by | January 7, 2018 · 2:42 pm

#HappyEverything

It’s 2018. Screw resolutions. Especially the expected and traditional ones.

Instead, let’s view the new year as a fresh start, a way to share in the spirit of renewal with friends and family. There is something exhilarating about a new year. It can represent new opportunities and new stabs to improve ouGOTOMTGRWrselves and to be better towards others.

Looking back, 2017 was an eventful year for the Restless Writers. Probably the most jarring was that one of us moved across the country (like, super far away). After the initial shock (that it really happened), we swiftly figured out Google’s Duo App to be able to keep our monthly get-together inclusive. This resulted in duct-taping our writing pal (and phone) to the back of a wooden chair. Phew, still a foursome.

We celebrated weddings. A first (just babes at barely 30). And a second (a duo rocking 80). Both teary (for reasons unique), yet happy and joyful like a wedding ought to be. The message here—love like there is no tomorrow. Let’s all live this one in 2018.

We attended funerals. We mourned friends and loved ones. And continue to do so.

We also made stuff. Cool stuff, like nachos in a Bundt pan (thank you, Pinterest). Healthy stuff, like kale and quinoa salad. Sad stuff, like flower arrangements and picture boards. Comfort stuff, like chocolate chip cookies and gooey brie puff pastry. Festive stuff, like trees made from plastic spoons and paper stars made from an old dictionary.

RW stuff

We performed stuff. Personal stuff. Fearlessly, among friends. And discovered the “central moment of powerful truth.”

We wrote stuff too. Poems. Chapters. Resumes. Sympathy cards. Obits.

We received more rejection emails. Some encouraging, some downright icy.

Oh! How can I forget about a fun first for us—we planned a one-day writing retreat. Soon to be an annual event!

And as usual, we continued to talk business plans, value proposition, refining our brand, “setting up shop,” craft markets, Etsy, Amazon Handmade, and loads of other creative pursuits because, let’s face it girls, we will never quit our daydreams. Not ever.

On that note, may this new year give you the opportunity to renew, to love, and to follow your daydreams.

Happy New Year. Happy Everything!

daydream

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by | December 1, 2017 · 12:18 am

Restless Across the Miles

“I just wanted to let you know that I miss you. I’m running around today but I’ll try to call you tonight.”

That’s an actual email from a former beau. We met in our last year of university and upon graduation, found ourselves in a long distance relationship when he headed home to the west coast and I stayed in Ontario. We made it work for a year with visits every few months and regular phone calls until a brunette in his post graduate program caught his eye. Laura or Linda, what was her name? It definitely started with an “L” – not that I’m still peeved about it or anything 20 years later.

After we broke up, I lost 10 pounds in two weeks, unemployed and sequestered in my parents’ basement for large spans of time as the upstairs hardwood floors were being refinished. The sadness and varnish fumes overwhelmed me in equal parts and right then and there I knew I’d never be party to another long distance relationship.

Until now.

The Restless Writers are going long distance! That’s right, our fearless Maria has headed west for some big adventures. While we couldn’t be happier for her, there’s no escaping that the move brings with it some changes for our small RW family.Screen Shot 2017-11-30 at 11.34.53 PM

The sound of the ‘clink’ from our congratulatory prosecco glasses had barely faded before each of us began rhyming off the pieces we’d have to work out. Meetings. Retreats. The general merriment and ease that comes from meeting together once a month for more than five years – what would happen to all of that?

The truth is, we don’t know. BUT. That is not stopping us from diving in to find out.

Based on my experience with the above mentioned long-distance love, I feel like I have some good insights that might be helpful as we embark on this journey.

Embrace technology – Unlike 1996, when I relied on a fax machine (a fax machine people!) to send letters back and forth to my paramour, 2017 is looking A LOT brighter when it comes to options for bridging the distance. We’ll be connecting virtually for our meetings and would like to use something that is reliable, easy to use and free. After looking at a few options, we are going with Google’s Duo app – the FaceTime of the Android world. We have downloaded it to our mobile devices, tested it and we’re ready to go.

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Mind the time change – While we’re settling in for an evening of nibbles and pages in the Eastern Standard time zone, Maria will just be coming off her lunchtime nap. And by the time evening reaches Maria, the RWs will be heading for bed (except for Beckie, she’s a night owl). Sometimes, being a few hours apart can make it feel like there is just never a good time to connect. To help, we’ve kept our first virtual meet up to our regular start time but we may have to play around with this as we go.

Communication is key – This virtual RW thing is new for all of us and there are bound to be some stops and starts. My hope is that if we can be open and honest about what is working and what isn’t, we’ll be able to find our way through.

