Eagles Among Us

I don’t write very often about my family here on the blog, something I feel might be changing now that I have a daughter, but suffice it to say that I have an awesome family and I grew up in a household filled with art and creativity. My dad is a sculptor and though she’s never written a novel, my mom reads and tells stories with more flair than many of my favourite writers. I spent most of my childhood going to galleries and art openings, listening to my dad talk with friends, colleagues and patrons on the phone about new pieces he was working on, and learning how to create art of my own.

I know it’s difficult for artists to make a living in this day and age when people pay almost as much for a cup of coffee as they do for a book. I think that might be changing, at least, I hope it is. I see more and more artists finding their voices, making good art (as Neil Gaiman says) and finding ways to share it. And as much as I love good art, I particularly love the process that happens before the final product is unveiled for an audience to see, the process of feeding ideas, nurturing them and bringing them to life. But I digress.

Recently, we attended the opening of my dad’s piece ‘Eagles Among Us’, a monument that he designed to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the Battle of Stoney Creek and in particular, the involvement of Indigenous Nations in this war.

Who are Indigenous People? And what is their relationship with settler colonial states? If you believe the media then at worst - Indigenous People are drunks and upstarts who aren’t satisfied with the handouts that they get from the government and Settlers are diligent taxpayers who are bearing the load for Indians everywhere. This narrative is a lie - and a dangerous one that wilfully neglects the beauty of my people and the relationships we have with others - as allies, as Treaty partners, as hosts to those who left their lands for a variety of reasons – overcrowding, exile, a search for freedom, adventure.

This week, I saw so many negative things on the Internet, from the media, on Twitter, on Facebook, in election platforms and I had to decide, very purposefully, to not feed the negativity by sharing it or liking it. Relationships are fraught with enough challenges as it is and if there’s anything I want to bring to my relationship with every spirit in this universe and especially those on Turtle Island, it’s the Treaty principles that are embedded in the Two Row – peace, friendship, and respect. How can I do that? How can any of us do that? Through education of course and telling the truth - at least that's always the answer I arrive at when I ask these kinds of searching questions. And art has the potential to do this, to tell the truth and to share that truth in a compelling and deeply personal way.

These are the kinds of thoughts that I had while my dad was working on this piece, while he diligently researched and unearthed the stories of those who came before us, those who navigated their relationships amidst a conflict that defined (though artificially) the boundaries of North America as we know it today. For two years he worked with tremendous energy, passion and empathy, engaging the help of my younger sister, a talented artist in her own right. The result of his work was this piece, this beautiful larger than life monument to friendship, to courage, to healing and to lasting peace. Our people, Ogwehoweh people, choose our parents before the Creator sends us here from the Spirit World. Perhaps this is true for your people as well. By sharing this monument, I hope that you can all see why I chose mine.

And finally, here is this video, that explains the piece far better than I possible could.  Nya:weh!

S

Scattered Thoughts and a Blooming Heart

Being a parent is without a doubt the most awesome experience I've ever had. Time is flying by, days are a busy blur and nights are short, but deeply satisfying and happy. She is our tiny queen and having our world suddenly revolve around her has unquestionably given more purpose to our existence than it had without her. Scattered thoughts and ever blooming hearts - this has become the new normal.

Writing with a newborn is equally as fun but certainly a challenge and I realize that I’m lucky to be able to write, both because I’m on maternity leave for a year and because I have a super supportive partner. For the last two weeks, I’ve managed to write 1,000 words a day. I definitely don’t have very much time to do it so I’ve learned how to write the scene that’s on my mind at the time or the conversation that my characters are having the moment I open my computer. Anything else and it's hard to get going. It’s never a perfect scene, but the story has managed to progress tremendously from this approach - daily and habitual. Writing this way has also let me  tell the together the story from beginning to end and then go back and fill in the details.

My vampire story (which is less about vampires than I had originally thought) has climbed above the 20,000 word mark and writing it is giving me the time away from The Whirlwind’s Prophecy that I need to make sure I give the latter a good, ruthless revision and strong rewrite when I return to it.

In the meantime, I’ve been watching and reading work by several different writers. I recently re-watched Spirited Away and was struck by the way Hayao Miyazaki manages to include Japanese legends and culture in his films with both subtlety and scope. His storytelling is magical and nothing about it seems forced in any way. I realized something while watching this movie that I hope impacts my writing in a positive way. It was something akin what Stephen King says about telling the truth when you’re writing but it was also about how art and writing can include specific cultural elements like spirituality and mythology without apology and without being horribly exploitative.

On the reading front, I’ve recently finished two Kresley Cole books about a group of teenagers who are actually the embodiment of Tarot cards and playing an elaborate post-apocalyptic game that grants the winner immortality. I read these on a whim and found that the stories were a lot of fun during late night feedings. I’m also reading the World Water Report by the Pacific Institute and feeling very fortunate to live on Turtle Island where we have access to clean water (although in the long term, our access is threatened in various ways by corporations, private interests and indifference). The report is a great collection of information about one of the most important resources in the world and I’d recommend it to anyone. Bite size pieces can be obtained through following the Pacific Institute on Twitter.

