The Writing Fairy Blahg

I attended the CCWWP conference on the weekend. Met some great people, heard a lot of presentations. Got to hear Will Ferguson speak – what a hilarious guy! Stayed in the Humber College Lake Shore Campus dorm with a bunch of my WCDR friends – fun, fun, fun. Presented a paper, chaired a session, participated in the AGM and took part in some fascinating discussions about creative writing and the teaching of it.

I will be interested to see what direction CCWWP will go in the future. Writers and teachers from academia comprise most of the membership. I hope people in the organization will remain open to the fact that important work is being done by creative writers and creative writing instructors in the community, and continue to recognize our voice as well. I believe that through our participation on the weekend, we showed that having a PhD and being associated with an educational institution are not necessary in order to be a good, effective writing teacher, and that writers at all levels benefit from respect and encouragement.

As Co-Chair of the CCWWP board, Clem Martini said in his closing remarks that people join organizations out of passion and curiosity. That’s why I joined CCWWP. Congratulations to the new board members, and thank you to those who are stepping down. The work involved in establishing a new organization is overwhelming.

To all those driving behind me heading south on Durham 23 this morning, I apologize for doing the speed limit. I don’t know what I was thinking, forcing you to tailgate and then pass me unsafely, even sometimes on the double yellow line.

Really, I had my nerve, possibly making you a minute late for wherever you were heading off to. Why, oh why do they give people like me driver’s licences? Again, I apologize.

Oh, and if the sarcasm fits, you know what to do with it.

And yes, I know that was a mixed metaphor. I don’t care. If you don’t like it, put that in your pipe and smoke it.

I have decided to produce my own television show. I’m now casting for “The Real Housewives of Sunderland.”

If you live in Sunderland, Ontario, have had work done (on your body, not your house – all residents of Sunderland are working on their houses), have an IQ lower than your waist size, have more money than common sense, and can carry on a high-school cat fight like nobody’s business, come audition.

Cleavage is a must, and high, high heels. A little floofy dog you carry with you everywhere may give you an advantage.

And bling… don’t forget bling.

The finest thing any book can do is to inspire the reader to think for herself/himself.

There’s still time to sign up for my “Fun With Freelancing” 10-week course at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge. Starts Feb 27 and runs for 10 Monday evenings. I’m going to cover how to make money writing. Don’t be scared – we will do a few things with numbers, but it won’t hurt. I promise Learn how to do up a basic invoice, what files to keep, what receipts to keep, how to market – and mainly how to value yourself enough to charge professional rates. Sign up at www.blueheronbooks.com – and remember, in a country where the average freelancer makes $24,000 a year, I continually pull in yearly revenues into the six digits!