Be wary if Maria mentions a new friend whose name starts with “L” – Unlike my former beau and the arrival of terrible Linda or Laura, we are excited for Maria to make new friends. And wouldn’t it be cool if some of those friends were writerly types. Maybe we could even Brady-Bunch it and have a big meet up.

There’s lots to be sorted out but we’re on our way. Our first meeting since the move is in a few days so we’ll be sure to report back to share how it’s going.

If any of you have experience with being a part of a long distance writing group we’d love to hear how you coordinate along with any other ideas you might have for us as we begin this new chapter. See what I did there? 🙂

Stay tuned…

 

 

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by | September 15, 2017 · 9:34 am

Get thee to Stratford for writing inspiration and instruction this fall

Bridge over Avon River, Stratford, Ontario by Ken Lund

The Restless Writers are suckers for writing retreats and conferences, so we are super stoked to help spread the word about exciting opportunities this fall for writers to hear from award-winning authors and dig deeper into their own projects.

Attend all or part of a writers’ festival

If you haven’t made plans yet to attend the Stratford Writers Festival, what the heck are you doing with your life? It’s happening October 20-22, 2017, in Stratford, Ontario.

This year’s line-up includes events and sessions with authors including Heather O’Neill, Scaachi Koul, Kerry Clare, Jennifer Robson, Glenn Dixon, Eden Robinson and Terry Fallis. The venues are all in downtown Stratford, so expect to be inspired not just by the special guests but also by the surroundings.

Visit the Stratford Writers Festival website for all the details or buy your tickets today.

Sign up for a writing retreat

If—woe betide!—you can’t make the festival but still want to gain inspiration and instruction for your own writing, check out the Write Now Retreats taking place on October 23-25 and October 30-November 1.

The Write Now Retreats are open to writers at any stage in their work. Whether you’re still at the idea stage or you have the words “The End” in sight, you will benefit from these intimate and insightful sessions.

There are four different retreats available for registration:

  • Writing Technique and Creativity Retreat with Kim Echlin, October 23-25
  • Memoir Writing Retreat with Alison Wearing, October 23-25
  • Finesse Your Next Draft Writing Retreat with Farzana Doctor, October 30-November 1
  • How to Write a Cookbook Retreat with Theresa Albert, October 30-November 1

The retreats provide instruction from award-winning authors who also teach regularly, access to one-on-one coaching with the instructor, creativity techniques to keep up the momentum on your projects, support from fellow writers, time to write, and world-class accommodations in downtown Stratford.

There is a comprehensive list of FAQs on the Write Now Retreat website where you can learn more.

I’ve got my eye on the retreat with Kim Echlin. Which one speaks to you and your goals? Check out the website for all the details, and register soon—there are only a limited number of spots.

Go the DIY route

If you don’t have the time or resources to attend these structured writing events, take a tip from the Restless Writers and plan your own one-day retreat. Wherever you are in your writing or your life, you can make space to pursue your creative goals.

Happy writing!

Maria

Photo: Bridge over Avon River, Stratford, Ontario, by Ken Lund, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

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by | September 5, 2017 · 10:53 pm

6 Ways to Quiet Your Inner Asshole

woman in gardenYou know who I’m talking about. I know you do. I call mine Anders. He’s a big, bulky, piece of shit of a guy who’s actually sly and sneaky despite his size. He knows me well—oh so well—and can spot the tiniest crack in my psyche and bust it wide open with a single punch: “You’re not that good. Why bother?”

He’s an asshole.

And when I talk to other writers who are frustrated and feeling defeated, I know their inner Anders’ are showing off their bulging biceps. Natalie Goldberg, in Writing Down the Bones, calls this your “monkey mind.” (Clearly, I haven’t done the Zen acceptance work she has to be as composed about it.) It’s that voice that never shuts up and makes up excuses why you shouldn’t or can’t write: Too untalented. Too unworthy. Too busy. Too poor. Too tired. (Feel free to add your own to this endless list.)

Goldberg continues to say that the monkey mind will never leave. It stays with her even with all her success as an author. It is persistent, determined, smart, and doesn’t need any sleep.

On the other side for me is Ariadne. She is my goddess who barely has a form because of her brilliant light. I can make out hazel eyes like the sea, scarlet lips, and tresses of golden locks that flutter over a silky whiteness that flows into eternity. She sings when I write – just because I’m writing. She asks nothing more of me.

Elizabeth Gilbert says all she promised the universe is that she will write. She never promised she’d be good. That’s how I feel with Ariadne. She doesn’t wonder why my character just asked for soup. She simply tingles with anticipation when I open my notebook and pick up my Bic Round Stic pen. (Yeah, I don’t need anything too fancy.)

