Happy New Year!

In only a few hours 2010 will become part of history. I hope it will hold many pleasant memories for all of you. 

If you are a writer, I hope the New Year will prove to be a productive one, one where you get to spend as much time as you want putting words on the page.

For me, I'm sure I'll be working on the Mary Pickford biography right up to the March 31st deadline. But look for me to post something here weekly. At least, that's one of my resolutions for 2011.

Write on, with joy! 

Holiday Gift Idea

If you're looking for a holiday gift for a young person, someone in Grades 6 to 9, I would like to suggest a copy of my latest novel, Growing Up Ivy. It is the story of two teenagers -- a girl, Ivy, and a boy, Charlie, growing up in the 1930s. Unbeknownst to either of  them when they first meet, is a secret connection that they share.

I'm finding the book is also popular with readers over 50, especially those who enjoy fiction with an historical setting, in this case, the Great Depression.

I was asked by the publisher's Sales and Marketing department to tell them, in a few words, what the book is about. This is what I came up with:

Ill-prepared for life in the real world by a mother who plays games of make-believe, teenaged Ivy Chalmers learns some hard truths about some members of her family. Loving them just as they are shows that she is the real grown-up.

In its review of the book, The Record.com says, "(Peggy's) inclusion of crisp, historical details makes this book believable. It is a suitable read for a middle grade (Grades 7 & 8) reader who enjoys a sweet story about an intelligent girl."  http://news.therecord.com/article/785789

Happy Holidays to you from me!

Joyful Writing

I want to write with joy and abandon. I want to write purely for the love of it, the way much of Growing Up Ivy was written.

I don't want to care if what I write is ever published, or if the right people find it worth reviewing. I want to write to satisfy something inside me, and I call that JOY.

The business end of writing can be miserable. Everyone knows it's not for the the easily-discouraged. But it is also competitive and can destroy optimism. There are aspects of the business that bring out the worst in me.

 Be gone, I say! Who wants to be mean-spirited? Life's too short for that.


Write on, with joy and abandon!

Everything Old is New Again.

Like most other writers who started writing before the days of computers, I have file folders and bankers boxes filled with old manuscripts. A few of these efforts were eventually published, many were not. Probably twice as many went into the garbage where they belonged.

But every few years, something will cause me to browse through those old sheets of paper (Note to self: replace metal paper clips with plastic!)

Today, I'm looking for a Christmas story that I wrote many years ago. It actually made it to Peter Gzowski's show on CBC Radio, where it was read by the inimitable Shelagh Rogers.

I have no time to create something from scratch, and I need a seasonal story for my next writers' meeting. If I look hard enough, I may find more than one reusable idea in those boxes.

Looking For Symbols

At some point during my early drafts, if I am writing fiction, I'll look for symbols in the story. If I find them, and if they are significant to the story, I will work at reinforcing them.

I learned more about the use of symbols from the college English Literature course I took this past summer. One thing that was stressed was, beware of finding symbols where none were intended.

Last weekend, at a reading by author Jane Urquhart from her latest novel Sanctuary Line, someone asked her what was significant in her use of cut glass in the book. It seems to come up frequently in the story.

Jane replied that she really didn't know. She recalled that a few members of her family collect cut, or pressed glass. Its appearance in the book must have come from her sub-conscious. It seems it isn't a symbol at all.

Jane is sure that one day, however, some clever reviewer is going to be able to see its significance. And then she'll know what it means!

A delightfully honest answer. I'm not going to worry too much about symbols. They could signify nothing!

Write on!

(The photo above shows sunrise over Lake Flower, in late October. It was taken from our favourite little motel in Saranac Lake, NY.)

Book Trailer for "Growing Up Ivy"

Time to Begin

The books on the subject of my latest project, a biography of Mary Pickford, are still coming in on inter library loan. Today I picked up the eighth of these. I've been reading, and making copious notes, almost non-stop since I was first offered the project, on September 21st.

 My dining room table holds piles of notes on the lined, yellow pads I use, each stack labelled as to its source. I've bought myself a used copy of Mary's autobiography, Sunshine and Shadow, published in 1955. I've also ordered a copy of the best of the books I've discovered so far. I know I'll want to refer to it again and again.

I've reached the point in the research now where I am finding nothing new. Soon I must start writing. A 45,000 word biography seemed a gargantuan task at first, but now that I've made an outline (I never write fiction from an outline) and divided into chapters the topics I must cover, the project is starting to take a manageable shape.

Monday is November 1st. That seems like a good time to begin. The beautiful young girl above will be my muse.

Write on!