, are brought to life. They become real to the readers - so real that, at times, we weep for these word-made creations.
Words can be used to inspire, too - and not only in fiction. "I have a dream," announced Martin Luther King Jr - and, with their very feelings given those eloquent, powerful words, a generation of movers rose up and took action. His words were simple on their own, but perfect when combined.
Words, of course, can also be deadly. Ninja words, I like to call them. Stealthy, those ones. They sneak up on you, dressed in night, and spring out before you even have a moment to think. Causing all sorts of destruction and injury and metaphorical dismemberment. By the time you realize what's happening, you can call them back, but those ninjas have done their damage. Or your damage, to be more honest. My damage.
Anyway, words and I have a love/hate relationship. :) So here's a question for you: What are some of your favourite words?
Words can be beautiful. They can create pictures from nothing, really. Just letters combined in the perfect order, placed in the perfect sentence. And then - life! Colour! Beauty. In fiction, we see entire worlds created through words. People, who existed only in the writer's mind, are brought to life. They become real to the readers - so real that, at times, we weep for these word-made creations.
Words can be used to inspire, too - and not only in fiction. "I have a dream," announced Martin Luther King Jr - and, with their very feelings given those eloquent, powerful words, a generation of movers rose up and took action. His words were simple on their own, but perfect when combined.
Words, of course, can also be deadly. Ninja words, I like to call them. Stealthy, those ones. They sneak up on you, dressed in night, and spring out before you even have a moment to think. Causing all sorts of destruction and injury and metaphorical dismemberment. By the time you realize what's happening, you can call them back, but those ninjas have done their damage. Or your damage, to be more honest. My damage.
Anyway, words and I have a love/hate relationship. :) So here's a question for you: What are some of your favourite words?
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Spec-whaaat?
I first heard the term "speculative fiction" two years ago, from my writer-sister. What, I asked, is Speculative Fiction? She defined it for me, and I realized it was a perfect description of my very favourite types of stories (whether told in written form or through film and TV).
Wikipedia (my students would be furious to find me quoting Wikipedia, but I'm going to do it anyway) defines speculative fiction as: "an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalytpic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as related static, motion, and visual arts."
In other words, it describes the BEST genres EVER.
I mean, I don't necessarily love all those genres. Not a horror fan, to be honest. And I'm not exactly sure what "weird fiction" means. And while I like some high-fantasy stuff, it's not ever my first choice. But give me a superhero story any day and I'm happy. And supernatural fiction? Awesome. Absolutely love dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic fiction too. I think my favourite, of course, would be fantasy or sci-fi set in our own time and place. Can't get enough of that stuff.
Maybe it's the what-ifs that hook me. What IF someone could fly? What IF there were aliens living here, right now, passing as ordinary human beings? What IF a secret organization spliced human and animal DNA together and made a beast out of an ordinary soldier? What IF, what IF, what IF.
We have been given, as human beings, these amazing imaginations. I love seeing the things we can dream up. And no wonder we dream them up. After all, "there are more things in heaven and earth", as Hamlet tells Horatio in one of Shakespeare's classic speculative fiction plays, "than are dreamt of in your philosophy". I believe he's right. There's so much here than what our minds and bodies comprehend.
I also love how we can use these imaginary, fantastical worlds to ask real-world questions or to point to truths in humanity. Stephen King, a master of speculative fiction, points out that "fiction is the truth inside the lie." I like that. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "fiction reveals the truth that reality obscures." Again, I agree. And, although I don't share Orson Scott Card's world view, I do love a number of his works, and find myself nodding enthusiastically when he says, "we care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodness - the issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction."
I think speculative fiction also plays a role in just giving us freedom to imagine the what-ifs. Maybe that's what I love most about it. To simply enjoy the beautiful gifts of language, of expression, of storytelling, of imagination, all working together in harmony.
J.R.R. Tolkien puts it beautifully: “Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape? If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Storytelling
I often start my English Language Arts "Narrative" unit with discussion about why storytelling is important. The ideas, at first, often revolve around the craft of fiction writing: students mention (and rightly so) that if you want your stories to be read, you must actually be good at telling them.
Eventually, though, we get to the idea that storytelling is actually important for much, much more than just writing fiction. Making an impression during a job interview often depends on your storytelling skills. ("Can you recall a time when you were challenged in your previous job?" OR "Describe one of your professional weaknesses"). Engaging friends in conversation often requires a certain storytelling skill too, doesn't it? We've all had those friends... or been those friends... who try to tell about an experience and then the story kind of just falls...flat. Storytelling is important.
A colleague of mine - also an English teacher - recently shared her own, true story during the high school chapel. She began it by introducing it as "the story of a girl". As she wove her story together, complete with symbols, numbers, and overt literary devices, she painted such a vivid picture of setting and characterization, that I - and the students in the room - could see it... could see her. The structure of her story drew us in, and the language she used captivated our imaginations and kept our attention completely.
Her story was about self-doubt and self-loathing. About the lies the Enemy wants us to believe about ourselves. About thinking you are not a valuable person. In all truth, her story made me feel, at first, sick. Sick because I have felt as she felt as a teen myself, and because so many teens now feel as she felt; sick because the beauty of her words belied the ugliness of the lies she - we - believed. As her story continued, the sick feeling dissipated as I was caught up in the beauty of the narrative and suspense of the rising action. As we reached the dramatic and heart-pounding climax, where God intervenes at exactly the most crucial moment, it was all I could do to keep from weeping - or from gasping in wonder. Or from laughing, in joy, aloud. The room was silent and everyone listened intently. Then as she described, with a wry humour and even some imagined conversations, the process of transformation and affirmation God took her through, we were right there with her.
She just told us a story. That's all. A true story, but a story nonetheless. But the way she told it was extraordinary enough to demand the rapt attention of a full room of high school students, and to be potentially life changing for the students who most needed to hear the beautiful truth she presented.
As I listened to some students talking about it later, I thought - this is why storytelling matters. Because lives can be changed when they hear - and understand - and believe - the right story.
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