For Ariadne, the exploration writing allows is what matters.  Anders, on the other hand, gets all caught up in wanting to know where it’s all going and makes me second guess every word I put down.

So, how do you quiet a guy like that? While you’ll never shut him up completely, here are six ideas:

  1. Shut up and write. (This is Goldberg’s mantra. And really, all six of these could be this one.) When you write anyway despite his resistance, you make him weaker.
  2. Create structure. (This is another steal from Goldberg.) Make an appointment with yourself to write and keep it like you would any other meeting. He’ll always try to throw you off and send you a grocery list or a great Old Navy sale reminder.
  3. Read your favourite book that gives you chills and made you want to be a writer in the first place. It drives Anders nuts when I pick up Shakespeare.
  4. Talk to a close friend who inspires you and reminds you who you are. Anders hates the Restless Writers!
  5. Go for a walk and be present with the earth you are walking on, the maple trees on your way, the pansies you pass. Take notes as you walk to notice what is extraordinary around you. That’s our gift as writers and Anders gets bored pretty quickly.
  6. Remind yourself you’re an artist and create. “Dependence on the creator within is really freedom from all other dependencies.” – Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way. Anders’ mission is to make me completely dependent on him.

Even now, he is telling me, “You’re a fake. There’s nothing original here. You just took all this from other authors.”

Well, Goldberg, Gilbert and Cameron wrote their books to inspire other writers and they have inspired me. That is my truth today.

Anders can have his tantrum. He’s an asshole anyway.

 

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by | June 19, 2017 · 8:56 pm

How to plan a one-day writing retreat

sunsetIt’s almost summer and another year has gone by where our ‘small but writey’ group has not taken a proper writing retreat—something we have traditionally looked forward to almost as much as Dyment’s buttertarts.

Retreats have been one of the ways we’ve tried to stay motivated, inspired, and productive. But as many of you know, the days get busy and each of us struggle with squeezing writing time into an already packed life.

This often makes the idea of a retreat seem impossible. But it’s not! The Restless Writers are trying something new this summer—we’re planning our inaugural ONE-DAY retreat.

 

Check this out. You can do it too.

1. Start small

Consider the following three elements: time, space, strategy. Start there and leave everything else behind. I mean, everything. Netflix included.

2. Rethink your definition of a retreat

Of course we’d love to spend a month or more at a private villa overlooking the ocean while we write, but with families and jobs we’ll be settling on someone’s backyard. For the price of a potluck, we’re carving out an entire day to devote to writing.

3. Make it official

We’ve put it in writing. We have a most official agenda for the day, planned meal times, and a couple activities to keep us energized, like a short hike and a game of bocce ball.

4. Make a commitment

Set a goal for what you’d like to accomplish and craft it prior to the retreat. Commit to yourself and honor your time.

5. Be flexible and creative

We happen to be starting with the backyard format, but there are other options to explore such as the obvious coffee shops, libraries, and bookstores. But how about a picnic table at a community park? A cool hotel lobby? An empty room at the YMCA? A friend’s empty RV? How about your own car parked at the waterfront?

So, get your portable writing kits prepared and be ready to take advantage of mini retreat opportunities. Gift yourself a chunk of time! It’s not only an investment in your work but in yourself as a writer.

Writing groups everywhere!

Unite. Inspire. Dream.

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by | March 8, 2017 · 4:30 pm

On the collective wonderfulness of the women of the Restless Writers

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We Restless Writers have been on our collective writing adventure since spring 2009. Although our composition has changed a bit since we started out—with some writers choosing different paths and new writers joining us for this wild ride—we have always been made up of female members.

I don’t think this was intentional; it was just the way things worked out. I’m sure if we crossed paths with the right male writer—and we probably can’t describe what right means in any satisfactory way—we would welcome him into the fold. Although that would certainly change the tenor of conversation at our meetings.

For now, we are a tight-knit group of women, and we like it that way.

In honour of International Women’s Day, I’d like to highlight seven reasons why the women of the Restless Writers make for a supportive and rewarding writing group.

