February 25, 2011 — Snow, rain and strong winds. Another storm system takes aim at Atlantic Canada starting Friday. So, here in Halifax we're likely to see lots of wet stuff coming down. I'm thinking there's two options here: 1. Hole up inside and put pen to paper! Get going on that Great Canadian novel you've been meaning to write; or 2. Grab your most colourful umbrella & rainboots and head downtown. On Friday night check out Brenna MacNeil's book launch & Photography Exhibit. See details on the poster below: I know I've been plugging those free concerts at Grand Parade during the Canada Games, but this Saturday the Games have some indoor artistic fare: 3. National Artist Gala Where: Saturday at Citadel High School, 1855 Trollope Street; Times: 2:30 & 7 p.m. Phone: 451-1221 Price: $16/20 Three artists from each province have been chosen to participate in this program and will showcase their talents. On a final note, I'd like to thank all the writers from CreateSpace who filled my box with messages since yesterday. It's sad, it's true - I did not make the cut in the competition for that golden carrot (the prize included a substantial advance & a publishing contract with Penguin). It really warms the heart though - in the literary world - people who compete with you for a prize actually support one another!! Note - I'm not using their real names, but their 'handles': From Xudro this morning: "I liked your story and found it unfair that you didn't advance to the second round..." I also asked questions about the excerpt like who they felt it would appeal to: From SeaCure: "I think your story would appeal to a broad readership - readers who like, history, intrigue, art, mystery, travel, culture, etc." From Craela: "History Buffs, period piece lovers, for sure, would appreciate this piece, but I think a wide variety would too. It's very well written with a hook that certainly captivated me, and I'm not much of a history buff. I have to say well done!" Craela also added about what she liked best in the excerpt: "I think what I liked best was the way everything segued together; nothing confused me at all, I knew it was all related. I want to know more now!" In closing, my heartfelt congrats to those that did advance & I'll be cheering you on!! Have a great weekend all! TartanFrog
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Prompt 1 (adapted from Writers' Digest): You've left town—ditching your old, miserable life—hoping to start a new life for yourself. You've given yourself a new name, fake background (including a fake mother tongue that you actually don't speak) and personal style. Write about your first encounter in your new town. Prompt 2: You arrive at work to find all the items in your cube packed up in a box. You have no idea what's going on, but there's a note that gives you directions to a boardroom down the hall. You walk in and there's a man at the front who is teaching in a language you don't recognize to a class of five-year-olds. It looks like the class is about trees. He indicates for you to squish your larger frame into one of the desks. Write this scene. Happy scribing writerlies! TartanFrog PS If you're looking for more inspiration, take a stroll to your public library and pick up a book in a language you don't understand - try to read it!! Write a story about what you think you just read... I cave to Winter Wonderful! It's the Canada Winter Games right here in Halifax. Have you been out to enjoy any festivities yet?? ++: Woo-hoo!! It's Friday, my day off. . . except, wait, I have to work - grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!! Now, some Fridays that leads to bitterness. Not so much today. See, as I'm working late yesterday, a little gem comes my way. I was doing rewrites on the teacher guide for the university course I've been developing & chatting with the guy from Toronto whose company does the graphic design and copy-editing. Turns out, the person supposed to be working on it might not be available. SO, he proposes two options (he knows I'm picky!) - AND, one of those options just happens to be a star editor from Penguin Publishing he snagged to freelance on larger book-type projects:):):) Oh yeah, baby. Need I add that in our chat about my next trip to TO, I mentioned that I was willing to provide copious amounts of libation for any inside scoop on publishing with Penguin. Writerlies, send me your bribes (err, I mean questions). But enough about me... This weekend, it's all about my Froggy roots: In my last post, I raved about the amazing line-up at Grand Parade and that's still on. But, in case you're more into indoor activities: 1. Incendies! It's the Canadian film by Denis Villeneuve that's been nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. So go out to support Canadian filmmakers! Opens tonight at the Oxford and plays till (at least) Wednesday. 