I’ve been doing a lot of reading about non-fiction writing lately as I prepare for university essay writing. I found this site a while back, but only just began to explore yesterday. There is a lot of great information for writers. I found this article on writing magazine articles and essays. I like the simple, straight-forward advice, such as: “Just tell them what you’re gonna tell ‘em. Tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” That pretty much sums up an essay. If you keep that in mind, it’s going to be fairly simple. At least to format the words. Coming up with something interesting to write about is a little more complicated.

Another great series of books that I’ve been exploring lately is Elizabeth Lyon’s books on writing. She just published a new one called Manuscript Makeover that I can’t wait to get into. I’m working hard on making over an older manuscript, one I wrote during NanoWriMo last year, and I want to give it a face lift. Elizabeth Lyon is an excellent editor that I had the pleasure of spending some time with at the Surrey Conference. She not only knows her stuff like no editor I’ve ever met, but she’s also very nice. I enjoyed chatting with her. 

If you haven’t checked out Red Room before, I recommend you do. You can set up a profile for yourself and share your articles and stories and you can connect with other authors. There are even some well-known authors such as Khaled Hosseini, who wrote The Kite Runner, one of my favorite novels. There’s a lot of good material for writers, but for readers as well.

I haven’t been focusing on my yoga practice much lately as I’ve been getting used to my new lifestyle, but tonight I did some poses and now I feel great. I want to get back into regular practice and since I haven’t been able to find a place the does Yoga the way I like it, I’m going to do it on my own at home. I had a wonderful teacher last year and I learned a lot from her. I have a couple of books that were recommended to me that I’m going to read as I develop a practice: Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Inyengar and The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar. 

I heard an interesting comment by someone that tried Yoga for the first time. She said that after doing a few hamstring stretches and a twisting posture, she couldn’t believe how alive her internal organs and her spine felt. She said it was like she was given all new parts. It was interesting to hear someone’s perspective like that since I’ve been doing Yoga for so long and I can’t remember what it first felt like. I just know that when I’m finished I feel alive. It’s like I’ve woken up from a long sleep. I can’t say enough how good Yoga is for the body.

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I spent some time editing my manuscript today and got Daryl to read over and mark up one of my chapters. His comments were very encouraging. It’s important to have a good critique partner. It encourages you as a writer and helps to keep you motivated. I’m lucky to have the best critique partner as my life partner. I think it’s great. I have some stuff to work on and sink my teeth into and can’t wait to write some more tomorrow.

I’ve been busy the last few days with reading a very good book, The Tenth Gift (wonderful!) and preparing to start school. I’ve been planning out the courses I’m going to take and gearing up for studying again. The closer it comes, the less nervous I am. I just can’t wait to get started. I have always loved learning and I’m looking forward to becoming immersed in history, one of my favorite subjects. I have enrolled in the 4-Year Bachelor of Arts History Major program and will continue on to complete my Masters in History after that. It will take at least six years to complete it all, but I will continue writing in the meantime as I really can’t stop that to save my life. It’s time to get this ball rolling!

One really neat thing about all this is my daughter is going to study with me. We are enrolled in the same program and will be taking most of the same courses. This will be great for both of us, as we can support each other and study together. I am very proud of her for focusing on a good education.

Another thing I’ve been enjoying lately is cooking. I love to cook, but haven’t done much of it for the last few years whilst I’ve been writing my novels. Now that I don’t have to work, I’ve been enjoying the kitchen again. Today I’m making Butternut Squash Soup (for tomorrow) and Minestrone Soup and cornbread for dinner today. I love making soups when the weather starts to get colder. As we had our second sprinkling of snow this morning, I think it qualifies. Let me know if you want my recipes, they are really good.

I have enrolled in University and I am going through the course offerings and planning out my degree program. As this is something I’ve long wanted to do, I’m feeling really excited. Along with the excitement is a little nervousness of course, considering I haven’t been in school for a very long time. I’ve kept up with expanding my mind, however, so the reading and writing part of school doesn’t worry me too much. I’m looking forward to all the new things I’m going to learn and the challenges that the courses will present. 

We’ve been having wonderful warm weather the last two days and I almost feel like summer has arrived again. Today it got up to 23 degrees Celsius. It was like a cool summer day. It would be nice if it lasted all the way to January, but I fear snow is just around the corner. I’m not used to snow anymore since Kamloops had very little of the white stuff. Here in Barrie, we are in a snow belt. Wonderful. At least I’ll be focused on school and shouldn’t notice it too much. I may just have to get Daryl to drive me around whenever I need to go out. Lots of snow scares me. I guess I’ll never quite get the California girl out of me no matter how long I live in this country.

