Hey, Toronto teen artists and writers! Check out the great events at the Toronto Public Library on March Break, including an open mic and workshops on photography, anime, cartooning, writing, and more. For a full listing, go here.
After you perfect your artwork, photography and writing, you can submit it to the TPL’s Young Voices Magazine. The submission deadline is Tuesday April 5, 2016. Work submitted after the 2016 deadline will be considered for the 2017 issue of Young Voices Magazine.
All submissions are reviewed by an editorial board consisting of teen artists and writers working with professional artists and writers, including me. If your work is selected for publication, you’ll be notified by the TPL. Good luck, and I look forward to reading your entries!
Do you want to see what the editorial board selected in 2015? To read last year’s magazine, go here.
I’ve been thinking about how best to concentrate this month, really focus during my writing sessions, since I’ve been noticing that I can be easily distracted at times.
Why am I more distracted than usual? Maybe it’s because of the intermittent nature of connecting with people through social media throughout the day. (I love connecting with my online network, really, but I also need writing time.) Or maybe it’s the bite-sized way we now consume online information, through 500-word blog posts and three-minute videos. (How often do I favour that three-minute video over the 20-minute one? Has my brain been reprogrammed to consume in small batches?)
So I began my personal mission for better concentration.
Step 1: Control my Use of Social Media
I’m a writer with discipline, so I don’t need an app that banishes me from Facebook or Twitter. But I maybe I don’t need to check in every 30 minutes? Or watch that cat video. Or that one. Or … you get the idea. (Maybe I still need some help with step 1.)
Step 2: Get More Comfortable
I know many writers like treadmill desks. (Right Arthur Slade and Mahtab Narsimhan?) Call me lazy, but I prefer to sit while writing. The problem is that the cold gets to me, so my latest writing tool is writing gloves. I love, love, love my cozy new gloves. Warmth matters. Who can write well without warmth?
Step 3: Seek Sounds for Better Productivity
With noisy teenagers in my home and construction workers often outside it, I’ve been trying productivity sounds to help me focus. The free websites Rainy Mood as well as Noisli have helped me block unwanted sound. But I hit the motherload of sound productivity when this blog post introduced me to Brain FM. Wow! I’m a huge fan!
What is Brain FM? It’s a website-delivered audio brainwave program designed to help us focus, relax, or sleep, depending on what we’re trying to do. I was a skeptic, until I tried it once. Four hours later, I was still writing and that tug to check Facebook and Twitter was a distant memory.
Step 4: Seek Goal Buddies
I love writing in solitude. But I’ve also been seeking out like-minded writing friends to help with productivity. Sometimes, I flee my lonely writer’s garret to meet friends at a library or coffee shop to write. I love the looks of quiet concentration on their faces and the conversations about our goals for our works-in-progress.
Step 5: Just Say No
As Steve Jobs famously said in this video, “Focusing is saying, ‘No.'” Life is busy, and it can be hard to chisel out writing time. Recently, I’ve been learning the power of saying “no.” I want to be tugged in fewer directions. I want to spend less time multi-tasking. I want to to focus on one writing task at a time, and do it well. Really well. So well, that when a child or teenager picks up one of my books and starts to read, my writing will be compelling enough that he or she won’t be tempted to check Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Tumblr or anything else. At least until the book is done.
Friday, December 4, 2015
14432 Rd 38, Sharbot Lake, ON K0H 2P0
Grades 7 to 10
Two readings of Punch Like a Girl to help raise awareness about violence against women and remember the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6, 1989.
WordPlay Writing Workshops
Monday, December 14 and Wednesday, December 16, 2015
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Cedarbrae Branch
Ages 13 to 19
Who says writing isn’t fun? With fresh and inspiring story-starters, you’ll explore new characters and create captivating scenes. Spark your imagination and enjoyment of words while learning creative writing techniques in this hands-on workshop.
