Monique Polak

We had friends over for dinner this weekend -- and one of them (his name is Ray) gave us a pizza-making lesson. I've always wanted to make my own pizza dough, so I was pretty psyched. We started by mixing yeast and tepid water -- we had to wait a while for it to bubble up. (I got a little impatient at this stage.) Then we added more water, some sugar, and lots of flour. Next came kneading thedough. I learned that I need to work on my technique here. Apparently, I am too quick. We let the dough rise (and then fall) in the fridge overnight.

The hard part came yesterday morning when Mike and I had to knead the dough some more and get it onto our pizza pans (in our case, cookie sheets). It was a very MESSY JOB. WE GOT FLOUR EVERYWHERE. THIS DROVE ME A LITTLE CRAZY. AND WE NEARLY GAVE UP.

But guess what? WE DID IT. We made our own very first pizza. And it was good and the whole house smelled pizza-ish. 

Did you already figure out that today's entry is not JUST about pizza? It's also about WRITING -- and about DOING DIFFICULT THINGS. Sometimes,  you're going to want to give up. You'll need patience and things will definitely get messy. It'll be hard. Much harder than you imagined. BUT IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE PIZZA -- OR WRITE YOUR BOOK -- or do your physics homework. Hope you're inspired. By golly, I inspired myself. Only, I'm leaving now to go to a friend's birthday luncheon, but as soon as I get home, I'm going to make pizza... er, I mean... work on my George River manuscript! Talk to you tomorrow! 

I know it's shocking, especially for someone my age, but I'm still in my pajamas -- actually, in my case, it's a nightgown. The thing is, it's already 2 P.M. But don't think I've been lounging around like some middle-aged lady of leisure -- no sirree! I've been marking and marking and I just just finished my profile of Meg Rosoff. And now, I'm feeling like maybe I shouldventure out into the real world. I have some errands to RUN (I'm thinking of doing them while I'm out on a run) and I have to un-shovel my car, which is pretty much buried under a small mountain of snow. Well then, that's about all I have to report about the writing life for today. Truth is,  I haven't done much writing today... guess I'm getting to that point of the semester when there's going to be more and more schoolwork to do. Oh well, sometimes I think it's better not to fight your circumstances. Which is why I've stayed in my pajamas, I mean nightgown so long today. But the sky is looking nice and blue out there. Sometimes what a writer needs most is a little fresh air!! Have a great weekend wherever you are!! Hey, I think I was so busy yesterday, I forgot to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day. Here's something to cheer you up in case you don't have the perfect Valentine: loneliness makes for a much more interesting story than some story about having the perfect valentine!! And we readers far prefer to read about imperfect people in imperfect situations anyway. So get writing!!

So I'm on a bit of a high here because I just came in from interviewing YA author Meg Rosoff, who's in Montreal as part of a multi-city North American book tour to promote her latest novel, What I Was. Ever set eyes on someone and know straightaway you're going to get along? That's how I felt about Meg.

My assignment for The Gazette is to write a little profile about Meg andher work, so that should be in the paper next weekend (Feb. 23 -- I'll post a link to the story on the blog then.)  

Though Meg has written three prize-winning YA novels, she says every time she finishes a book, she worries. "I think the last book I wrote is the last one I'll be able to write," she told me. She also explained that when she's partway through the writing process, she always feels discouraged: "I'm absolutely despairing and disgusted. I think it was a mistake." But then, and here's what we can all learn from Meg, SHE KEEPS GOING!! 

Meg also mentioned she finds it difficult to come up with her plots. She explained she's not the sort of writer who plans her books chapter-by-chapter, though she does have a sense of where she wants to start -- and where she wants to end up.

But even with all these challenges, Meg says she loves to write. Why is that? I asked her. Meg didn't have to search for an answer. "I love words," she said.

Okay then, Meg -- it's my turn to find the words to write about you. Thanks for a lovely visit -- and loads of inspiration! 

Tomorrow morning, I'm interviewing British YA writer Meg Rosoff for a Gazette story -- so I'm doing some background research today. First of all, I just finished reading Meg's latest book, What I Was. I really loved it -- it's very atmospheric, funny in spots, and really gets you thinking. Here is one of my favourite bits: "now that I'm older I've seen how little ittakes to turn a person's life around for better or worse. An event will do, or an idea. Another person. An idea of a person." See what I mean about how Meg gets a reader thinking?

In my preliminary research, I learned that Meg only started writing after her youngest sister died of breast cancer. In another interview  that I read on-line, Meg said, "I thought if I was going to write a book, I should because life is short." Well, it's a good thing for us that Meg wrote that first book, and then several more. I interview her first thing tomorrow morning. Expect a blog entry as soon as I get home.

Another major snowstorm in Montreal today -- stay safe if you're out there! 

Today was a pedagogical day at Marianopolis College, meaning the students had a day off and we teachers had to be in for meetings. I went to three presentations -- one was given by my office mate, Mary Frauley. Mary was talking about designing course plans, which doesn't have much to do with what I blog about, but on the sample course plan she handed round there was a quote from American writerAnne Lamott. Well, that reminded me of Anne Lamott's book "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life." 

In the book, Lamott tells a story about how when she was a little girl, her older brother got quite distressed about a school assignment. He had to do a report about birds and he was feeling overwhelmed. His dad put his arm around his son, and told him, "Bird by bird,  buddy. Just take it bird by bird." Don't you just love that advice? Also, it sounds so nice when you say it out loud -- so comforting: "Bird by bird, buddy."  That's how it is with writing and anything else difficult for that matter. Bird by bird, small step by small step. 

