Category: Writing

The Ant on the Raft

Hello readers. It’s been a while.

I’m currently reading BOOK OF LIVES by Margaret Atwood.

I have to confess that I have not read very many of Atwood’s books. But every single title of hers that I have read has touched me profoundly. Odd that. It seems bizarre that I would not read every single book she ever penned after realizing how much I love her books that I have read. I think I know the reason, though. To be honest with you, LARGE TOMES scare me. As one of the world’s slowest readers, a big book feels like too large a commitment to me. I have a historied past of taking the easiest way out…of literally anything life throws at me. This includes reading. I’ll look for slender volumes to read and I’ll almost always eschew the tomes. I know this means I miss an awful lot of great reading. John Irving comes to mind here. I have also loved all of his books that I’ve read. BUT it seems as though there are always two or three novels hidden within the depths of each of his novels. If you’re a John Irving fan, I’m sure you’ll understand what I mean by this. There is a blurred line with his works. Take the total of all of his published novels and multiply it by 2 1/2, and that’s probably closer to the sum of novels that Mr. Irving has penned.

Side-note: a few years back Michael and I were at the TRANS MARCH in Toronto (we never miss an opportunity to show up for the T in LGBTQIA2S+). Who should walk right past us, marching away with all the trans marchers and supporters, but JOHN IRVING himself. I smiled, made eye contact with him, and swallowed every urge to run out into Yonge Street and hug him and take a selfie with him and beg him for a signature or some such nonsense. He was just a man quietly showing up to support the community. He marched alone…with a look of determination and showingupness. I’ll never forget that quiet moment. No fanfare, no need to tell the world, “It is I, John Irving!” Just a man marching for something he believed in.

By now I have almost forgotten what I began this blog post for…I am meandering again.

Back to (close to) the beginning.

I’m currently reading BOOK OF LIVES by Margaret Atwood.

In it, Atwood speaks of a book she wrote as a child. It was called Annie the Ant. It was such a success with her readers (her parents and brother), that she set about writing a sequel where Annie takes an adventure down a river on a raft. The young Miss Atwood soon lost interest and the sequel fell by the wayside.

Why do I mention this? Because this was one of Atwood’s first writing lessons in the memoir. It was a lesson for herself, as well as a lesson for any writers (or wannabe writers) who may read the memoir. It’s a lesson in moving on when a piece of writing is not working.

“If the ant on the raft isn’t working for you, it’s okay to stop.” ~ Margaret Atwood, BOOK OF LIVES.

I needed that reminder. Thank you, Margaret Atwood. This made picking up the gigantic tome of a memoir well worth it for me. This one sentence is worth the price of admission. We writers do hold on to ideas that become stale and stagnant and shrivel on the vine. Instead of trying to find a way to write ourselves out of the paper bag–the corner we have wedged ourselves into–there is indeed another option. As Ms. Atwood says, it is perfectly okay to stop. Move on to something else.

This is probably glaringly obvious when you look at it. But it’s also something so many writers don’t do. They’ll struggle to re-alive a dead cat (that’s an analogy. It’s not really a dead cat. It’s a story that has fizzled out and died. No cats have been hurt in the creation of this analogy.) rather than bury it.

It’s never a waste to give up on a piece of writing. Spending time with the craft is always beneficial, whether or not you use the bi-product of that spent time. If it’s not working…it’s okay to stop.

That is all.

Writing Life Update – Is it Over? Or is it on Fire?

It’s so hard to see the big picture when I think about my writing life. Sometimes it feels almost non-existent. Sometimes it’s on fire. When I zoom in to a specific period of time I think, ‘Oh no! It’s over!’

But when I zoom out I see that it’s a whole world unto itself…and I calm down a bit. It’s those periods when I’m not writing that I gasp and sigh and just KNOW that it’s over.

But it isn’t. I think I might always be a writer. In fact, last weekend when there was a discussion on retirement I made the very blasé comment, “I just see myself writing all day long every day.”

