Matthew Bin

Rose Bianchini has an excellent post on Soul Fuel, “the work we do that keeps us going, that uses our creative selves and makes us feel good.”

This is an important thing for artists — we don’t want to get into the mode where we’re beating our heads against the wall, trying to get the goddamned art to come out. I like the idea of doing things that fuel, rather than empty, our artistic souls.

One thing Rose doesn’t mention is the possibility of pulling off the road and refuelling sometimes. Seeing live music or theatre, walking around galleries or museums, reading outside one’s comfort zone, going to conferences or other events where we can talk to other artists about art and craft and all that stuff.

It’s important to keep the tank full, one way or another.

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I came across this blog post recently and I agree with the sentiment: less skilled writers often don’t let the setting come through in their story.

Because we can’t see the setting, we also can’t visualize the characters’ interaction with the setting. How are they moving within this space? Are they both sitting down? Is Annie sitting while Marjolaine stands? Or is Annie scooping papers from the printer as she rushes to leave on assignment? Not only does this scene give the reader nothing but white walls, it also turns the characters into talking heads.

The author of the post does a good job of showing the difference between a scene that is a talking-heads conversation with no setting at all, and a fully-fleshed-out scene where actual characters are conversing. I agree with her completely on her points.

But the problem that I find with a lot of writers isn’t that they don’t provide any setting, but that the setting is remarked upon, then forgotten. Writers seem to love to paint their detailed picture of the setting, the colours, the weather, and then, the first paragraph of the chapter or scene complete, description is conveniently shelved.

If you want to put characters in a setting and have them move around there, that’s the way to do it. If you want them to actually inhabit their world, then you need to make it part of every scene, and have them act like it’s there.

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Oh, what’s this?

Looks like the latest literary mail… let’s see who’s in it this month…

Hmm… someone in there looks familiar…

Hey, I know that guy!

Woo hoo! Short story published in the Windsor Review!

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I finished my latest novel, tentatively titled “A Matter of Trust”, yesterday afternoon. It’s something like 70,000 words (it’s written longhand so I can only estimate at this point).

I haven’t talked to many people about it at all, for a couple of reasons. One is that I don’t like to talk about the stuff I’m writing while I’m writing it. I find that hashing it out takes away from the energy I have for actually writing the thing. This definitely used to be the case, and I think it might still be, and I’m not going to threaten the completion of a novel by trying it out. (I think it might have had more to do with the fact that, when I first found that happening, I wasn’t very good at writing novels yet, but still, why risk it?)

But having finished it, I’m still a bit reluctant to talk about it. A few different reasons for that:

• I have three finished novels that I’m interested in finding homes for. I don’t really want to dilute that by adding yet another one into the mix.
• The subject matter, and therefore probably the genre, is very different from what I’ve written before. I don’t want to be pegged as a writer in this genre.
• The subject matter is personally challenging to write about. That’s part of why I started writing it in the first place: I decided to write what scared me. I’m pleased to have finished it, but I don’t know if I want to put it all out there yet.

I guess the real question is whether the damn thing is any good. I think it is, or at least it has a lot of good stuff in it. There are also flaws — I don’t know that the ending is ramped up well enough, and I am a little concerned that its satirical elements don’t work. (It’s a satire about men’s attitudes and macho-ness and sexuality, but the satire might just come off as stupidity and sexism, I worry.)

I wrote it longhand, so the next step is to type the thing up. It might have the distinction of being my very last longhand novel, since I found out that I am writing much better and more quickly on the keyboard now. I’ve got maybe a third typed up already, and it’ll probably take a couple months to finish typing up the rest.

So let’s catalogue what I’ve written to date:

• Untitled novel that sucks, 37,000 words, March – July 2002
• LMF, 45,000 words, September 2002 – April 2004, published May 2006
• The Famiglia, 65,000 words, November 2004 – April 2007
• On the Heat, 90,000 words, February 2009 – June 2010
• A Matter of Trust, 70,000 words, September 2010 – May 2012
• Brendan’s Way, 90,000 words, June – November 2011

I might be misremembering some of the dates in there a bit, because there seem to be overlong gaps in the history. Since I wrote The Famiglia, I’ve had a novel project on the go continuously. Of course, those projects also include editing, and I am only mentioning actual writing of the first draft in that timeline.

Anyhow, it’s not a bad output, but right now the most important thing is to get the completed novels (Famiglia and Brendan) into the hands of agents. That’s going to be my main project for the summer.

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Good news from Bookland Press: On Guard for Thee: Canadian Peacekeeping Missions is now available in e-book format!

