The winners of April’s Word Weaver Writing Contest share their thoughts on the contest, writing in general, and other stuff.

“My writing credits include ‘Taking Back the Night,’ which was nominated for a National Magazine Award. Originally published in Homemaker’s Magazine, it was anthologized in Essays: Patterns and Perspectivesby Oxford University Press (1992). Another of my stories, “First Kiss,” was anthologized in The Issues Collection: Gender Issues, McGraw Hill Ryerson (1993). My other credits include magazine articles in Menz, Home and School, The Write Place and Gasp; I’ve also been published numerous times in the Montreal Gazette, The Downtowner and The Westmount Examiner.

“When not at my Mac desktop, you’ll find me ensconced in my recliner with my cat, Annie, glued to my lap. If I need to get up I have to say, “Sorry, Annie…”

“I have two lovely adult children, a plump ‘n’ hairy kitty, a boyfriend who lives 700 miles away (drat!) and – oh yes – an ex-husband.

“My many years spent reading, editing and proofreading various magazines, screenplays, books and fellow writers’ manuscripts have honed my awareness of what good writing should look like.”

Ellie: I have distinct memories of the circumstances surrounding this 1991 story. I don’t know why I dredged it up after all this time for this contest, except to say that I’ve always had a soft spot for it. It captured the snarky, vengeful feelings I still had then, years post-divorce. I’d gone on a “writing retreat” with my young-adult daughter to a B&B in the countryside. I wrote two stories in a “white heat,” one of which was this winner. My daughter, though, got sick from some sort of water-borne bacteria (we think) and was down for the count for three days of the five we were there. Poor girl! I also remember the little annoyance of having to go outside every time I wanted a cigarette. In December. (My addiction days.)

First comes the inspiration, i.e., the idea. It usually flashes in my mind much like the light-bulb moment shown in comic books. Usually I’m nowhere near my computer, so I zap the idea down in my Notes app on my phone. (I live in dire fear of losing my phone. There’s a story idea for you!) From there it’s easy to zap the story down in no time. Then: revisions, and finally proofing. Those last stages take longer than the actual writing. (Except for my memoir; that took seven months to write, and three months to revise and proofread.)

Oh, easy: at my iMac. (See attached photo of my kitty, Annie, supervising me as I write.)

Whatever it takes to become rich and famous, I’ll do. Er, no wait, that’s not a good answer. It’s not a NOBLE answer. Let’s try that again. I would like to write something deep and weighty and memorable. No, that’s not quite it either. Something… funny? entertaining? imaginative? disquieting? nightmarish? More memoirs? A novel?

I think it’s time to confess: I don’t have one goal in particular. I just hope each piece is better than the last.

A thesaurus.
You didn’t ask what is the bane of my writing existence. I’ll tell you anyway: I have a weakness for exclamation marks and smileys! 🙂

See #4 please.

I’m rather busy these days on a freelance editing gig. Other than that, I’m accumulating notes – and have started outlines – for several books I want to write. All are memoirs based on very different periods in my life. I think memoir is my genre of choice; dabbling in fiction is, I admit, more intimidating for me. Why? Because

when you think about it, in fiction, ANYthing is possible. I’m a bit overwhelmed by that “anything” aspect.

Well Dan, I’ll tell you: your entry fees were very fair (i.e. low!), and your requirements re length, topic and so on were loosey-goosey. Also: great prizes. Perfect! 🙂

Yes. I entered a contest for writing prompts, which I won. 😀  My prompt was: “When the angel rang the bell, Claret was annoyed. He’s late, she thought.”  Needless to say, this was fiction.

I also came first place in a Grade 4 contest. I was given a paper crown and the title, Queen of the Composition. That sealed my fate.  There were probably other contests I entered, which, having NOT won, I quickly forgot.

Ellie, congratulations again and thank you so much for sharing your insights. Gang, we’ll have more Q&A and profiles of the winners coming up, so stay tuned!