As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am writing a book set in George River, which is in Nunavik, in northern Quebec. I was there last February. So far, all my books have been set during the summer, but this one's going to take place in winter. As I've been working, I've been remembering my experiences there. For instance, the air felt quite different from the winter air in Montreal. It was sharper, fresher and definitely colder! When the people I met there saw my ski mittens, they burst out laughing. "You're not going to wear those, are you?" they asked. Hey, that just gave me an idea: I'm going to make the kids in George River laugh about the mittens the boy in my story is wearing!!
I took a lot of photographs when I was up north. So another thing I need to do is look over those photos. I also keep a diary, so I'm going to reread the entries I wrote last February. In this way, writers are a little like squirrels -- we hang on to bits and pieces of things and use them later. So I hope that you are also squirreling away interesting bits and pieces for later use. And if you've never tried keeping a journal, maybe you should test journal-keeping out for yourself. I couldn't start my day without my trusty journal. That's about it for today's entry. I'll check back in by the end of the week.Â