Writing on Writing
I would like to say that I’ve been prolific in my writing over the last few weeks, but that would be a lie.
My first focus has been the novel. It is complete (in the sense that I don’t believe it requires anything new to be added: chapters, characters, story arcs, etc..), yet requires a good revision to smooth over the parts which were put in place (not unlike a temporary glue or kludges) so that I could carry on telling the story without getting bogged down with detail work. Thankfully, the amendable bits are easy to recognize and not too draining for me to clarify.
A few weeks back, my tangential focus was on submitting two stories to two separate entities (one a contest, another a lit mag). Again, revisions were needed, as I don’t think it’s very safe to blindly submit something, even if you were perfectly happy with it previously.
In other words, the novel’s coming along very well, submissions are submitted (and the inevitable lottery entered). There’s just not a hell of a lot of “new” writing happening these days, which bugs me.
It would bug me more if it wasn’t for the fact that I seem to be in a “research” period. Quite involuntarily, I find that I’m following leads which present themselves to me without my seeking them: clues, ideas, conjectures. Most influential, at least currently, is Karl Popper, whose “Unended Quest” I have been devouring for the last while. His insights into the theory of knowledge and its application across the spectrum of art, science, and politics is – if anything – thought provoking. The goal of philosophy, I am reminded when reading someone who understands exactly what he or she is talking about, is not to blindly adopt beliefs because they sound good, but to digest them. To try them on like a pair of garish sunglasses and look at the world through them; rarely will even the most profound philosophy not require adjustments made to it in order for you to still be and think like you, and not someone else.
I’m reminded of Hesse’s Siddhartha, where the protagonist, upon meeting the Gotama Buddha, rejects his offer for Siddhartha to join his group, stating that the Buddha himself came to his wisdom not by following others, but through making the necessary mistakes needed to attain wisdom.
Somewhere, far away, I am *this* close to something.
Photo: Swastika #2
Photo: Kirkland Lake #1
Iskra Update…
Alas…
For those who caught this earlier, I ordered a very unique medium-format Soviet-era camera – the Iskra. Unfortunately, after receiving it and testing it out, I found a mechanical problem with the shutter release mechanism (ie. it won’t take pictures). So, I’ve sent it back to the eBay seller for him to repair. Quite frustrating, but I’ll be patient and wait…
Back from the Lake…
Back from Kirkland Lake (unless you thought I posted the Solzhenitsyn remembrance from afar). It was a great trip, though next time my wife and I have pledged either to do it with more days to spend/travel, or take another mode of transport. Sixteen inclusive hours of door-to-destination driving do not wear well on you when you’ve only got one day off in-between to enjoy. The reason for our trip was to pay respects at a memorial service for my wife’s uncle who passed away earlier in the year, in case you were wondering why we attempted such a feat within such a short period of stay. We aren’t masochists.
It was great to meet more of my extended family, see more of the province, and get a better sense of the geography. No wildlife to note, unfortunately, save for crows, mosquitoes, and the odd call of a loon in the night. Photos were taken and I hope to post them when the slides are developed. I still have photos from July that I need to sort through so, pending quality, you may or may not be in for a bonanza of visuals. I wish that “bonanza” didn’t imply a lack of aesthetics.
Some facts about the trip:
- Minimum total distance travelled: 1160km (721 miles)
- Population of Kirkland Lake: 8248
- Speeding tickets: 1
- Bug bites: 2
- Hours that a not-fully-charged iPod Mini managed to last: 8
- Photos taken: 56
- Name of town outside of Kirkland Lake: Swastika
More writerly concerns to post about in the near future. Hope all is well with everyone.
RIP: Alexander Solzhenitsyn
(c) Getty Images
“A great writer is, so to speak, a secret government in his country.”
– Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
Bandcroft update
Off to Kirkland Lake…
Apologies for the lack of postings this week (I know, just a lame Twain quote is all you got). Work is finally catching up to me and, until the day this blog pays, then you, dear reader, will have to suffer the odd “outage” from time to time.
This weekend, my wife and I are driving up to meet her relatives in Kirkland Lake [there should be much more fiction written about this town, btw – ed]. To the average person, one who doesn’t live near Ontario, this doesn’t sound like much. So, let me put it into perspective for you:
It’s about a 7.5 hour drive from Toronto. That’s a long trek in my books, especially considering that it’s just for the weekend (thankfully a long weekend up here). However, I’ve always wanted to see Northern Ontario – I mean the real Northern Ontario, not driving 3 hours to a cottage in Haliburton, but waaay the hell up north. I’m sure it will be a beautiful drive (after the first hour of anonymous suburban/industrial wasteland). I look forward to fresh air, clear skies (particularly at night), rocky terrain, and – my favourite – wildlife.
Going to northerly parts of Canada (in particular the real real North: Yukon, Nuvavut) is truly the only way to get a strong sense of how characteristic (and, plainly, how rough) our environment is. In cities like Toronto it’s hard to get a perspective on the greater (arguably better) parts of this country. It is for this reason, driven by childhood memories of sitting in the back of my parents’ car while we drove from Alberta to Vancouver BC, or from Brantford through New Brunswick, that I feel it’s worth turning into a car-zombie for a short while (long drives will do that) if only to experience what Canada is truly, nakedly, like.
And yes, I will have my camera. And I promise to post more photos in general.
Have a splendid weekend.