All in all, I am feeling very grateful and excited for upcoming events in June, starting with tomorrow when my dad will be unveiling a public art installation that he designed to commemorate the War of 1812. It’s a beautiful piece and it will be one of my daughter’s first outings somewhere cool and interesting. Stay tuned for pictures! Happy writing!

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

Writing Through the Doldrums

There are days when writing even three hundred words feels like a battle.  Lately, I’ve been having a lot of those days but I’m trying my absolute best to work through it.  The last four days I’ve amassed just over of 6,200 words and I’m quite certain I might toss half of them to the curb.  

If I look at what I’ve accomplished in the way of writing so far this year, I am super happy with how I am doing.  I was fortunate enough to get a grant to work on an anthology with my younger sister, who is a very talented artist that’s doing illustrations for the story.  For the anthology, I’m working on five short stories, three poems and two essays.  I decided to work on the short stories first and I’m extremely happy with how they’re turning out.

I also wrote the first of the South River stories – a fictional First Nations community I made up that serves as the setting for The Whirlwind's Prophecy.  For the last three weeks, I’ve distanced myself from this book so that I can re-read and edit it with a clearer perspective.  It’s also the first book that I’ve ever given to beta readers and while I only have one set of comments back so far, I already feel so grateful for what another set of eyes can do for the story.  Definitely, people taking the time to read your story is just wonderful.

I ordered copies of my book from Lulu and I have to say, it was just plain fun.  Definitely one of the better decisions I’ve ever made.  (Note: I’ve heard Amazon is cheaper for getting drafts, so if you’re looking to get a printed copy I’d definitely check them out). It’s much easier for readers to go through the story when they have a neatly bound copy that they can scribble on and mark up.  And it’s very motivating to see the book in this form. Plus, it’s nice to get mail!

And yet in the midst of all of this productivity, I hit some kind of wall.  I started trying to write a new story right away and am nearly 15,000 words into it but I feel a little bit lost. If you’re a writer, I have no doubt you know what I’m talking about.  And perhaps like me, you’ve read blog posts or sought advice for what to do when you hit these kinds of wall.  There’s a lot of great advice out there from pretty much everyone, but the sentiments seem to be the same.  As Neil Gaiman suggests: Don’t wait until inspiration strikes to write.  Keep working through the doldrums.  And because I trust the dozens of other writers that are sharing this message and encouragement – that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

So here’s my plan. I’ve kept my distance from the story I just finished but I have a hunch that what will actually help me shake off this slightly lost feeling will be to finish editing The Whirlwind’s Prophecy and get it in the best shape possible.  I’m also going to post a small sample of it this week – something I’ve never done with my writing before unless I count that little gem I wrote when I was five.  Happy reading and happy writing everyone!

S

The Short and Sweet of It

Earlier this week after listening to a series of TED Talks on the subject of writing, I had an epiphany.  I was doing some intensive and slightly mundane work on my manuscript because I wanted to order prints of it from Lulu for myself and beta readers but I hadn’t formatted it properly and some of the corrections had to be done by hand.  It seemed like a good time to catch up on the ideas worth sharing scene.   The first TED Talk I listened to was about the importance of there being Many Stories and the dangers of a single story.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been reading a lot of articles about self-publishing and traditional publishing to try determine which option would be best for the story I’ve been working on.  In trying to understand where my story fits in the grand scheme of things, I’ve encountered important information about editing, genres, word counts, writing blurbs, formatting and marketing.

I can say without hesitation that I’ve loved every second of this part of the experience because it’s taught me so much.  For instance, I’d never heard of the genre ‘cozy mystery’ but when I took a look at my bookshelf, I realized that it’s one of my favourites (I’m thinking here of the Aurora Teagarden or Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris).

All of this research also raised some questions about the limitations of genres – at least where my story is concerned.  I am a Haudenosaunee woman from Turtle Island (North America).  When I was growing up, there were not a lot of books about my people, our experiences, our knowledge, our ways of knowing or our legends and much of what did exist was problematic (reinforcing stereotypes, perpetuating colonialism, attempting to rationalize assimilation, etc).  Instead of reading stories about my people, I read a lot about other people and other worlds (which isn’t a bad thing in the least), but I definitely feel it would have been cool if more had been available.

Naturally, because these are the kinds of stories I wish I could have read they ended up being the stories that I’m writing.  For a little while, I was worried about what traditional publishing routes would be available for stories of this nature since there are few publishers that make a priority out of Indigenous literature.

Ultimately, this is where my epiphany comes in.  I listened to the TED Talk and realized that it was okay if my book wasn’t a publishing sensation.  What was most important to me is that there was more than a “single story” about Indigenous Peoples and that I use the tools available to me to write and share the best stories possible.   Even if my first one happens to have a 24 year-old protagonist and my word count is hovering around 55,500 (which from everything I’ve read is a bit short for an adult novel and a 24 year-old protagonist doesn’t quite fit within the traditional definitions of the Young Adult category).

Now it’s certainly possible that in my third draft, I might add another 25,000 words and set it squarely in an adult word count category.  But it’s very possible that I won’t, we’ll just have to see what the next few weeks bring.  Until then, I’m going to try to not beat myself up over what my story isn’t and try to focus on making what it is really shine.

Til next time, happy writing!

S