My First Blog Post

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Welcome to my new Blog!

This will be the place where I'll be posting my thoughts and writing tips. I plan to update this site several times a week begining shortly after the conclusion of the When Words Collide 2020 Virtual conference.

If you attended any of my sessions:

Friday 2:00 PM: It's all in the Plot

Saturday 3:00 PM: Are You Prepared to Write?
Sunday 1:00 PM: A Map is Not a Journey!

you can download the session files from my main web site at http:\\lisadwilde.ca

Now for my First Ever Blog Post:

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

First post. What should it be about? Should I talk about how I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a kid? Truly – I was writing stories for my own enjoyment (as opposed to school assignments) when I was 12. Of course, I very much enjoyed when I could turn a school assignment into an opportunity to write one of my stories … Especially in High School! I still remember the look of surprise on my Gr 10 English teacher’s face when, after he’d assigned us the creative writing assignment of writing something (yes – that specific!), I put up my hand and asked if there was a maximum length we were allowed to use. No one had ever asked that before. Generally, kids wanted to know what the minimum amount of words they could get away with. So he answered that there was no maximum. So when the story was due, I turned in my short story which was 32 pages, typed and double-spaced, complete with a hand-drawn cover. Everyone else pretty much turned in single sheets of paper. When he started marking them he read the first few pages, scrawled a big “A” on the cover, and then it became his morning read with his coffee for about a month. I got it back eventually, complete with a coffee stain right beside that big “A”. In Grade 12 he made a point of taking me aside and telling me about the Clarion Workshop for Writers of Science Fiction, and that I should apply to attend. Three years later, I did (which is another potential future Blog topic!) As for that teacher, I’ve always intended to thank him in the dedication of my first novel. And I will – once it’s out of editing! But I’ll do it here first – so Thank You, Mr. Dave Speck, wherever you are! You were the first person who believed in me, and that I had the makings of an actual author. Oh – and if you are interested – that story was titled “The Alien Incident” and was about as bad as you can imagine, about a runaway, pregnant alien, who crash lands on Earth. Ahh, to be young again, and not worry about whether your story made much sense or not … Until next time - Happy Reading & Happy Writing!