Monique Polak

Quick entry since I´m working on a little old computer in an Internet place in Mexico -- and it´s hard to find the right buttons. We´re in La Penita. It´s warm and sunny and we´re going to spend the whole day READING on the beach. Ahhhh!! Did I tell you I was planning not to write... can´t find the question mark. Not sure I´ll be able to keep that promise. I told my editor at the National Post about this trip and I just happened to suggest two possible story ideas... and he liked them both. Uh oh!! Maybe I´m just one of those writers who can´t stop writing. Okay, off I go to la playa. Enjoy your day wherever you are. Best from Monica

That's about all I can say in Spanish -- but it'll come in handy tomorrow -- which is when we land in Mexico. Our destination is La Penita de Jaltemba, a small town I've already written about for the Montreal Gazette. I've been toying with the idea of not doing ANY WORK over this holiday -- but to be honest, I'm not sure I'll be able to do that. There's nothing harderfor me than DOING NOTHING!! Of course, I'll still write my diary every morning and about half of my suitcase is taken up by books... and I may -- just may -- bring along some of the George River manuscript....

Will try to write a couple of blog entries from there. But if you don't hear from me for a few days, picture me doing something very exotic: NOTHING!!!

Donde esta la playa by the way means "Where's the beach?" I also know how to say "Where's the bathroom?" "How much does that cost?" and "What's your name?" in Spanish. If you've got a holiday coming up too, enjoy every minute of it. Best best from Monique, er Monica!! 

 

I just got off the telephone with Ingrid Taylor's class in Wemindji. (These are the students I visited last month in Quebec's James Bay region.) We had a "conference call" -- the students had sent me their stories and we discussed ways to make them even better. So in today's blog entry, I thought I'd share some of the pointers I gave to the students -- and then I'lltell  you a little about what they had to say about writing. 

So, I told the kids how their pieces need to have strong HOOKS. They are writing short pieces about members of their community. Several of the pieces began with a statement like, "So-and-so is hardworking." I suggested that instead, they give us an example of how the person works hard -- show us the person they are writing about in action. That relates to my second pointer: that details and specific examples can bring a piece of writing to life. Finally, I told them about the importance of editing. Their teacher, Ingrid, said this is something her students are often reluctant to do. They write something once and then they don't want to change it. I asked the kids to guess the number of times I rewrote my novel, On the Game. One of the students, Yolanda, guessed that I rewrote the book three times. "Wrong!" I told her. "Seven times!!" See what I mean about rewriting? Every bit of effort you put into a writing project makes it a little better than it was when you started.

At the end of our conversation, I asked the students to tell me how writing is going for them. I thought I'd include two of their comments here. Julia said, "Writing is hard." I told her I agreed completely. There's nothing I do that's harder than writing -- and that's exactly why I like it so much. Because it's a challenge. Tristan said, "Writing is fun!" I agree with that, too. When we do them well, hard things become fun -- and satisfying. So wherever you are and whatever you've  got to do, do your best. Have a strong hook at the start, support your points with interesting details -- and edit your work. Talk to you tomorrow!!

So it's another snowy day in Montreal. I got to the computer early this morning -- which means I still have to go for my run. The good thing about all this snow is it's inspiring me as I work on my story about Nunavik. My story is set in winter -- and believe me, there's a lot of snow up there this time of year.

You've probably heard some mum say how hard it was to leave herchild at kindergarten on the first day of school... well I just did something like that. I sent Sarah Harvey, the YA editor at Orca Book Publishers, a synopsis of my new project and three sample chapters. Hopefully the project will behave well! It might be several weeks before I hear back from Sarah -- but my plan is to keep writing. Though I only sent the first three chapters, truth is I'm a little past halfway through the first draft. 

Okay, time to face the elements! We're supposed to get quite a bit of snow overnight. I'm thinking maybe I'll just jog to school tomorrow morning. I won't be the most elegantly-dressed teacher, but at least I won't have to shovel out my car or fight traffic! Enjoy the snow! Watch our for polar bears!! (Oops, there I go thinking about George River again!!) 

The reason writers are like squirrels is that we don't let anything go to waste. Something strange or funny or sad happens and we JOT IT DOWN. Eventually, it'll find a place in some story or another. Tamar sent a comment to the blog asking whether I ever recycled any of my manuscripts that were initially rejected? The answer is YESSIREE!! My spring 2007 title, Finding Elmo, was based on oneof the first manuscripts I submitted to publishers when I was just starting out. In the end, I only used about a page or two from the original manuscript -- but the idea for the story (a bird is birdnapped from a Montreal pet store) stayed the same, as did the major characters. So hope you are squirrel-ing away interesting ideas and stories and incidents. My experience is that eventually, everything finds its place. Okay, back to work. Talk to you tomorrow!

