Write Your Story. Start Today.

It has been my dream for so long to write books and own a publishing company. Recently, I went to get a reading done to see how everything was going with me healthwise. I’m trying to think of an easy way to explain what a reading is. Basically it’s like going to see someone who can help you understand what your spiritual wellbeing is like and if there are any traditional medicines that might help you.

I can be very neglectful of my spiritual health. It’s too easy for me to take a 'mind over matter' attitude about life. A few years ago, it was a real struggle for me to acknowledge that I was more than just a brain and a body—I was actually an emotional and spiritual being as well. Now it just makes so much sense to me, but at first, it was really hard to see it that way. I was like one of those Autumn People in the roleplaying game, Changeling. Incredibly skeptical and super colonized. (Which is weird, because I used to love role-playing games and imagination). Happily, I've been slowly rediscovering how awesome it is to be apart of this universe. I've also learned a lot more about myself, my ancestors and our stories. I still have a lot to learn but getting readings done every once in awhile helps me. I am very grateful for people who have this gift. (One of the characters in my story actually has this gift as well which is kind of cool). 

One of the things that the reader told me was that they could see me surrounded by all of these books. They said that they could tell I gathered a lot of strength from writing and reading.  This is probably true in more ways than they realized. My Ogwehoweh name, Odadrihonyanisoh, actually means she likes to read. And of course, there is my dream—to have a company that brings stories to life and to write some myself.

Anyways, it was a nice reminder of how important it is that I keep going, even when I’m not exactly sure where all of this is headed or what the company will look like in five years. I know what I would love for it to look like but I may have to do another vision board or planning exercise to help chart the way forward. For now, the reading was an awesome reminder that I am on a path that is very important to my spirit, my creative self and my physical being.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I get super, super crabby when I don’t read, write or create. I start to feel lost and sad, like I have all of this pent up energy and emotion. And it can’t be writing things like blog posts or things for work. It has to be this other kind of writing—of books and short stories and poems.

Over the last few years I have been trying to commit more time to writing. I’ve learned a few things, like how to write everyday, but I still have a lot to learn (like how to get better at editing and revising). It took me such a long time to develop these habits. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it was because even though I knew I wanted to write, I let too much negativity in. I would believe people when they said to make sure I had a back up because you couldn’t make a living at being a writer. And so I would spend most of my time getting good at my back up instead of doing the thing I really wanted to do.  

Also, until Twitter and the Internet, it was very lonely trying to be a writer. It’s a relatively solitary activity, after all. Now, the experience is so different—every day I can find a positive story about writing. It’s awesome. I think a part of what is happening is that more people are able to connect over their love of stories and reading. And maybe so many people are putting it out there how much they want their dreams of being a writer to come true that the universe is answering back. I don’t know. All I know is that it is a great time to be a writer. It is a great time to write and share your story. So do it. Write your story. Start today. You’ll feel so much better getting something down—even if it’s only a sentence. 

That is all. Happy Writing!

S.

Voices

Lost writing is the saddest writing – the very first post I wrote for this new website disappeared in the template stage. At first I was upset that I lost the post, but maybe it’s better that I get a chance to write it anew, especially in light of the New Year. In the old blog post now lost to the ether, I explained that I was a writer who was discovering her voice. I also explained that nearly three years ago, I left my job working for a First Nation organization and that I had worked there for so long that I felt like my voice really wasn’t mine at all, but a watered down version of my voice trying to talk about the things that I cared about the most – people. Have you ever tried to talk through water? All that comes out is bubbles, air and muffled sound. It’s been an adventure trying to remember what my voice actually sounds like. I’ve been working at it for almost two years. I think I’ve gotten a lot closer.

I started a version of this website about two years ago because I wanted to share stories about my people and my community. Mostly because there are so many great stories but also because I wanted to respond in a positive way to the terrible things I read in the comment sections of newspapers whenever there’s an article written about Indigenous Peoples. Back then, I wasn’t sure how to deal with people who were not interested in learning about the relationship that Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are in (the Treaty relationship) or who were actually hostile and dismissive of it. And so I spent a lot of time watching and listening to how other people approached this. I watched how people talked about and shared their opinions, passions and interests online. I saw that the Internet could be a very loving place and also – a not so loving place. I saw that it was easy to get pulled into fighting with people about your ideas or actions. I saw that it was easy to get hurt and easy to hurt if one was so inclined. But I also saw tons of amazing people sharing their art, their knowledge and their stories and I was very inspired by it. I wanted to cheer these people on and I wanted to voice my appreciation of their work and their art, particularly if that work involved trying to make the world a more peaceful, kind and compassionate place; and especially if that meant working in the area of water (because I love water and we all need it to live). And in the meantime, I started blogging about different places and events in my community, to share the amazing things that are here at Six Nations. It felt good to focus on the positive.