2. Cabane! If dance/theatre/art is more your thing then check out Cabane, parts dance and art installation by Paul-Andre Fortier either tonight at the Sexton Memorial Gym (1360 Barrington) or Saturday at DANSpace (1531 Grafton). Both shows start at 8 pm ($20) From the press release: "Taking place in and around a modular shack, Cabane follows the elegant Fortier, long renowned as a riveting soloist, and the mischievous Racine, as they turn everyday objects into impromptu instruments and generate a series of surreal encounters. Ordinary objects lose their conventional designation as a door, walls and windows open up to a surrealist world. " "Fortier's elegantly reiterated movements were utterly mesmerising, ending on a vibrantly spirited note that prompted a more than well-deserved ovation" - Giannandrea Poesio, The Spectator, London (England) Have a great weekend everyone! TartanFrog Here are a couple of upcoming competitions for you writerlies: 1. March 28th - Dr. William Henry Drummond Poetry Contest; Entry fee - $5; Prizes - $300, $200, $100, 6 X $50 Please click here for more information. 2. March 31st - Ascent Aspirations Magazine Contest; Entry fee - $5/poetry or $10/fiction; Prizes - $100; $50; $25; $10 x 5 (+ publication for all). Please click here for more information. PS I know it's early for Word-on-the-Street, but there's some wicked music playing at Grand Parade this week during the Winter Games - Go check it out!! Bands like Great Big Sea, Buck 65, Hey Rosetta (TONIGHT!), Matt Mays, etc. Check the Coast Events to find out who plays when! Have a great week! TartanFrog Hmmmmm. . . What to write? Imagine you're standing in the corner of the photograph on the left and have to place your toe on one of the hearts which will then take your life in a completely different direction - which heart would you pick? Last night I watched a man at the corner of Morris and Brenton slide down a pole he'd been hanging onto and slump deeply within himself, succumbing to sadness and too much alcohol. Since I'd already been in bed and wasn't dressed I watched from the window to see if he'd just stumbled momentarily or whether he really needed help. As he tried unsuccessfully to get up and then eventually to lay there in the snow, I watched as people filed by without offering the man a glance never mind a hand. From the upstairs landing, I called down to Pete to phone the police so that the man wouldn't freeze to death in a snowbank. Of course, I could have gotten dressed and gone down myself to see how I could help and that would have changed our life course in other ways. I was about to claim no judgment here, but that would be a lie. I really hope that someone in that group of people who filed by seemingly completely unaffected by a man lying in a snowbank unable to get up did go around the corner, pull out their cell phone and call for help, but if not, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???? Is it that you're so superior that you can't possibly imagine that ever happening to you or to anyone you love? In this far-fetched reality, wouldn't you want someone to lend a hand? Why is it that when we see an innocent child reaching for a doll, we instinctively reach out to help? Remove the child from the picture and insert a grown-up (who once WAS A CHILD) and then we just stroll on by - get the frickin' doll yourself dude! Last night, I felt transported onto a playground watching a bunch of children who remain silent and look the other way while others are bullied. It all begins there. In contrast, I grew up in a house where that man in the snowbank would probably have moved in for a few months till he got back on his feet because my parents believed that everyone got 'down on their luck' once in awhile and that giving them a hand wasn't something to be recognized, it was just the HUMAN thing to do! In a world that's so vastly connected, it's easy to forget that every moment of every day we make choices that define us. And every choice will completely alter the course of the universe - infinitely. I know this metaphor isn't new, but I love the image of how each of us is fashioning a necklace of sorts with gems, beads, even rosary beads that represent our journey. Some of us believe that those choices are more divine like rosary beads while others, on days such as today will reflect on the individuals they love as the gems that make up their own necklace - okay, so mine is very expensive - more like a chandelier - chock full of diamonds! As I reflect upon those individuals so dear to me, the image and memory of the man from last night will likely recede, but it will still be part of my necklace - a diamond in the rough. We all believe in something even if that something happens to be nothing. If you're stuck on what to write today, write about whatever it is you believe. Happy Valentine's Day All & especially to Pete, the 'red heart' on my chandelier. . . Please spread some love around - the world needs it! TartanFrog P.S. If someone believes in nothing, can they still write about something? Well, I may be hunkered down reading either Carol Shield's 'Unless' or Ami Mackay's 'Birthhouse' - 2 books I've been meaning to read for way too long (inspired by CBC Radio Canada Reads of course), BUT that's no reason for you all not to start planning to attend some of Halifax's cool (& HOT!!) events this weekend. . . For the writerlies looking for writing prompts and competition deadlines, please scroll down. I'll start with events : 1. My friend Rena says: " Come to the V-Day: Vagina Monologues! February 11th show at SMU Friday night. $15, doors open at 7:30, show runs 8-10pm. There's another show at The Company House on Saturday night (2202 Gottingen Street). See The Coast for details. Believe me, if you haven't seen it, you will never think of the vagina in the same way again!!!! 