  • It’s a safe space to talk, create and share. Sharing your writing can be scary, and opening your creative work up to critique can make you feel awfully vulnerable. For me, sharing my work with the women of the Restless Writers makes me feel bold and brave. I trust their unconditional support, no matter what outside-the-box idea I bring to the table.
  • Critique is tactful, caring and insightful. We have perfected the technique of giving positive feedback, followed by constructive criticism, and wrapping up with encouragement to keep going. (It’s our version of “the shit sandwich.”) Our goal is to nurture the writing flame—not stamp out the spark.
  • Our meetings are very well catered. (Plus, oh, the wine!) Food is love. Some of the Restless Writers are wonderful cooks, and they aim to have us leave each meeting with full bellies and warm hearts. (And often in the care of a designated driver.) We invariably attend meetings wearing stretchy pants, and no one minds.
  • We swap clothes and books. One perk of having an all-female group is that we can, from time to time, foist unwanted clothes off on each other. I have cleared out many closets this way. I can also pass on books that have lifted my spirits, granted me insight, made me cry, or opened my eyes. We like to share.
  • Craftiness is encouraged. Every year around Christmas, we gather together to toast the season and make something Martha-Stewarty. Most recently, we made yarn balls. The year before that, it was rustic sign boards. Whatever we get up to, you can be sure it involves glue, glitter and giggles.
  • We get to connect with other women writers. We have a bunch of awesome women writers who follow us here (thanks for visiting, by the way!), and our larger networks are made up of women who tell stories, make art, and otherwise create wonderful things. Whether we meet up virtually or actually, and whether it happens just once or on a regular basis, we love having a squad of creative ladies to call on for encouragement.
  • We don’t compete; we support. Each Restless Writer is working on a different kind of project. From fiction, memoir and personal essay, to poetry, performance and beyond, our endeavours run the gamut of creative expression. And that’s one of the best features of our group. We don’t come to meetings and share our work and offer critiques to write better than each other—we do it so we can write better, period.

The women of the Restless Writers are my friends, allies, cheerleaders and accountability partners. We lift each other up and help our voices soar. We console each other when emotions get the better of us, and we toast each other when we achieve a milestone. We encourage each other to tell the stories we were born to tell, and guide each other gently towards our goals.

On this International Women’s Day, I’d like to recognize the immeasurable awesomeness that the ladies of the Restless Writers have brought into my life. And I hope you take a moment to thank the women in your life who have done the same for you.

With love and gratitude.

Maria

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by | February 13, 2017 · 12:31 am

Affectionately Dedicated

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner people. Love it or hate it, the day and all its hearts has a way of making you stop and think about those nearest and dearest in your life. At least it does for me.

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The loves in a writer’s life are truly a special breed. If there was a job posting for this position I imagine it would read something like this:

Job type: Person to love a writer
Pay: $0.00
Hours: Variable, including weekends, evenings and late nights

Responsibilities and Requirements
Successful candidates must:

  • Attend mandatory story idea brainstorming sessions at any time of day or night, up to seven days a week.
  • Be willing to forgo personal leisure time, including sleep, to read, review and re-read written materials.
  • Have the ability to be cheerful, supportive, silent and opinionated in equal parts and possess the uncanny ability to flip between each character trait seamlessly as needed.
  • Be willing to forfeit personal life experiences as content for published materials without written permission. No royalties.
  • Be willing to be ignored for extended periods of time and graciously manage household and any dependents during these absences

Sounds pretty glamorous, huh?

Thankfully, writers have a unique tool in their arsenal to help express their gratitude to those they love most – the dedication.

The origins of dedications go waaaay back to the Greek and Roman times with Horace and Virgil dedicating books to their patron Maecenas.

I never skip the dedication when I am reading a book. Pausing to wonder about the relationship and inspiration behind them. screen-shot-2017-02-13-at-12-19-40-am
I am actually part of a dedication for the book Two Tragedies in 429 Breaths written by the talented Susan Paddon. Scanning the dedication and seeing my initials there, included among others, was a complete surprise and a very kind gesture that felt truly special.

Let’s get real for a moment. Is there a writer among us that hasn’t at some point pondered what they might include as a dedication should they have the fortune to get a work published? screen-shot-2017-02-13-at-12-23-06-amI image the dedication for an aspiring writer being much the same as an Oscar speech for a struggling actor. Fantasizing about what you might say, rehearsing in front of the bathroom mirror to an imaginary audience of millions. An opportunity to say a very personal thank you in a very public forum.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I am really excited about the idea of dedications. Why should we wait for those big moments to formally thank the people who help, inspire and encourage us to write and keep writing? A dedication for my page submissions to the Restless Writers every month? Why not? And while I’m at it, I should include one for every media release and set of speaking notes I write at work. Too far? Okay, then I’ll start with this blog post.

For Harper, the last family member still awake with me as
I stay up too late once again! to finish up this dang post.

And to Matthew, Owen and Wyatt for finally giving me back the
laptop after failing to find a live stream of the WWE Elimination Chamber.
You are my favourite, through and through.