How to Create a Believable OtherWorld
Monday, December 21, 2015
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Agincourt Branch
Ages 13 to 19
Whether you write about unicorns or alien planets, an imaginary world needs rules and structure in order to be believable. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to create a fully imagined fantasy or science-fiction world and the characters who live there.
Writing from Real Life: Writing Workshops for Teens
Saturday, February 20, 2016
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Toronto Public Library, Cedarbrae Branch
Ages 13 to 19 Register here
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Milton Public Library, Main Branch
Ages 12 to 17
Learn to create stories from real-life details. Explore how childhood memories, overheard conversations or even family history can be turned into great writing. Explore creative writing techniques and get constructive feedback on your writing!
April 19, 20, 21, 2016
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum
11 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa, ON K1K 2X5
The MASC Young Authors and Illustrators Conference turns 25 this year! If you are a student in grades four to eight with a passion for writing and illustration, you won’t want to miss this exciting day of hands-on creative workshops with some of Canada’s finest children’s authors and book illustrators.
I got a lovely note from a high-school teacher this week about my novel Take the Stairs. She wanted to let me know that my book is enjoyed daily at her school, and she thanked me for writing about taboo topics in a way that allows teachers to easily open dialogue on them in the classroom.
Like me, this teacher believes we need to acknowledge the rough realities in life. Today, I’m grateful she took the time to let me know that my book mattered to her and her students.
For teachers looking to use Take the Stairs in the classroom, a teacher’s guide is available here.
I believe that an author’s first priority is integrity to the story. We must listen to our characters and take them where they demand to go. Yet we cannot deny the immense influence authors wield over their audiences. For children’s authors, this influence is particularly potent. The youth of today become the caretakers of tomorrow.
My latest novel, Punch Like a Girl, addresses a topical issue head on. In it, 17-year-old Tori develops a hero complex, trying to rescue others whether they want it or not, in order to avoid facing her own fears of sexual assault. At publication, numerous high-profile incidents involving sexual assault were in the headlines, bringing the issue to the forefront of traditional and social media, and pushing for a public conversation that is long overdue. For readers, I hoped my book would spark open discussion on what a healthy relationship looks like. I didn’t anticipate the very personal conversations I’d have with readers – in writing and face to face.
I’ve had teen girls ask me what to do about a friend who is in an unhealthy relationship. I’ve had inspiring conversations with survivors of domestic or dating abuse. I’ve had a teacher approach me to meet personally with a gifted young writer who wrote about her story of survival. These conversations show what a huge impact a book can have on readers. Enough to open their minds to a new worldview. Enough to make much-needed cultural shifts in our society, now and in the future.
For me, writing Punch Like a Girl was a way to understand the trauma and recovery process from the inside. It was about the building of a hero from the ashes of a victim, which is Tori’s journey. But it’s also becoming a talking point, sparking conversations about violence against girls and women. Tori and I have both learned about the power of community and how to punch back.
After interaction with readers, I’ve come to a few conclusions. Not only do we need to be good stewards of our earth in order to pass it on to future generations, we need to be good stewards of our youth. For authors, this means we need to recognize that, in creating content for children and youth, we have a social responsibility. I’m not advocating didactic, preachy, or moralistic lessons, since this doesn’t maintain the integrity of the story. However, social responsibility can affect our choice of story idea, the diversity of our characters, the actions our characters take, the changes they go through, and how we interact with readers during readings and workshops as well as online. As cultural critic Henry Giroux says, although creators want to make great art, we also have a responsibility to create a world in which great art can thrive.
Thanks to YA author and blogger Melanie Fishbane for this interview on her blog. I’m very excited about Melanie’s debut novel about the teen years of L.M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, to be published by Razorbill Press in 2016. This is a novel not to be missed!
To read Melanie’s interview of me and my latest novel, Punch Like a Girl, click on the image below. Thanks, Melanie, for the great questions.
After you perfect your artwork, photography and writing, you can submit it to the TPL’s Young Voices Magazine. The submission deadline is Tuesday April 5, 2016. Work submitted after the 2016 deadline will be considered for the 2017 issue of Young Voices Magazine.