I’ve started working on my manuscript so I’ve got lots to keep me busy until Christmas. I love being busy and focused. I won’t let reading time get away from me though. Daryl and I have a room in our house dedicated entirely to reading. We call it our library, although it’s really just a bedroom with a couple of chairs and a lot of books, but one day we’ll have a real library. I love going in there late in the evening and curling up in my chair with a good book. My box of books arrived from BC today and I had fun unpacking it. It was much too expensive to ship all of my 300+ books, so I had to choose the ones I couldn’t live without. Among the few chosen was my Outlander series. I could never give them up. In fact, I think it’s time to go read…

We’ve been home for a couple of days and I think I’m finally recovered. I’ve discovered that flying across time zones is hard on the body. We’ve been catching up on shopping, movies and helping my daughter get settled. This evening is the first time I feel like myself again. So, I’m ready to get back to work. I want to go through all my notes from the conference and dig into Elizabeth Lyon’s book, “A Writer’s Guide to Fiction” while I start editing my manuscript. I’m going to edit one of my completed manuscripts while I continue the research for the current work in progress so I have something salable in the next six months or so. I have a great novel that I finished last year and I think it’s ready to be worked on.

One of the movies we watched over the last couple of days was Zeitgeist and the Addendum to it. Our minds were blown. I should state that I’m not the kind of person to believe something just because someone told me it was true. In fact, I tend to be the exact opposite and look everything up for myself. But, there was much of this movie that I had already heard about or seen evidence of myself. Especially the religious aspect of it. They also gave a lot of evidence of the things they were claiming. I am interested in looking into it further, especially the religion section, as I’ve been researching religion a lot as part of my historical research. I can’t seem to get away from it, as religion was so permeated in all of society in every country of the world. I think that having a good understanding of religions can help us to understand human beings so much better, as it has been a major player in establishing many aspects of our social structure. 

I am not a subscriber to any specific religion personally, although I do have my own faith. At the same time, I don’t look down on anyone for their religious beliefs. Understanding and tolerance are vital but the sad fact is that although it should be the most important thing, it’s often the most lacking. I speak from 20+ years of experience and I find this very sad.

In writing this post I’m not trying to offend anyone, only speaking from my personal experience. I am aware, though, that it’s a sensitive topic, so I do approach it carefully. Feel free to comment on how you feel and as long as we all stay respectful, we can have a great discussion.

We landed in Toronto airport at 9:00 p.m. after one of the smoothest flights we’ve experienced this summer (it’s been a summer of flying). We are back home and happy to be here. My daughter is getting settled into her new home. Our cat, Toppy is thrilled to see us and hasn’t stopped purring since we walked in the door. It’s good to be home.

While we were in the air today, I thought about how much things have changed for me. Up until this summer, I had only flown a few times, and all of those times were on the same trip about ten years ago. Daryl and I figured out that I’ve already flown about five times (round trip) this summer. I’m still a little nervous, but slowly getting over it. I can’t seem to wrap my brain around the idea that something as heavy as a plane won’t drop like a stone. Since it hasn’t happened, I’m beginning to believe flying is fairly safe. I don’t know how long it will take before I actually enjoy the experience. Probably never. I think that’s one of the side-effects of being a writer with a far too active imagination.

Now that we’re home, it’s time to get back to work. I have a lot of inspiration from the conference, although I’m going to probably take a day to recover. It was a whirlwind trip from start to finish. At least we came home to a nice clean house and the cleaning lady is back on Monday. That’s one dream that finally came true; having someone come in to clean my house. I love it. She does a great job.

It’s time to rest my weary head. I’ll be back in full steam tomorrow.

We are in Kamloops for today and part of tomorrow and then we head back to Vancouver to fly out Thursday morning. I always find it strange to visit a city that I’ve lived in. It’s all familiar and yet you’re only a visitor. We have a lot to do in the short time that we’re going to be here, so I won’t be able to post much. I will do longer posts once I get home.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with this: Vietnam might ban small-chested people from driving motorbikes… I have to say, we live in a weird world.

Talk to you tomorrow.

One of the difficult things about going home from a conference like Surrey International Writers’ Conference is how to put into practice all the wonderful things we’ve learned. Everyone gets so fired up and can’t wait to go home and start writing up a storm. I’ve been to a conference before and I remember the feeling I had going home, and I also remember how reality hit once I got there. I still had all the responsibilities that took away writing time. I had the distractions and family noise and all the things that I had when I left for the conference. The only difference was that I was inspired and rejuvenated with the passion to write all over again. Inspiration is great, but it still comes down to “butt in chair.”

So, as I go home, I will keep this in my mind. I am ready to spend the next couple of months working hard on my manuscript. The life I live now makes that much easier than it was before, but I’ve come to realize a truth; it doesn’t matter what kind of life you live or how much free time you have, there will always be things that keep you from writing. It comes down to your own determination and commitment to this thing called the writing dream. Do you want to be a full-time author? Then you have to start now. Even if you have a full-time job, you have to put in the hours you would have to put in as a professional writer. The longer I’m in this gig, the more it becomes apparent that there’s no other way around it. You have to put in the time.