In that throwaway statement I realized that I have nothing to worry about. Downtime is downtime, nothing else.

This week I’ve been working diligently on my unfinished mid-grade novel with the goal of finishing it by the end of the month. I know it’s ridiculous to throw deadlines around like that, but for me they really spur me on to stay on task. I work best under pressure and under threat of deadlines. They become impossible lines in the sand that I must arrive to at the assigned date and time. I learned this method works best for me when I entered my first MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON. The deadline at that time was to finish a novel in 48hrs. Spoiler Alert—I DID IT! That first MNM novel was Sebastian’s Poet. It won the BEST NOVEL AWARD that year. 2007. A lifetime ago!

But I digress. I’ve been really enjoying this mid-grade novel. It feels good to be reimmersed in it. That’s the thing about writing fiction. The writer really does get inside the story. You can feel yourself falling into it. Sometimes I think, ‘If I looked up right now, I’d see the surface above me‘ as though I’m under water and softly embraced in another world. One of my own creation. That’s the part I love the most…disappearing and becoming the story I’m telling. Once you feel that, it’s like you spend the rest of your life chasing that high. Every time you get drawn into your own fiction, you reach that feeling again–that high–and thank the universe that you’re still able to experience it.

Happy Writing and Happy Reading!

2025 Muskoka Novel Marathon Now Open For Registration!

Hello Readers!

What I will cover today: My love for a yearly writing event AND the OPEN REGISTRATION period for that event.

Writing in Muskoka…the balcony at the Port Sydney Community Hall where the Muskoka Novel Marathon is currently being held.

Today I wanted to talk to you about the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON. This is a yearly novel writing event that, without which, I would not be where I am today on my writing journey.

I first heard about the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON in 2006. I was halfway through the writing of my very first novel, SUMMER ON FIRE, at the time. I had not yet found MY WAY in the creative journey of novel writing. I was doing okay, slogging along, but I knew there was something missing. Writing a novel in the conventional way just wasn’t working for me. Not fully, anyway. I was not happy writing a novel throughout the course of a year…or years. I really struggled to keep myself on task and invested. I had to find another way.

When I heard about the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON, my ears perked up. Something about the creative writing process of the marathon spoke to me and my scattered non-linear way of thinking. I knew I had to give it a go, so I registered for the 2007 marathon that was taking place in Huntsville, Ontario that July.

First, you have to understand HOW DIFFICULT that decision was for me, an introvert who shied away from meeting new people at every opportunity I could get. It was a terrifying concept, registering for that first year’s marathon. I almost didn’t…so high was my anxiety. I even stopped midway there on the 2-hour road-trip up to Huntsville. I seriously considered turning around, with my tail between my legs, and going back home.

I’m SO glad I powered through.

That year I only took part in the 48hr marathon. When I registered, I was still really struggling with the concept of writer. I felt I was able to grant myself 2 days to the craft, but 3 seemed crazy. I was quite unkind to myself back then. I couldn’t justify giving myself a full 3 days grace to explore creativity. Two would have to do!

I wrote the entire first draft of what would later become my favourite novel of all I would write…SEBASTIAN’S POET.

After my 48hrs were up, I said goodbye to all my new writer friends (it was an incredible experience and everyone truly welcomed me on board. I was one of them. Imposter syndrome melted away during that weekend), got in my car, and drove home. I think I was the only writer not staying for the entire 72hrs. It was actually hard to leave, but leave I did.

The car journey home was a psychedelic trip like nothing I had ever experienced. I was tired, exhilarated, overwhelmed. I had brought a world into existence just by writing about it. I was definitely on a creative high. The three deer jumping out of a ditch and into my path was just one of the oddities that occurred during that trip back from Northern Ontario. I was electric.

