Author, storyteller, presenter, workshop leader
I have never been a good packer. I wish I could put my hands on the photo of me in my late teens wearing bib overalls and sagging under the weight of my bright orange (very uncomfortable, rigid frame) backpack. Draped over the top was a very thick, voluminous wool poncho (it wouldn’t fit inside […]
via Packing Light as Light Can Be — darkcreekfarmdotcom
It doesn’t matter how many times it happens, it’s always exciting when a new book arrives in the mail! Cliffhanger is part of a new early reader series by Pearson Educational Publishing. I love the look of this book – clear, colourful photos and a subject dear to my heart!!
Because it’s destined for the educational market in Canada, it may be a bit tricky to order a copy. I have a few on hand, so if you would like a how-to climb book for young readers, drop me a line and I can probably get a copy to you.
And now, back to work on editing the Orca Origins book about Christmas and researching the new Orca Issues book about physician-assisted death. (And, yes – the wide range of subjects and formats is one of the reasons I love my job!! Bored? Never!)
There is nothing quite like receiving that email confirming your flight is booked. In this case, the series of emails (Calgary to Paris via Montreal, Paris to Madrid and then various bits and pieces of the return trip plus information about trains within Spain) have triggered a crazy mix of wild excitement and sheer terror.
Of course, I’m thrilled that this trip is coming together. Dani (30), Dad (beyond 80) and I (mid-50s) are collaborating on a pretty cool, intergenerational, multidisciplinary project. Spending time on the Camino de Santiago is amazing enough, but along the way, we will also be creating art – visual art (Dad) and writing (Dani, me), and photography (all of us). I’ll also be documenting our journey with video.
Where’s the sheer terror part of all this? Well, we are collaborating on two major projects. The first (not such a big surprise) is a book that will include artwork, photos, and writing (obviously). Then, there’s an exhibition featuring the artwork which will be mounted in conjunction with a series of talks by some combination of the three of us (depending on location and availability). No longer is this simply a stroll in Spain – now we are facing the pressure of making sure we create work that reflects what is turning out to be a rather more nuanced journey than any of us had first imagined. We’ve had conversations about the nature of art and living the creative life, spirituality for skeptics, mortality, and the relationship of people to the environment as discovered through the simple (ancient) act of walking. We’ve also swapped notes on sleeping bag liners, footwear, phone chargers, and wi-fi access. We all love Europe and history and art, so we are also just plain excited about being in a super cool place with other people who are also stoked about being part of a pilgrimage that’s been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years.
For me, this is also a return to my writing roots – I started out writing newspaper and magazine articles, my favourites of which were inspired by personal experience. That said, for the last couple of decades most of my work has been for children and teenagers so, in some ways, this is my first book (a very, very strange position to be in). Anyone who has set out to write a first book knows just how stressful that can be… Ok, to be honest, every time I set out to write any book it’s stressful. But that’s the subject of another post so I won’t go there again.
When do we leave? At the end of September (that’s next month!!!! Eeeeek!). The three of us are meeting up in Madrid, which is really where the journey will begin. We’ll be documenting the journey in various places – we all have Instagram accounts (@writergrrrl @from yyj_travel @colinwilliams5615) and blogs (this one plus darkcreekfarm.com/blog for me) as well as my Patreon account (if you become a supporter over there you’ll get access to some bonus material not published anywhere else). I’m also planning to do more over on medium.com – I like their Stories platform as a way to tell a long, linear tale using lots of images. So, sign-up, follow along and stay tuned – this is going to be a fun ride!
Signed copy of Deadpoint (Orca Sports)
I have a limited number of copies of my novel for teens about climbing on hand. Part of the Orca Sports series, the novel sets three kids against a mountain. Price includes shipping within North America and will be signed. Shoot me an email (or leave a comment) and I can personalize a copy for you. Perfect for the adventure-loving teen in your life! ** Please note that once we are on the trail, this offer will disappear because I will be in Spain!!! Yippee!! (for me, that is... not for you if you are hoping to snag a copy before I go).