Here's a link to my profile of Meg that appears in today's Gazette: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=728159a3-a2e9-4440-a956-7cdedd2bbabc

Talk to you on Monday!! 

My goodness, it's already 12:55 P.M. and I'm really just settling in at the computer with my green tea -- though I did do a little work on my George River story earlier today. But after that, I went for a run, caught up with my very dear neighbours Liz and Kees, who were out of town for two weeks, and returned some other friends' phone calls. Sometimes, a writer needs to replenish her heart so she can keep writing. Also, I saw a huge skunk strolling on our street when I left for my run. Pretty cool -- though I always thought skunks were nocturnal. Okay, that's enough chatting for me for today -- I want to spend the rest of the afternoon on my manuscript. First four chapters are sounding pretty good to me. I want to read through what else I've got and work up a synopsis to send to my editor next week. (Can you tell that I've been working upside down -- writing first, then working up the synopsis... sometimes writing happens this way.) Then we'll see if I get a go-ahead on this book project. And if I do, I'll really need to move on it. Have a good weekend. Lovely light snowflakes coming down today in Montreal. Hope wherever you are is just as pretty.

I'm just home from a teleconference that photographer Monique Dykstra and I did with Kelly Ryan's class at St. Willibrord School in Chateauguay. (Last time, we visited the class in person; today we went to a special educational technology centre in Laval and had a "virtual" meeting with the students.) First, "the other Monique" (that's what we call each other) gavestudents feedback on photos they have taken for their project (they are contributing to a book that a team of writers and photographers are helping them produce). I love learning about photography from Monique D. Today, she told students that the flash is "evil" -- she believes that whenever possible, photographers should avoid using a flash. Very interesting!!

I took over during the second half of the video-conference. St. Willibrord students have begun writing about local heroes in their community. Here's the advice I gave them: use quotes to bring your characters to life; get specific details and try to find a little humour in your stories. I have a feeling they're going to do a great job. Okay, I've got an hour till I have to be at Marianopolis. I'm heading to George River -- in my imagination, anyway!

Yesterday afternoon, novelist Heather O'Neill -- author of the prize winning Lullabies for Criminals -- visited Marianopolis, the college where I teach. Heather read from her novel and she also read a very clever short story that was a contemporary retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. It's always interesting to hear a writer reading something you've read and enjoyed -- you get to hearthe words in the writer's own voice. So, I enjoyed the reading part of the event, and I also really enjoyed when Heather answered questions from the audience. And the students had a lot of great questions! Here are some of the things I learned from Heather: She told us she has always been very observant and that that skill informs her writing. "I love details," she said when one young woman in the audience remarked that there are many references to the characters' clothing in Lullabies. Heather also pointed out that clothes can be really important to teens -- because they don't have that much other "stuff." Heather explained that her stories tend to be "very character-driven." This is something I talk about a lot in my Writing for Children class -- I think the best plots grow organically once a writer has a clear sense of her (or his) characters. Heather also told us she tries to write every day. My favourite moment came when a student asked if Heather ever feels as if her work is no good. Heather's answer: "Every day!" 

Well, that certainly got a laugh -- and it's also a comment to help inspire the rest of us writers when we're not feeling so great about whatever project we might be working on. The trick, of course, as I keep reminding myself and you in this blog, is not to give up. 

Speaking of which, I'm just home from school. Going to put some chicken and potatoes in the oven and then I'm going back to my polar bear (that's code for my manuscript that is set in Nunavik.) Have a great rest of the day!

What's that I hear, La Di Da? I was just washing the bathroom floor (part of my pre-writing ritual... I told this to my Writing for Children class last week and I could tell they thought it was very WEIRD), and I heard myself singing "La Di Da."

"La Did Da? What is that strange song -- and badly sung, too?" you may ask. Well, it's the sound of a writer who's about to settle in at her computer and do a little writing!! This is going to be a very busy week -- I'm giving exams at school and I'm doing a Blue Met teleconference on Thursday morning -- so my writing time is feeling extra precious. I'm back to my George River manuscript this week. I'm hoping to be able to submit the first four chapters and a synopsis to my editor at Orca -- by the end of next week. Hope you've got something to do today that makes you sing, too!