Then I became I parent. Suddenly, all of those negative attitudes and comments became something I would ignore at my daughter’s peril. Especially as more and more Indigenous women became victims of violence. And though I can’t expect to change anyone’s mind about Indigenous Peoples, I don’t want my little girl to grow up believing the worst of us. I don’t want the education system or the media to colonize her and strip her of her identity. I don’t want her to become some institute or think tank’s statistic.

What do I want then?

I want her to be happy and I want her to proud of who she is. I want her to know as much of the truth about our history as I can give her. In other words, I want to be even more positive, more passionate, more creative, and more encouraging. And so that’s what I’m going to try and do here. Learn, ask questions, honour our ancestors, and be mindful of the coming generations. I want to use my voice and perhaps more importantly, I want to use a good mind to tell the truth and share it with her as best as I can.

Even though he’s coming from a slightly (markedly) different place then I am, Stephen King talks about this in his book On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft. He basically says you have to tell the truth when you write. I like this a lot because I like to explore the truth as it manifests in stories. I read things or dream things or think about things and then I write them down. In the lost blog I talked about the fact that there are great writers out there taking on trolls and challenging ideas, telling their truth as it relates to Indigenous Peoples. Some of them do so in these ways that make me crazy with envy. I can feel their truth leaping off the page or screen and it's really kind of amazing that anyone can think of retorts that quickly. And for a while I think I thought my truth should look a little bit more like theirs. Serious. Scholarly. Empowering. And that if it didn’t, I wasn’t doing it right. 

But of course, that’s ridiculous. We’re not all the same. Their style can’t be my style. I mean, on occasion I write scholarly things for my grad program but for the most part, I’m a fantasy nut and I like to write what I like to read. I love stories about magic and adventure. And guess what? Our legends are filled with magic and adventure. And so this year, I want to share some of what I’ve written with you here. And really, that is my New Years wish to you all as well, to find, treasure and love your voice. And then share it. Publish it. Put it out there. People like me are out there waiting to hear it and read it.  

On my blog you’ll still find me writing about topics that I’m passionate about: books, education, language, physics, spirituality, water and climate change. I’ll probably be writing a lot more about which publishing routes I will take and my experiences starting a small publishing company of my own for books in the Ogwehoweh languages. Whichever one of these reasons happens to bring you to this blog, I hope you find a small something that you enjoy! Nya:weh for taking the time to visit!

Nu:yah & happy writing!

S.

At Last, the Publishing Company Dream Comes True

At the start of 2014, I made a list of all the things that I wanted to write this year. I never thought that I would come close to achieving them, but here I sit on December 7 with over 175,000 words of unedited text next to me in the form of novels, novellas, short stories and draft blogs. Projects that will be transformed next year into living breathing stories with everything in mostly the right places and ready to be shared with the wonderful readers they are fortunate enough to find their way to.  

The whole thing is making me feel very lucky and happy and in love with writing.

Despite the clear and obvious need for me to do some serious editing to make this happen, I have spent the last week working on a different project. This project has been a dream of mine for many, many years. And like most dreams, even though I’ve had it, I haven’t always known exactly what it was going to look like.

In 2015 I will be launching a small (pint size really) publishing, production company. My goal with this company is fairly simple: to write or create stories with wonderful illustrations and artwork that are written in one or more of the Haudenosaunee languages and that celebrate Ogwehoweh language, culture and identity.  

It’s not my dream to make millions of dollars (although if I ever did the first thing I would do is fund adult language immersions programs and help all my family and friends get off the grid and drastically lower their carbon footprint through solar and wind technologies). Like most writers I know, I have been following the evolution of the publishing industry and trying to make sense of all the changes that its going through so that I can find my place in it. I’m grateful for how people have shared their stories and experiences from the traditional or self-published paths. It doesn’t seem like there’s a right way or a wrong way – there’s just the way that’s going to work for you and your art. This idea and all of the reading that I’ve done has helped me to understand more about this thing I want to do. Now, I’m certainly no expert when it comes to publishing books. I’m definitely a beginner, but I’m hugely passionate about languages, stories and my people and the opportunity has finally come where I’m able to make this happen. It feels sort of crazy, because it’s been my dream for over a decade to make stories that are nicely illustrated (or filmed) that will help reinforce people’s efforts to read, speak and otherwise learn about our languages and our culture. Along the way, I’ve been inspired by how other people do this and mostly, how they do it in a creative way that encourages others to find their own voice and make their own art. That part is key, I think. It’s part of the spirit of art to create something, to have that something reach as many people as it can or the people that it’s meant to, to inspire some, perhaps even offend a few others. But mostly - to share and then be shared some more. I don’t know. All I know is that I am so ready and very excited to work on this project.