SEBASTIAN’S POET won the 2007 Best Adult Novel Award. It has since gone on to be published. It’s my homage to Leonard Cohen and the Beaches area of Toronto…all wrapped into one story. A folksinger befriends a neglected young boy and his even younger brother and helps them to navigate in the tumultuous 1970s Beaches world. One of my main characters was closely modeled after Cohen. Can you guess which one? That’s right…the folksinger!

The original cover of Sebastian’s Poet.
The current cover of Sebastian’s Poet.
Just outside the beautiful Muskoka Novel Marathon venue in Huntsville, Ontario! (This is no longer the venue, but the new venue also has a body of water at its doorstep.)

After that year, I was hooked. I kept going back…and I even gave myself the full 3 days of creativity going forward after that first year.

Muskoka Novel Marathon. 2014. Friends I’ve met along the way.

When I tell you the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON changed my life, I am not just throwing that phrase around lightly. It definitely made me the writer I am today. Here’s a list of the awards I’ve collected at the marathon over the years…

AWARDS WON

  • 2007 – Best Adult Novel Award-Sebastian’s Poet, (BIC) Bum In Chair Award
  • 2008 – Best Adult Novel Award-The Reasons, (BIC) Bum In Chair Award
  • 2010 – Best Young Adult Novel Award-Half Dead & Fully Broken, Rock Star Award, (BIC) Bum In Chair Award
  • 2011 – Best Young Adult Novel Award-That’s Me In The Corner
  • 2016 – Best Adult Novel Award-I Will Tell The Night
  • 2019 – Young Adult Runner Up Award-No Visible Damage
  • 2023 – Best Young Adult/Juvenile Novel Award-Tyler Freemont Writes A Play
  • 2024 – (BIC) Bum In Chair Award

I have found my way to write a novel. In one sitting. MY WAY. I adore the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON. Not just because it’s a fundraiser for area literacy programs (they have raised over $213,000.00 for YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka literacy programs to date). And not just because of the great writer friends I’ve met at the event. And not just because of the amazing feats of the generous organizers and volunteers. All those things are pure magic. But I adore the marathon most for giving me MY WAY.

Author Selfie in the closet at the Muskoka Novel Marathon…

All this to introduce you to a yearly writing event that you probably know far too much about already if you’re a constant reader of my blog. I talk about it all the time. It’s been a life-changing whirlwind of a monolith in my life for almost 20 years. Of course I talk about it.

Today, I wanted to bring it to your attention because the registration period is NOW OPEN for this JULY’s event in Port Sydney, Ontario (just outside of Huntsville).

This year’s details:

Thursday July 10 – Sunday July 13, 2025

Port Sydney Community Hall, 607 Muskoka Road 10, Port Sydney, Ontario, Canada

CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE REGISTRATION PAGE.

If you are having trouble registering, please send an email to: writerliaison@muskokanovelmarathon.com

A photo of my desk at the Muskoka Novel Marathon, where this novel from hell began its messy life.
T-shirts from various Muskoka Novel Marathon years…

If you’re a writer in Ontario (or anywhere else), you should seriously consider registering for this event and getting yourself up to PORT SYDNEY this July. It will change your life! If it’s too far or impractical for any reason…there’s also ONLINE registration.

In-Person Registration – $100.00 – Covers ALL MEALS and comes with an endless flow of COFFEE.

Online Registration – $25.00 – You will be Zoomed into the event.

Writers are encouraged to collect sponsorship money for the fundraising part of the event. There are prizes involved for fundraising as well.

Best Novel Award comes with the prize of a Muskoka Chair! And all novels submitted to the contest for judging at the end of the weekend get critique notes from the judges.

This is a yearly fundraising event. Check it out if you want to up your writing game. Just imagine being in a room with 39 other writers…and you’re all clacking away at your keyboards attempting to write an entire novel in one tiny 72hour period of bliss and chaos. You know you want to.

Don’t be nervous! The writers and the organizers welcome all with open arms. You’ll immediately become one of the MNM family. Put your fear aside and take the step!

CLICK HERE NOW!