I have to admit, I'm a little meeting-ed out and I might just lie on the couch and read instead of doing any more work today. And by the way, I reread the beginning of my George River manuscript -- and we've still got chemistry. Phew!! Okay then, I've inspired myself... maybe I'll take another look at the manuscript before I head for the couch. Maybe there's time for just one small "bird."  

I'm calling today's blog entry "This 'n That" because that's the kind of day it is at my end of the computer. I have lots of this 'n that to do. I think it's because I was so focused on the rewrite that I put off a number of other tasks. The first thing I want to do is get cracking on the research for my next newspaper assignment: a story for The National Post about procrastination. I just got off the phone with a time management expert named Harold Taylor. He says procrastination is a natural state, but that it gets people stressed out. Harold says one reason there is so much procrastination in our culture is we have so many distractions -- like the Internet. One point Harold made that I really liked is that getting started is usually the biggest obstacle when we're in a procrastinating mood. "Once you get started," Harold said, "things aren't as difficult. Often it takes more energy to procrastinate than to get something done." Interesting, no?

So this week, I need to find myself a few procrastinators willing to be interviewed. It'll help my story if they have a good sense of humour, too. And the other writing task I've set for myself this week is to get back to my George River manuscript. I haven't looked at it in over a month, so I'm afraid it'll feel like getting together with a boyfriend who's been away for a while -- and not being sure if I still like him!! Well then, I'll let you know if we still have chemistry!! Have a good afternoon wherever you are -- and quit procrastinating!!

So it's 12:30 and I figure I'm an hour or two from finishing up the second draft of my historical novel. I've reviewed everything except the very ending, which I know still needs some work. Mostly, I feel good that I'm this far into the process... but you know, I think I'm going to be a little sad, too, when this draft of the book is done. Of all the books I've worked on, this one comes closest to my heart. That's because it's based on my mum's childhood experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. Until last year, she never told anyone the details about her life in the camp. Of course, as you can imagine, I owe a huge debt to my mum -- not only for sharing her story, but also for allowing me the freedom to make it my own. 

My mum is a very special person. She's feisty and she's funny. Most of all, she is very courageous. Even after living through terrible times, she found the courage to rebuild her life -- and to laugh again. So Mum, even though I know you don't read blogs, today I send a special hug and big big kiss your way today.  

 

 

Okay, I'm getting closer to the finish line... it looks to me like my revision of the historical novel will be done by the end of the day tomorrow. The part I'm doing now is actually kind of fun -- I'm rereading the entire manuscript and seeing how it sounds. Mostly, I'm liking it. The ending is going to need some tweaking, but I think that'll be tomorrow's work. 

Okay then, back to my manuscript. I'll report in again tomorr-y. Oh guess what? Four of my students have letters to the editor published in today's Gazette! (This was an assignment I gave in my Journalism class and I promised that if a student's letter was published, I'd give him or her a one per cent bonus grade). The students' names are: Alexander Hague, Adriana Mogosanu,  Rohan Rakheja and Iaroslav Timofeev. Way to go, guys! Check out their letters on page A20 of today's Gazette! Or go to montrealgazette.com and scroll down to "Letters to the Editor." 

So, Jane Barclay came to school yesterday -- she was great! She spoke both about writing creative non-fiction and picture book texts. Jane is the author of three picture books, including the prize-winning How Cold Was It?

Here's some of what Jane had to tell us: "Learn to be your own editor." Jane discussed how difficult it is to find a publisher -- so that when you are readyto submit a manuscript, you really need to be sure it's as close to perfect as possible. She described editing as: "polishing, taking what you have and making it even better." Jane also recommended reading your work out loud -- of course, this is especially important with the text of a picture book, since, if your project sells, it will be read aloud thousands and tens of thousands (hopefully!) of times. Jane also made an excellent point about the importance of finding quiet time to write. She advises aspiring writers to turn off their cell phones, quit checking their email -- and get down to the business of writing.

Okay then, I don't need to turn off my cell phone (believe it or not, I don't own one!!), but I'm going to ignore my email -- and get back to my revision. Have a good afternoon and evening wherever you are! 

Hello, hello! It's Tuesday morning at five to nine and I'm feeling very lively. Today, picture book author Jane Barclay is coming to speak to my classes at Marianopolis College. That means I should have plenty to report to you on this blog tomorrow. Jane, author of the prize-winning How Cold Was It? is going to tell us how she gets her inspiration -- and how she goes about writing her books. Most people think picture books are easy to write -- but I know they're not. Of all the kinds of children's writing, texts for picture books are the closest to poetry. There aren't many words -- but every word counts. Anyway, I look forward to Jane's visit. She is also a good friend of mine and it's been a couple of weeks since I last saw her.

Speaking of authors, London YA author Meg Rosoff will be in town next week on Valentine's Day. She'll be doing a reading that night at the Westmount Library. And guess who gets to interview her for a Gazette story? Me!!! I am now reading Meg's new book What I Was. Her two earlier novels How I Live Now and Just in Case were big hits. So I'll get some writing tips from Meg -- and post them on this blog, too.

I'm still working on the rewrite. Yesterday, I wrote a historical foreword to the book. This was the editor's idea and I really like it. My editor (Sarah Harvey) thought there were too many sections in the book that sounded "teachy" -- so her idea was that I should produce a separate forward to fill readers in on the historical background to my story. Today, I start to reread the whole thing for flow. I'm hoping to be ready to re-submit the manuscript by Friday.

Talk to you tomorrow! By then, I'll have some notes on Jane Barclay's talk today. If you're reading this blog entry in Wemindji, can you tell Minnie Matches (one of the sewing ladies) that I've been wearing her sealskin pouch necklace -- and everyone loves it?! Warm wishes  to all of you -- wherever you are.