One of my favorite ways to get my writing muscle exercised every day (besides blogging) is to do Morning Pages. If you’ve never read Julia Cameron’s book, The Right to Write, go out and get it. I think it’s essential to every person wanting to live the writing life. In her inspirational book, Julia talks about Morning Pages. Every morning you sit down (I usually do this with my morning coffee) and write three pages. I do it long hand and in my journal, but the medium is up to you. You can write about anything you like. I write to clear my mind, to figure out issues that are rolling around in my head, and to get down on paper all the exciting things that are happening in my life. I try to keep it positive. This gets me into the writing flow and then it is much easier to work on whatever manuscript is in the forefront for me. It’s a great way to keep writing even if I’m in the editing cycle of a manuscript.

We are heading back to Kamloops this morning for a short visit. I’m looking forward to seeing my kids and friends. My daughter is coming back to live with us, something I’m very excited about. We’ll be back home by Halloween and ready to work hard until Christmas. Talk to you soon.

We had a busy day yesterday and I didn’t get a chance to post anything until now that the conference is almost over. Daryl put up a great post yesterday about the conference complete with pictures of the Masque last night. We had a great time. Lots of laughs and fun seeing all the creative costumes people came with. Daryl went as Jason from Friday the 13th movies and I went as his victim. After the masque we went to the lounge where we had a lovely time chatting with Elizabeth Lyon and Lois, one of her clients. She is a wonderful person and so much fun to talk to. I am amazed at how many interesting people I’ve met over the course of the conference. I feel honored to be among such literary giants and have them take an interest in me.

This morning’s class was one of the best by far. Diana Gabaldon and Michael Slade did a workshop entitled Ghosts: How Revenants Haunt Plot, Characters and Setting. It was a small class, so we had a more intimate setting. They told some great stories and we had lots of laughs. I’ve never read Michael Slade, but after that workshop, I’m determined to go out and get one of his books. He is the consumate storyteller. I would have to say that was my favorite class. I even got my picture taken with my idol.

Diana Gabaldon and me

We just have a couple more things to accomplish and then the conference is done. Donald Maass is giving the keynote address at lunch and then Daryl and I are meeting with his editor, Lisa Rector-Maass to discuss his manuscript. After that we are relaxing for one more night and then heading back to Kamloops for a short visit before we fly home. Already the conference has been a rousing success.

I’m looking forward to going home and sinking my teeth into my work. I have a couple of months before school starts, so I should be able to get a lot done before then. It’s so neat how coming to a writing conference charges up your batteries. We are all going home fired up and ready to do some of our best work.

Thank you S.I.W.C. for giving us this opportunity. Thanks to all the volunteers who put in so many long hours to make this conference possible and for attracting such terrific authors, agents and editors.

My website was down for a short while last night and I was unable to post about the conference, so I’m doing it this morning before heading down for the third day.

Yesterday was a packed day of great speakers, nice people and wow moments. We went to a couple of workshops; Shameless Self-Promotion and Blogging 101. I enjoyed the first one, especially. The speaker, Isobel Warren, not only gave us some great ideas, but she was fun to listen to. She has a book out called Yoga for Cats, which I have to get my hands on. The second workshop was done well, but it wasn’t as informative as I hoped. Considering I’ve been blogging for a couple of years, I guess I should have expected it to be basic. But there were a couple of things I was hoping he would cover, such as expansion of readership, but he sort of skimmed most of the topics. Overall, though, it was worth it as he gave us a few ideas for improving the blogs, such as tags. Today I am looking forward to attending a historical writing workshop.

The evening dinner was the best part of the day for me. Daryl and I got a little attention as they told the story of how we met at the conference two years ago and now are a couple. We stood up and they clapped for us. After that a lot of people said hi and made nice comments. After dinner we went to the lounge where I got to sit near my idol, Diana Gabaldon. She is not only a wonderful writer, but a genuinely nice person. Jack Whyte and Michael Slade were also there. And I met a new author, C.C. Humphreys, who recently published a book called Vlad. He is a lot of fun. He’s going to be doing a reading at the Harbourfront in Toronto, which we are going to see.

The energy you feel at a conference is inspiring. Everyone is here for the same purpose. Either to further their writing, or to discover some new talent. I find it injects me with new purpose and excitement for the craft. I didn’t go to a conference last year and I don’t think I’ll miss one again. Going at least once a year is a good investment in yourself.

My life is probably going in a new direction soon. I have an appointment when I get home to meet with a coordinator at the local University. I am going to pursue a Masters degree in History. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years, but neither time nor money were permitting. My future goals are to be a historical author, but I’m also interested in non-fiction writing and I’d like to have more credentials behind me. History classes will greatly benefit my historical writing, too. At this point I am pursuing the idea and a few things will have to fall into place for this to happen, but it’s looking very positive at this point. Investing in education is never a bad idea.

And that’s all for now. I’m ready for another day of inspiration. See you back here tonight where I’ll post an update. Cheers.