One of the interesting things about writing is that you get to choose a whole lot of details to fit into the context that you are creating. I chose to use was a journal format for many of the segments, but then I had to figure out what to do about dating these journal entries. I decided not to include the year for a few reasons. The most obvious one was that I didn't want to date the story, out of concern that it may be perceived as less relevant say in 10 years. It may or may not be the case, but why take a chance.
Also for those who are into looking at these details, Oct. 2nd (the date of the first journal entry) fell on a Tuesday in 2001, which happened to be the year when I was setting the final format of the book. Well as we all know, the autumn of 2001 was an interesting season for most of Western civilization -- coming to terms as we were with 9/11. Although Starla often refers to what might be going on in the world around her, I didn't want to use 9/11 as a metaphor, or a backdrop for any part of the book and so I chose to ignore it all together by simply never referring to the year.
It does make one feel quite omnipotent, having all this choice at one's disposal.
Copyright 2007
June 6, 2007
June 4, 2007
"ALL JOURNEYS HAVE SECRET DESTINATIONS OF WHICH THE TRAVELER IS UNAWARE." Martin Buber
I never set out to write a novel.
In the '80's when we lived on Vancouver Island, in the heart of aging Hippie-land, we knew this lovely young girl, Heidi -- she was about 13 at the time -- who was completely exasperated by her parents' need to cling to their "back to the land" ways. She would roll her eyes and say: "I mean, just for Christmas, can we not have real shortbread cookies. Does my Mom have to make them with whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds and honey?"
I actually set out to write a cute little short story about a girl like Heidi. I figured that it would end up being about 3 pages and funny. I sarted writing. After 4 months, I had 100 pages and the essence of Starla's story, and I realized that this thing had taken on a life of its own.
One of the things about my personality is that I really hate to waste things: time, food, energy, bits of paper...Well it seemed after all that work, I couldn't waste it, but I also realized that what I had was just a framework which didn't stand by itself. Had I realized that the project would consume a mojor part of the next 2 1/2 years of my life, I may have thought it through a bit more. Sometimes it's a good thing that we don't know what lies ahead.
Copyright 2007
In the '80's when we lived on Vancouver Island, in the heart of aging Hippie-land, we knew this lovely young girl, Heidi -- she was about 13 at the time -- who was completely exasperated by her parents' need to cling to their "back to the land" ways. She would roll her eyes and say: "I mean, just for Christmas, can we not have real shortbread cookies. Does my Mom have to make them with whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds and honey?"
I actually set out to write a cute little short story about a girl like Heidi. I figured that it would end up being about 3 pages and funny. I sarted writing. After 4 months, I had 100 pages and the essence of Starla's story, and I realized that this thing had taken on a life of its own.
One of the things about my personality is that I really hate to waste things: time, food, energy, bits of paper...Well it seemed after all that work, I couldn't waste it, but I also realized that what I had was just a framework which didn't stand by itself. Had I realized that the project would consume a mojor part of the next 2 1/2 years of my life, I may have thought it through a bit more. Sometimes it's a good thing that we don't know what lies ahead.
Copyright 2007
May 28, 2007
THE NOVEL AS BLOG
In the fall of 2003, I finished Dancing With Silence, having spent 3 years writing, editing and re-editing the manuscript. And as the close of many of life's major endeavours, I came to the point where I had to say: "Now what?!"
I quickly realized that the skill set required to complete a novel is not at all the same group of interests required to flog a novel in the publishing world. I also realized that I had no interest in pursuing that route, and if some publishing house wanted to come to my door and ask for it, fine. But after 3 years of writing and greeting the sun from my computer each day, I actually had a life to return to.
Along the way, friends who knew of the project would ask to read the manuscript and would inveriably have a list of questions when they had finished it. So we would have lunch and I would tell them about how it got started, which tidbits were "real" and which were entirely from my imagination etc.
In those days, blogs were becoming popular and I had always thought that it would be fun to share the book with a wider audience, and to have a format where readers could get a bit of a glimpse of the birth and development of the project.
Well, the time has come to publish to cyberspace and to send my creation out into the world. And what better way to watch it fly than from a blog, from my own PC, with the benefit of allowing the readers to make comments and ask questions as the project unfolds.
WARNING!
In my other life, I am a professional knitter, pattern designer and store owner. I am amazingly flattered when people make garments from my patterns and wear them proudly. I would however be more than a little POed and would strongly and legally object if someone claimed that one of my designs was their own and tried to profit from it. In that spirit, this project was copyrighted in 2003 and is protected by all that that implies.
That being said, the book has not passed through the hands of the legal eagles at some great (or intimate) publishing house, so any glitches that may exist on that side of things are purely unintentional and I would ask the reader to recognize the spirit in which this is offered. This is my gift to the reader. Many who have already read it have been moved and have told me that it has caused them to think seriously about aspects of their own childhood. Sharing these thoughts is their gift to me.
Thanks for taking the time to enter into Starla's world and please feel free to post comments in either site.
Anne
I quickly realized that the skill set required to complete a novel is not at all the same group of interests required to flog a novel in the publishing world. I also realized that I had no interest in pursuing that route, and if some publishing house wanted to come to my door and ask for it, fine. But after 3 years of writing and greeting the sun from my computer each day, I actually had a life to return to.
Along the way, friends who knew of the project would ask to read the manuscript and would inveriably have a list of questions when they had finished it. So we would have lunch and I would tell them about how it got started, which tidbits were "real" and which were entirely from my imagination etc.
In those days, blogs were becoming popular and I had always thought that it would be fun to share the book with a wider audience, and to have a format where readers could get a bit of a glimpse of the birth and development of the project.
Well, the time has come to publish to cyberspace and to send my creation out into the world. And what better way to watch it fly than from a blog, from my own PC, with the benefit of allowing the readers to make comments and ask questions as the project unfolds.
WARNING!
In my other life, I am a professional knitter, pattern designer and store owner. I am amazingly flattered when people make garments from my patterns and wear them proudly. I would however be more than a little POed and would strongly and legally object if someone claimed that one of my designs was their own and tried to profit from it. In that spirit, this project was copyrighted in 2003 and is protected by all that that implies.
That being said, the book has not passed through the hands of the legal eagles at some great (or intimate) publishing house, so any glitches that may exist on that side of things are purely unintentional and I would ask the reader to recognize the spirit in which this is offered. This is my gift to the reader. Many who have already read it have been moved and have told me that it has caused them to think seriously about aspects of their own childhood. Sharing these thoughts is their gift to me.
Thanks for taking the time to enter into Starla's world and please feel free to post comments in either site.
Anne
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