The Happy Writer

I recently read an editorial piece by Mark Slouka, called "Don't Ask What I'm Writing."  The author explains his displeasure over friends and acquaintances asking him about the progress of his novel during the preliminary stages.  It's this "ask" that can supposedly kill a promising novel.  Forcing a writer to explain the premise ruins the magic of creation.  He also touches on the conflict between the insecurities the writer's inner critic voices versus the encouragement of friends/acquaintances. 

Anyone who has attempted to write a novel can (to an extent) identify with these sentiments.   Personally, I've never seen it as a negative thing.  I'm glad when I'm put in the position to articulate my thoughts, to hear what they sound like out loud.  This enables me to see the faults, finesse the story and not have it just reside in my head.  It's wonderful to have your friends cheering you on in the sidelines as you try to stick it out and make it to that finish line, no matter how far it is in the distance.  The inner critic is there for a reason as well, to make the author strive higher, to scold when you'd rather sit on your laurels.  The key is to not let the inner critic take full control, because then you'll be second guessing yourself and wasting the precious time that would be better spent writing. 

David Bowie Is....

The exhibition, David Bowie Is... opened to members of the Art Gallery of Ontario today.  Suffice to say, it did not disappoint me and sure as heck will not disappoint any David Bowie fan.  Straight from its sold out run at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, this show brings together 300 objects from the artist's own personal archive.  A complimentary audio device was provided, feeding music and narrative to augment the visual displays. 

Starting on the 4th floor of the Gehry designed building, the first room established context, going into detail about the time period of the late 1940s when Bowie was born and his early influences.  Interestingly, he was concerned with the depression and suicides that plagued his family and he felt his vocation as an artist, something he loved to do, helped him to avoid those pitfalls.  There were a series of dioramas embedded in the wall that didn't provide much information or entertainment.  Although, they succeeded in holding up the line of visitors.  The second room focused on his breakthrough song, "Space Oddity", the title being a pun on the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The real treat for me lay on the 5th floor which had been transformed into a grand spectacle of costumes, projections, music, posters and sketches by Bowie.  A flurry of books suspended from the ceiling was a nice touch, a nod to the fact that he was heavily influenced by literature as well.  Most striking were the costumes on display, designed by Alexander McQueen and Kansai Yamamoto.  The Union Jack suit was surprisingly worn and torn in places.  Another highlight had to be paintings created by Bowie of his friend Iggy Pop.  These images came about while both lived in Germany while they recovered from drug addiction.  A room devoted to music videos entranced audiences as they played many of Bowie's hits.  Extensive use of video projection throughout the entire show made this British artist seem bigger than life itself.  I highly recommend a visit.      

The Word on the Street

The Word on the Street National Book and Magazine Festival ended yesterday with a great turnout.  I attended the lecture, An Insider's Guide to Getting Published lead by Cynthia Good, Director of the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College. 

Some helpful tips she gave to writers:

Create a platform to promote yourself even before you publish a book.  Editors and literary agents want to see that you're capable of marketing and branding yourself.

Research the market: know the current trends in publishing, what are the most popular genres? Go to book launches and conferences and get to know people in the business.

Take a creative writing course, gather a group of friends/peers to give you feedback on your writing or find a mentor to help you through the process.

The second lecture I attended included Patrick Crean and Craig Pyette, two seasoned editors that have worked in publishing for years, imparted advice on what they hate to see in newly submitted manuscripts.  For the most part, they gave stranger than fiction anecdotes on how people corner them, badger them to read their writing and the odd condition many manuscripts are in when they are submitted.  Best take away: they hate bad writing such as riddled with clichés, using the same turn of phrase, tired plotlines etc.  

Welcome!

Thanks for dropping in and saying hello, I hope you'll stay a while and visit often. I'm excited to start this blog where I'll be writing about arts and culture in Toronto, and my own experience of composing my first novel.

Ciao for now!