$13.00
After three months of being a writer in Paris (oh, it was fun to just write that phrase!), I am back in the Rocky Mountains with a list of To-Do lists! Part of the problem with being a full-time working writer is that there are always projects in need of my attention. Here’s a quick snapshot of what’s on my desk at the moment…
and Dani lives here:
… it’s a little tricky to get together to work on projects. While there are plenty of things we can do at a distance (we have been collaborating for years on all sorts of projects), there are certain tasks that require a large table and spreading out of multiple drafts and sets of editorial comments. I’ll be on the coast at the end of July and we have marathon editing plans. If I sound less than thrilled at the prospect of going through this manuscript one more time, it’s because sometimes these late-in-the-game rewrites aren’t exactly a ton of fun. On the up side, we are writing about Christmas, so how un-jolly could we possibly be about that? Actually, now that I think about it, one of the things we need to do is some final recipe testing. At least we will be well fed during our labours.
Enjoy the blog? Consider becoming a patron to support the creation of these blog posts, photo essays, and short videos. In return, you’ll have my undying appreciation, but you’ll also get access to Patron-only content, advance peeks at works in progress, and more – all for as little as a buck a month! It’s easy – head on over to Patreon to have a look at how it all works.
That’s it for now, not because that’s actually all I have on the go but because the number 10 seems like such a logical place to stop. Happy reading and writing, everyone! Until next time…
I should know better. You can’t live a whole week and not make an effort to write some stuff down. Like, details. In the moment when life is actually happening. The problem is, the mind is designed to forget. And, rightly so. I mean, there’s just way too much information coming in to possibly absorb and remember it all. If you don’t write it down while it’s going on, poof. All but the vaguest of impressions disappear.
Being out of my element makes it even worse. I’m making a real effort to see at least one new thing each day I am in Paris. Most days, I wind up discovering a gazillion things. A whole week without writing stuff down means the end of week summary sounds like a long shopping list. And we all know how interesting (not) shopping lists are to read.
Case in point, I had a really busy week last week and didn’t do much journalling. By the time I found a few minutes to write down what I’d been up to it was late one evening and I was too tired to write much so I did this:
Any one of these bullet points could have been expanded into some sort of blog entry or article or at least a decent journal entry but no, instead I fell asleep. And then, the next day arrived and I was up and at ’em and busy living again and adding more stuff to the list.
My goal for the days ahead is to slow down and do what I know I should be doing: building time to write about what I’m doing into the schedule every day. Today’s objective is to visit the Museum of the Cinémathèque and then, afterward, to find a café where I can sit down and write a bit about that experience. There. I’ve said it publicly. Now I HAVE to do it.
It always surprises me when students say they don’t like to read in a genre similar to their current work in progress. I’m the opposite. Writing a memoir about walking the Camino? Step one is to read every memoir I can get my hands on written by other people who have walked the Camino. Want to write a fantasy novel for kids? Now there’s an excellent excuse to immediately run out and procure an armload of fantasy novels for kids.
I don’t worry about accidentally stealing ideas – I have plenty of my own. I don’t worry about imitating someone else’s style – I try to find the widest possible range of voices and approaches when I’m reading. That pretty much eliminates any worry that I’ll find myself adopting another author’s writing style. Besides, by now I sure hope I have a style or voice I can call my own!
When I read books and articles by other people I analyze them to death. It’s the only way I can think of to see what works and what doesn’t. Do I find myself completely engaged in one account of a Camino trip and utterly bored by another? Why? What makes some writing so compelling and other writing so meh? I enjoy it when an author’s personality shines through, especially if the writer has a sense of humour. I like lots of anecdotes mixed in with my doses of hard facts. But, I do like those facts to be there as well. Does the author use sidebars to pull out the factual bits or roll everything into some kind of overarching narrative? As I read, I hold my observations up against what I’m trying in my own writing. Then, when I’m writing, I try different techniques, modifying to suit my own story and what I’m trying to accomplish. In recent years, I’ve found I’ve started reading almost exclusively non-fiction, but the range of approaches to non-fiction is almost as broad as the range of subjects covered. On one hand, that’s very liberating – there is no ‘right’ way to come at a project. On the other hand, all those choices mean it can be pretty overwhelming to figure out what the best approach might be.
What about you? When you start a new writing project do you shy away from reading related material? Or do you seek it out and immerse yourself in the works of others who have explored similar paths before?
This post is part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge in which bloggers from all over the world write a blog post every day in April. There are a LOT of other bloggers taking part. Visit the A to Z Challenge blog to see who is posting what each day.
Enjoy the blog? Consider becoming a patron to support the creation of these blog posts, photo essays, and short videos. In return, you’ll have my undying appreciation, but you’ll also get access to Patron-only content, advance peeks at works in progress, and more – all for as little as a buck a month! It’s easy – head on over to Patreon to have a look at how it all works.
