Another Step On My Writing Journey

Last Friday I was surrounded by a community of writers at the Surrey International Writers' Conference held at the Guildford Sheraton.  Never in my life have I felt like I truly belonged in a large crowd until now.  When I've attended conferences in the past I'd always felt uneasy, awkward and out of place.  This time, with the exception of one volunteer, I didn't know a soul, and yet I felt a part of this amazing tapestry of writers.

For a writer this is an odd feeling as so much of what we do is in isolation.  Most writers are private about their writing until they think they have something worth sharing, and as a result they write alone with no connection to others.  I'm no exception.  Besides my blog I keep my writing close to my heart, only allowing a select few in to read.  I've been working on my novel since the summer of 08, but no one really knew about it until 2010.  I think the secrecy behind my novel has more to do with me.  Up until last week I'd always felt strange explaining what the novel was about to people I know.  I'm not sure why.  It might be the fact I'm my own worst critic and think the content isn't engaging enough. Now after two pitches and countless conversations with other writers about my project I feel a bit more confident about it.  I'm guessing if an editor wants to see my first three chapters when the whole manuscript is ready then I have something worthy to share.

Yes that's right, an editor wants to see my writing!  It is still shocking and I don't want to get too excited about it; this is only the first step to getting published.  Just because they want to see something doesn't mean they'll like it.  I feel honoured just being asked as it has been a long and strange journey with my novel thus far.

When I started writing this 200 page manuscript one summer night in Shuswap my intention was just to write a short story.  This 5 page story inspired the novel.  From there I wrote my first draft, which has been transformed many times over.  Each new version surpassing the former in skill and technique.  Just when I think I've mastered it my dear editor Alyssa always comes back pushing my limits again toward achieving success.  Alyssa is not an editor by trade; she is a friend from work who has graciously been reading my novel for the past few years.  We get together from time to time to discuss my characters and plot, brain storming ideas on how to make it better.  What I love about Alyssa is that she tells it to me straight; I appreciate that as I'm sure any publisher, agent, or editor who reads my work will be just as tough, if not tougher.

So right before the summer I actually read my novel from the beginning to the end in one shot.  Up until then I had only read it in chunks and just "fixed" them.  Well my immediate reaction was to delete the 101,247 word document as I hated it.  In my eyes there were so many holes in the story- the protagonist seemed flat and I finally understood what Alyssa meant when she said that she didn't understand why the protagonist loved who she does.   I felt defeated; almost five years of hard work and nothing to really show for it.  Luckily I got advice from a fellow writer who told me to take a break and come back to it later.  I did just that.  I took three weeks off and then up at Shuswap I found my muse again.  Then I spent the rest of my summer revamping and reorganizing my novel.  I even changed my title; Marbles and Wine rolls off the tongue better than Its Like Holding A Marble In My Mouth. What a mouthful, ha ha. Pun intended.

I know I still have more revising to do, but after listening to accomplished authors last week about their first novels I realize that it takes time and not to worry.  Writing is a process and it takes time to prefect it.

Thankful for Little Cereals

Thinking back to camping on the Thanksgiving weekend I realize that one of the best moments was when I was eating my tiny box of Frosted Flakes cereal, and marvelling over the way the morning sun dappled through the cedar trees casting luminous light over the mossy ground.  It was in this moment that I could really relax and not stress over the hectic daily grind that I'm used to.

It seems to me that life in the McGeachie/Freeman household has become more like walking a tightrope, while juggling bowling pins and reciting a Shakespearean soliloquy.  Since September the pace around here has more than doubled.  Scott has been busy making his business, SMT Cabinets successful, which means I've been picking up the slack at the home front.  This was fine in the summer when I as off work, but now that I'm back teaching full time, I feel like I wake up every day running before my feet hit the ground.  Work has not exactly been what I expected when I took on a new course.  It takes most of my attention and energy throughout the work day.  Once home I'm a full time housewife, who is trying to find the energy to complete my novel.

So to get away from everything, Scott and I joined our friends at Alice Lake for some camping and to celebrate Thanksgiving.  It has been about a ten year hiatus for me when it comes to sleeping under the stars.  I've had my fill of tent camping and rolled up my sleeping bag in my mid twenties, so I was a little reluctant to going of this trip.  Knowing my hesitancy my husband ensured I'd be comfortable by borrowing a friend's traitor for us to sleep and cook in.  He cooked majority of the meals and kept my wine glass full most of the time. I lent a hand with washing dishes and kept our cosy trailer somewhat in order.   I was also in charge of the pre-camping chores like buying groceries, and packing what I thought we'd need- (p.s. you can never have enough plastic bags on hand or dish towels, two things we lacked.)  One thing I knew I'd bring were those little boxes of cereals.  Since I'm in my 30's I thought it best to buy the "adult variety" pack.  The down fall being, there are only two sugary cereals: two boxes of Frosted Flakes.  Good thing those are my favourite.

There is something strangely exciting about having these little boxes of cereal.  I can't explain it, but for me they hold a bit a nostalgic magic- conjuring memories of my childhood, when we'd go camping as a family.  The one thing that really made the trip for me were the  Kellogg's mini boxes of cereals. I just loved having so many choices.  Normally in our household a sugary cereal was a real treat, so when we went camping and my mom purchased the sugary variety pack, I couldn't wait to dive in.  The days leading up to the first morning when I could finally choose my cereal was filled with such anticipation. My sister and I would haggle over who would get which ones.  Through a little crafty negation and some "mom mediation" I'd usually get the first pick.

Now I was never the type of person to enjoy milk- laden cereal, so on the first morning, I'd just open the box from the top and jam my spoon inside scooping out little crunchy morsels.  I'd savour each spoon full of sugary goodness, while sitting by the fire or at the breakfast table in the trailer. Those were the simple days- when being a kid meant the biggest issue camping would be fighting over who would get the Frosted Flakes.

Fast forward to the present day and I'm still just as excited to crack open a tiny box of cereal.  For me, camping this past weekend was great.  Lots of memorable moments, but what made the trip perfect was the fact that the biggest decision I had to make was which cereal was I going to eat, and for a brief moment in time I could be a kid again and not worry about balancing on the tightrope.

What is the one childhood food you still eat today that brings you back to your hay days of just worrying about kid stuff?