dominique

Hi Jane,

Just got home after crazy two days. A friend of mine just gave birth three weeks premature and I’ve been on feverish-toddler and hospital-run duties for the last two days… ironically, the two days I took off to concentrate on writing. I had fully intended to get home and type madly tonight, but, after realizing I left my keys at the hospital and arriving home three hours later, I have to admit I have to go to bed.

(If you go back to my bio, you’ll see I mention I’m the one people call when they need something; you can add calling at 1:45 a.m. on a Monday night/Tuesday morning to announce your water broke and you’re in a bind!) (But I love it.)

Please extend my apologies to my group — I will post this on my blog as well, though please advise if there’s somewhere more appropriate for it. I want everyone to know that I am still around and am totally committed to this but, alas, life happens (occasionally after 20 hours of labour, weighing in at 6 pounds, 48 centimetres).

Fortunately, I got the chance to take tomorrow morning off, too. I told my clients I needed to catch up on sleep, but I intend to catch up on writing

Cheers,
d

First vid — What is creative non fiction
I think Mr Faber’s very first sentence has elucidated why I have always been more attracted to nonfiction, as a writer: Fiction seeks to attain universal, abstract truths and illustrate them, which I in no way feel myself able to do. Who am I to pronounce myself on universal truths? What do I know about the world?

All I know about the world is my own experience. I am not intelligent nor delusional (in the sense of being full of false illusions, which is great for a fiction writer) enough to portend that I can represent the human condition in one smartly wrapped metaphor.

I am an observer, always have been. I am a writer, so I love the literary instruments at my disposition. I have been a journalist and magazine writer, which do, indeed have forms, though magazines are more permissive today. But I am all about getting out of that box. So colour me excited.

Second vid — 3rd person limited POV

First-person to third-person : So true that it is self-serving. So uninteresting to read a first-person account; conceited! The very same story in the third person does, indeed, give it a certain irony.

The Why question is quintessential, to me, in that transition to the third person; the other Ws (who, what, where, when) are too easily flat, if you will. The Why takes on a whole new dimension, more than the other Ws.

I like the idea as a running joke, although I think more of it as ironic.

As for boundaries: Oh, man, do they help me produce. If I didn’t need boundaries to write, I wouldn’t be taking this course! The limitation of the third person: does it really help you to get to the heart of a matter? I guess I’ll find out, but I find that bounds — and deciding when to ignore them for the greater good — force me to make real decisions about what I am writing, which, in turn, forces me to realize what I’m really writing about. (Parenthesis: aw, a thrashing, Jane! ow!)

Third vid — advice on 6 weeks

Focus on: silence?

Write as many drafts of the same story as you can — my dream! I always regret that I didn’t get a chance to rewrite most of my stories. So yes, I will take that advice to heart.

Interrogating every line to make sure every one is strong and true: yes, please. This will be my mission.

Brief Nudity.

I’m almost scared to read this. I feel like I won’t be able to get over performance anxiety if I read something incredible, while, on the other hand, if the text isn’t all that great, I will feel like discounting my interpretations of Mr Faber’s advice in the videos… Gah! I will put this off for now…

Can I just skip my life history and give you the still-in-progress end result? Here it is, all the stuff you (really don’t) need to know. Skip to the last point if you really want a lowdown lowdown.

• I too quickly and proudly profess that I don’t have TV, but conveniently forget to mention I download all my favourite shows and that — gasp! — that list is made up of more reality shows than I care to admit. But… at least they’re talent shows? Also, I just went straight to the source and bought the Arrested Development DVDs, because it seemed the best way to rewatch all the episodes until I can recite them by heart.

“I don’t criticize you! And if you’re worried about criticism, sometimes a diet is the best defense.”

• I have run out of space for more books in my apartment. I live alone in a three-bedroom… where one room serves only to hold books.

• I like to make things from scratch. Last week I made three different mustards and finally finished my kitchen island; this week I start knitting the Christmas presents. Little doubt that this is the product of the influence of my maternal grandparents; my grandfather built all the furniture and my grandmother followed behind him covering it with handmade doilies. Also, my paternal grandmother could give a mean manicure. Even in her casket, people commented on her nails.

“Goddamnit woman, why are you covering all this beautiful wood with those frilly things?”

• I usually have paint or primer in my hair and bike grease on my pants. It is embarrassing but it’s easier to pretend I don’t care.

• I am that person everyone calls when they need something — except money, because boy would that be barking up the wrong tree. From “I need help with my thesis on Tomato Conservations Methods in India” to “Can you manage my Pilates studio while I go on maternity leave for the summer?” People also seldom forget to think about me when they need a drink… is that a good or a bad thing?

• I am trying to come to terms with the fact that my personal 5Ws mean I won’t ever make a living as a journalist…

• …which is a real bummer, since it’s pretty much the only job I have ever comitted myself to. I’ve bounced back and forth as an editor and reporter for publications ranging from my uni student newspaper to the Globe and Mail (Canada).

• I have an irrepressible need to organize office spaces, lives and thoughts, though they are seldom my own, which has made me the champion of bullet lists.

• And finally:
  female, French Canadian, late 20s, Montreal (Qc, Canada), enjoys midnight bike rides in the back alleys of the Plateau on weekdays and cheese and avocadoes (though not necessarily together).