Anyone with a Kobo device, or the Kobo app on their phone, tablet, or computer, can now download and read the book.

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Things have been busy lately, hence no posts in a little more than a month. But here’s good news: CanWrite 2012 is a go!

Four days, four ways to access masters, muses & magic!

Need to get away from the hustle and bustle of your day-to-day routine ? Are you suffering from a serious case of writers’ block? Want to jump start those creative juices by talking shop with fellow writers? Could that draft you’ve been working on benefit from some constructive feedback from your peers or a professional editor?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, the Canadian Authors Association is delighted to invite you to our 91st annual writers’ conference. Join us for easy access to the following options:

• Personal writing time
• Writing circles – learn from your peers
• Blue pencil sessions – get feedback from professionals
• Hands on writing workshops
• Master classes for published and mid-career authors
• Voice coaching for truly effective readings
• Hands on help with social media tools and techniques
• Open mike readings
• Opportunities to promote and sell your book
• Click on the link below to get more information or to register.

I know I’m going to be there, and I hope I’ll see lots of other writers there too.

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Now this is the kind of thing that I’d love to see more of. There’s a great poetry festival every year in northern Ontario, specifically in the town of Cobalt, the Spring Pulse Poetry Festival. And this year, they’ve got a unique way of getting there for those from more southern parts of the province.

We’re leasing an Ontario Northland Railway car and need 20 paid passengers. They are giving a 20% discount on return fare which is normally around $228. Per person return would be around $184. We’re getting sponsors to help subsidize trip for those who are financially challenged. Have negotiated a group room rate at local hotel for $75 per double room with breakfast.

On Thursday May 10 the train will leave union station for Cobalt. The trip takes around 8 hours. The festival is going to start on the train itself with book launches, writing workshops, readings, music, art lectures, etc… A professional photographer will be on board and we’re also going to film it for a documentary. Then we will continue with the festival throughout the weekend and train will return to Toronto on Sunday May 13.

We have several members from the league of poets and the Ontario Poetry Society signed up. I have interest from two other musicians to play and certainly would love you to join this very unique adventure. Right now collecting a pre-registration list and do hope you are keen to be part of this collective creative train tour.

I’m really sorry that I’m going to be away that weekend, because it’s this kind of innovative, creative, and fun stuff that really gives me hope for the Canadian literary scene! I’m not much of a poet but I would love to take part in this.

If you’re interested, check out the Poetrain or e-mail David Brydges for more information.

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Such as:

• As you probably know, I’m pretty active on the Reddit website. Well, a writer on there put together a site to promote other redditors’ books, and ended up with RedditAuthors.com. Not bad for a couple of days’ work!
• This seems like an interesting place to send some work, doesn’t it?
• I’ve received a cheque from The Windsor Review for my short story, which they’re publishing later this year. Their publishing schedule continues to amaze…

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After finishing the science fiction novel last week, I went back to the “suburban satire” I had been working on. Back to writing longhand, back to the — relatively — real world of 1986.

I have complained often and at length about finding space to work in the afternoon; when I don’t take time for lunch (or sometimes while I’m eating lunch), I tend to sit and write. My place of choice was a Starbucks for a while, but they removed about a third of their seating and suddenly I was unlikely to find a seat there, no matter when I went over there.

I moved over to the Second Cup; it’s quieter, the staff are nicer, and there is almost always seating available. I find the counter by the window to be very conducive to writing — the seats are comfortable and the world passing by is just the right amount of distraction for me. Starbucks has one of these counters too, but it is more cramped and less comfortable. I hate sitting there at Starbucks, while I prefer sitting at the counter at Second Cup. Ah, the whims of the spirit.

Yesterday, though: thwarted. One of the rules of a modern urban society is — or ought to be — that bags and coats do not merit a seat. At the Second Cup yesterday, three people and their accoutrements had taken up the five seats at the counter. If there isn’t a law, there oughta be.

I have learned, though, not to be shy in these places. I think it is entirely permissible to share tables and ask people to move their things and so on. “Oh — is anyone sitting here? Do you mind if I –” is usually enough. I have yet to find someone who isn’t willing to share, or to make a big show of moving their bags (probably to cover up the embarrassment of being called out for taking up too much space).

The Second Cup was too busy, though, and the line was moving too slowly, so I tried Starbucks. Success: a table. I was even asked to share it, which I gladly did.

All this to say, I wrote six hundred words yesterday. Writing longhand is extremely slow, I’ve found. And I can’t find my good fountain pen, so it isn’t even enjoyable. But I’ll finish this novel, eventually, and somehow.

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