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by | December 31, 2016 · 5:28 pm

Take action and see what you learn

authentic-leadership-take-actionRecently, I’ve been listening to podcasts of interviews with highly successful people – athletes, business people, personal development coaches, artists etc. – learning about what it’s taken them to get where they are: the struggles they’ve overcome, the mindset they have had to have, the naysayers they have had to ignore along the way. And there has been one key theme from every speaker: take action. Let go of perfection, don’t be afraid to fail, and simply take action.

Action is how you learn. Action is how you grow. Action is the movement forward toward your goal.

And each time you take action, you get answers. It’s a great decision maker. If you’re stuck between two options, make a move in one direction and see what happens. You might find out – nope, I hate this. Or, you might discover – YES, this is the shit. I’m going with this!” The answer doesn’t matter. What matters is you tried it, learned something, and then have more clarity in what to do next.

As writers, I think this is important. We won’t get our stories out there if we don’t write. We won’t become better writers if we don’t connect with a mentor or seek feedback. We won’t get our stories published if we don’t reach out to another agent or publishing house. We might not always get the answer we want, but at each step, we’ll get some kind of answer or clue that steers us forward.

Think about all of the authors you look up to. They have all persevered and taken action time and again. They wrote countless stories. They relentlessly revised and edited. They heard ‘no’ over and over…but they kept going.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about for this post. I’ve been agonizing over it in my head for a couple of months now. What do I possibly have to say? But finally I got so frustrated by not writing anything that I started to just write and see where it took me. I took action.

And the first four drafts were crappy and unfocused, but each time I honed in a little bit more, and eventually, my moments of ‘action’ led to this. I don’t know if it will mean anything to you. I hope it does. But if not, at least I made a step forward for myself. I wrote a post and I got more clarity about this idea of perseverance.

As we get ready to ring in the New Year, I wish all of you a year of action. A year of moving forward and trying. A year of not being afraid to ‘fail.’ A year of putting yourself out there as many times as it takes.

Be courageous. Persevere and success will follow.

All the best for 2017 from all of us at Restless Writers.

 

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by | September 17, 2016 · 6:40 pm

Pedal to the metal!

I’m totally stalling like a 57 Chevy. And umm… waiting for a tow from my fellow restless writers.pedal

I start. Then I stop. Then weeks go by and I’m bummed by my lack of progress on my new writing project. What gives? I mean, does anyone really feel quite ready to write?

I seem to be getting bogged down by deciding where to begin. I’ve written a handful of chapters of a memoir, a genre new to me, but they don’t seem to fit together. And hastily, I’m learning there is no one perfect place to start. So instead, I write this blog post in hopes it will propel me forward in delivering pages to my writing group by next weekend. That’s only seven days from now. Ah, crap.

After reading much advice from other writers online about how to break through barriers when beginning new projects, I’m left wondering, will any of that fluff work for me? I already practice much of it now in my writing routine, like setting goals, making a plan, and committing to other humans (i.e., the Restless Writers)—I am the Leckie after all. I do that stuff, and yet, I feel overwhelmed. I doubt myself and I allow life to get in the way of my progress. Excuses, really.

I need to just start, dammit. And to stop overthinking my story and just get to free-writing.

It’s time to put the pedal to the metal and enjoy the ride!

 

“It’s better to write for yourself and have no audience, then write for an audience and have no self”.  

~ Cyril Connolly

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by | August 5, 2016 · 1:23 pm

Submissions now open for 2016 Walrus Poetry Prize

photo-1457298483369-0a95d2b17fcdThe Restless Writers have just learned that submissions are now open for the 2016 Walrus Poetry Prize.

The Walrus Foundation announced today that the fifth annual Walrus Poetry Prize will be judged by The Walrus poetry editor Damian Rogers and celebrated poet Hoa Nguyen. The Hal Jackman Foundation generously supports this $5,000 prize.

Submissions will be received between August 5 and September 12, and Rogers will narrow them down to a short list of five poems. Nguyen will be tasked with selecting the $,4000 winner. (No pressure!)

The five finalists will be revealed online on October 3, where readers can vote on their favourite poem until October 26. The Readers’ Choice winner will receive $1,000.

Both poems will appear in the January/February 2017 issue of The Walrus, at http://thewalrus.ca, and in the Poetry in Voice anthology.

Information at a glance:

Submissions open: August 5 – September 12
Shortlist announced: October 3
Vote for the Readers’ Choice Award: October 3 – October 26
Winners announced: December 6
Entry fee: $25

For more information—including eligibility requirements, rights and how to submit, visit http://thewalrus.ca/poetry-prize.

Even if you don’t submit a poem, please be sure to vote for the Readers’ Choice winner.

Good luck to all!

Maria

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