2. And now for the really HOT! How about Flamenco Valentine on Sat., Feb. 12, 8 p.m. It's being held at the Schooner Room at the Casino. $24 - $32. For more info, call 451-1221. And now to all you writerlies waiting for the competition deadlines and/or prompts: My theme today is, you guessed it, APPLES: Why not put pen to paper inspired by one of these provocative photos? Competition deadlines below... Here are two upcoming competitions:
1. February 19th - Wyn Lit 24 Hour Short Story Writing Contest. If you're a member it's free; otherwise a one-time entry fee of $5. This is a cool one! When you enter, Wynterblue Publishing sends you a theme and you have 24 hours to write the story. For more info, click here. 2. March 1st - Jason A. Hannah Medal (book award). Now this one has me stumped!! Although it's listed in my calendar, I can't find any information on their website www.rsc.ca. My calendar, does however, offer an e-mail. So if anyone has a book they would like to nominate or to nominate themselves, I'd suggest e-mailing their contact at [email protected]. [the organization is the Royal Society of Canada - they usually recognize scholarly works mostly, but this may be something new?] In today's blog, as promised I'll feature a couple of literary/arts events coming up this weekend. I'm also sharing a letter I wrote to Virginia Woolf yesterday. What are you up to this weekend? Why not try: 1. "From Stage to Page" - panel discussion on publishing for writers, spoken word artists and storytellers. Moderated by Shauntay Grant and including guests George Elliot Clarke, Sue Goyette, Lesley Choyce, and Wanda Robson, this is an easy pick for all the writerlies! When: Fri., Feb. 4, 6:30pm- 8:30pm Price: FREE! Where: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia 1723 Hollis Street (Windsor Theatre – Bedford Row entrance) Halifax, NS 2. "Connecting to Africa Spoken Word Show" will feature some of the provinces' best spoken word artists, including iZrEAL, Andrew Abraham, Verena Rizg and Martha Mutale. When: Fri., Feb. 4, 7-10 p.m. Price: $5 to support CTA Where: The Company House 2202 Gottingen, Halifax, NS And now if you're wondering why anyone would bother writing to a dead woman, check out my letter to Virginia Woolf below. . . A Room of One’s Own… Dear Virginia, You were so right! We writerlies all need a room or space of our own. For me anyway, creativity is separate from the real world. It’s more like a magical world! When I’m there, I get this wonderful sensation that there are no limits, that anything is possible (though some would argue I’m always in that world:) I know that what I crave is harmony. I want to feel that I’m part of whatever I create whether that’s planting flowers, developing a new course, writing a novel or even putting together a photo album. But creativity is more than that—it’s my place of refuge. I feel truly protected inside its arms, trusting. All those bad things that happen, whether global injustices or very close personal tragedies that simply don’t seem fair—they disappear whenever I go to my refuge. This is nothing akin to what I feel once I emerge and share whatever I’ve created with others; then, I feel naked and become afraid again. Yet while I am there, being creative, it gives me the chance to become one with something larger than myself, larger than life’s routines which can rob us of the memory of this unbelievable gift that is this life, this breath I take in and exhale so casually, as if it weren’t the greatest miracle. I love to allow myself to be taken over, even consumed by it. In my most fantastic dreams, I’d retreat to a little hut like the one in the photograph. A simple one-room cabin by the ocean. The side you don’t see in the photo (facing the water) would be a wall of windows. This is what my eyes would fall upon whenever they lifted from the page, or the laptop. I often look at this photograph before I start writing. It makes me dream of freedom, the kind of freedom I experience whenever I am creating something new. I remain in awe of your astute and timeless observation, With gratitude, Dina Brenda, this one's for you! Isn't he cute? Final reminder to the Wired Monk Writerlies: Writers' group is a Chris' house tomorrow at 7 pm. Now for the writing competitions. . . 1. Betty Drevniok Award (Poetry). Deadline is February 14th. See here for more details. 2. Postcard Story Competition (Short Fiction). This is the annual Writers' Union of Canada contest. Deadline is February 14th. Entry Fee is $5.00 with a grand prize of $500.00. See here for more details. |
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December 2015
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