And all of this crazy, creative energy aside, it also takes a lot of work and preparation. At times it’s felt as if I was going around in circles but even though it felt that way, I think I was always moving forward, always moving ahead. This week I’ve been working very hard on so many things: production schedules, brainstorming, pricing, ordering blocks of ISBNs, logos, website, budgets, financial software and just figuring out how I can DO THIS and stop talking about doing it. There have been a lot of great and helpful resources along the way – too many to list or count but here are a few:

The Business Rusch: These articles are incredible. Helpful. Detailed. Interesting. http://kriswrites.com/business-rusch-publishing-articles/#sthash.KyId1W4G.dpbs

Hugh Howey’s website is very encouraging and inspiring to authors. On the left hand side of his website, there is a tab called Favourite Posts for Writers. Here’s a link to one of them: http://www.hughhowey.com/my-advice-to-aspiring-authors/

If you are looking for information on the business-y side of writing you might want to check those out. Or if you have any others that are good that have helped you make a decision about your publishing path, please feel free to share in the comments! I love reading about this industry.

Finally, nya:węh universe! Please send more of this happy, creative, and possibility-laden energy my way. I’m going to need it. Probably – we all are J. Happy writing & editing!

S.

A Wondrous Hiatus

Love really does bring forth the artist in me. I have been on hiatus from the blog while preparing for the arrival of my little sweetheart but over the last few months my mind has been as busy as ever about art, education and writing, Treaties and peacefulness. Most especially because all of what these things will mean for my little girl and the adventures that we’ll have now that she’s arrived. She was born on Mother’s Day, an incredible gift all on its own and the whole experience was as amazing as I could have imagined.  

Writing seems even more important now that she’s here - writing stories, poems and songs for her and about her. Writing the kind of characters I think she would enjoy. Suddenly, every story, even ones that I’ve read a hundred times over seem new to me too and I want to read them again. Creating art also has a rediscovered fun and freedom to it. I’m working on some poetry for the anthology, I’ve started writing a new story about vampires (I think I’ve always wanted to try my hand at the vampire genre) and I’ve even started painting again, something I haven’t done in years. I think the reason for this sudden swell of artistic energy stems from the fact that my most pressing and paramount concern is that my daughter is happy, healthy and safe. It’s helped me to take art less seriously, which has somehow made it all flow so much easier.

Suffice it to say, I am feeling incredibly, enormously grateful to the universe for my little family and the happiness we enjoy. Nya:węh.

Wishing happy and good thoughts to you all!

S

Passion, Purpose and Positivity

I spent last weekend at a Youth Engagement Forum in my community.  The event was organized by the local Six Nations youth in collaboration with the Ontario First Nations Young Peoples Council.  Alas, I’m not a youth anymore, so my role was really to assist with a bit of the planning and try to help out in other ways.  I like this role, it gives me a lot of time to listen, learn and be inspired by the leadership that young people and elders demonstrate.  Many powerful and positive messages were shared throughout the forum from youth, elders and presenters.   Here are some of the highlights that I personally took from the event:

• Everyone has a gift
• Find your passion and purpose
• Share your positive energy
• You only fail if you stop trying
• Help your community and your people
• Be good to the Creation
• Follow your original instructions

On Treaties:

1)  Indigenous Peoples are not Canadians

2) Treaties were made not signed

3) Treaties are internationally recognized agreements

Over the last week, I had read a few articles that were very negative.  One of them was about the negativity and hatred that was directed at a thirteen-year old girl who wore a sweatshirt to school that said, “Got Land? Thank an Indian.”  The second was a public statement by a Conservative MP who was defending the oil sands for creating jobs and slamming Neil Young for statements and positions he’s been taking about the oil sands through the #HonourtheTreaties tour.   I was disappointed by the attitudes of these women who were spreading this negativity around in defense of same-ness and economics.

I was disappointed because over the past few years I’ve realized that one of my dreams is for there to be clean water, a healthy climate and food systems for Indigenous and non-Indigenous families of the future. and I recognize that means I need to be aware of the very real challenges we are creating for those families and be willing to understand what I might have to give up to help ensure that future.  I read those articles, saw those negative attitudes and wondered what I could do about it without generating more negativity.  I think I got my answer this weekend.  The messages that were shared in the forum are all potential ways to be proactive without resorting to negativity.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t ‘haters’ out there – certainly, they seem to be everywhere.  I read a lot of writer’s blogs and in the last few weeks a number of them talked about having the same experiences with people, trolls or others who criticize and belittle the work that they are doing.  Once again, I found a similar message.  I don’t have to make the choice to be negative or internalize negativity because there’s another option that fits me better, an option that lets me keep making the art I have to make and share the happiness that creativity brings me with others.  Definitely, this is the choice for me.

#HonourtheTreaties