On the day Smudge went missing. Calls went out, “Smudge, Sweetie, please come out from your hiding place. Your Mummy misses you.”
Nothing, no meow, no feeling of snuggling on a leg. Sheer sadness ensued. Where could that silly cat be? Smudge never went outside, never crossed the doorway, but today she bolted out the open back door.
Smudge, when I look at her, sports attitude. She is independent and sassy in the way she moves or snuggles. All will be lost if Smudge isn’t found. Who will there be to pet, or talk to, or share innermost thoughts with? Life will never be the same.
“Think positive thoughts, never give up.” That’s what Mrs. Calm always says.
How does a person do that in a time of so much stress? Must try and follow her words while looking for the one who keeps my world level most days.
The search was widened to include the nearby farms and especially the barns. Maybe Smudge heard the cry of a friend who was in danger and went to help. Is that even possible? Of course, it is. Animals listen to things that humans do not.
After two long days, scouring more than five miles of land and buildings, I laid eyes on her. Smudge was in Mr. Tubbs hayloft lying next to an injured kitten who had been bullied by the others. Whenever he tried to get close, she would hiss and circle her paws around the baby.
Mr. Tub finally was able to put both into a nearby kennel, and they were taken home. Two cats now live in this house. Smudge and her adopted son Trigger, who today, are bonding with this pitiful specimen of a human.
Hollywood, scorched by one scandal after another, is turning to artificial intelligence and robots for their new leading men and women. Following the recent Weinstein and Depp controversies the Academy has had enough. It’s time for malleable minds.
With the recent success of Integrated Neurorobotics’ Arthur Mory Project, Hollywood can now resurrect any long dead acting legend or create a new Oscar worthy star at a fraction of the salary demanded by any of today’s A list celebrities.
Lead researcher and the brains behind Arthur Mory, Thea Kolijn explains, “We’ve use artificial intelligence to determine what society sees as a classically beautiful person or even the perfect villain—bone structure, colouring, that sort of thing— then create the body to go with it. Once functioning, the robot studies hours and hours of award winning acting, absorbing the knowledge it gleans and adding it to its data bank.”
When asked if audiences are ready for mechanical actors, Ms. Kolijn laughs. “Isn’t that half of Hollywood? No seriously, there will be an adjustment but look at the animation industry. Viewers accepted computer animation with barely a blink. When done well, and we here at Integrated Neurorobotics do robots well, you won’t be able to tell the difference.”
What about the cost? A mere two and a half million compared to the tens of millions an A list actor demands. And, as Ms. Kolijn points out, you don’t have to feed them.
Are We Ready? starring an all mechanical cast created by Integrated Neurorobotics, opens this Friday in theatres across the country.
I watched the rain drops slithering along the curved roof of the sunroom. The wind howled. The trees dance or so it seems. Dancing – reminding me of the swirling shapes and colours of a crowded dance floor. Except that the dance I remember really wasn’t very crowded. Maybe more like meandering ribbons, multi-coloured.
I returned to my desk. It had been a singularly unproductive morning. Blank sheets of paper, stark white, staring at me from the desk. I reached for my coffee cup and knocked over a container of paper clips.
How intriguing. They seemed to come alive on the white background. I joined a blue one to a red one and positioned them in the corner of the paper. Then added a yellow and a green and another red. I snaked the paper clip chain making loops and curves. I closed the loop but that was too neat. It suggested that there could be closure. No, the paper clip chain had to trail away….
Sighing I shrugged. “I am making much too much of this. Just procrastinating.” I shook the chain off the paper and picked up a pen. I couldn’t think of anything to write. My eyes wandered back to the pile of paper clips.
“Maybe not – I like the symbolism. Is that what I am missing in my story? The connections.” I played with the clips. “The plot doesn’t have to be in a straight line. It just needs to link. See, it can go forward and down, back and up. Keep it moving and when there are no more connections – I am done.”
I thought some more about that chain.
“I still have to start, somewhere. Maybe the middle.” Tracing the paper clip chain, “See I can always circle back. Maybe, crazy as that sounds, start at the end.”
Sighing – a walk in the rain might clear my head. The chain will be here when I get back.
What I love about being part of a writing group is how distinctly unique we are as individuals. We all have our own voice when it comes to writing. No two the same. We all have our own beliefs and yet I have never seen a division among us when it comes to those. I think we really just encourage each other to put our own voice to pen. I am the one whose voice tends to write stories of loss and death. I know…I never planned to write this way! I also tend to lean towards my faith that itself has been a roller coaster ride from day one to the next. My writing often reflects that as well. Here is a little piece written maybe during a time where the devil on my shoulder had won.
It is difficult to address the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing in the abstract. There is a gamut of self-publishing options just as there is a range of publishing services.
Publishing companies generally offer all or some of the following services:
Editorial
Manuscript review
Revision and rewrite input
Copyediting
Production
Design
Format selection(s)
Scheduling and implementation
Marketing, sales and distribution
Definition of target audience
Sales and distribution channel selection
Marketing plan and rollout
Distribution agreements (bricks and mortar outlets, online for print and digital, international opportunities)
Product management
Publishing agreement as to services and revenue split
Timing of print formats (if multiples used), digital release and lifecycle management
In self-publishing, the author needs to address most of these items and often with none of the established processes and contacts available. In an intensely competitive and volatile marketplace though many publishing houses are getting more minimalist in their service offerings.
Pros to Self-Publishing:
The technology today has exponentially expanded the self-publishing options. Not only is the author not dependent on the opinions of product acquisition editors but is able to publish without meeting the base level financial models – price, volume, profit. In theory, the self-publisher is not required to “share” revenue, an author with a publisher receiving only 10-25% royalty on net sales. The self-publisher will have complete control of deliverables and deadlines.
Cons to Self-Publishing:
Many of the cons to self-publishing align exactly with my comments on publishing services.
An author looking at self-publishing from ground zero may have no editorial insight as part of the writing process. However, there are clearly skills that can be developed to self-edit effectively. This would particularly be the case for non-fictional writing.
Financial investment may be necessary. Production today requires technological expertise. An author can buy that service without tying it to the overall success of the publishing venture.
What about promoting and distributing the published work? This requires an understanding of the classification of works (e.g. study the organization of titles on the likes of an Amazon). It requires an understanding of the distribution system. How do you attract attention and how do you manage sales? Here is another area where financial investment may be required to buy the service.
If the objectives of the self-published author are to be the next J.K. Rowling then a tremendous amount of energy needs to be devoted to personal websites, search engine optimization, push emails, social media like FaceBook and Twitter, pricing and selling models. The author will need to develop contacts with potential reviewers.
New challenges for self-publishers are legislative. There is new privacy legislation pending federally and provincial privacy legislation does not necessarily align. There are new spam laws that seriously curtail push advertising without the consent of the recipient. Liability for failing to comply, in both cases, is severe.
Licensing and permission requests need to be addressed if the work is successful.
Decision?
How much of this work do you want to do? A publisher is not a perfect solution even for top authors. If you choose a publisher that cannot meet your expectations – the wrong market, the wrong interest, a poor portfolio in the same sphere as your work – then all your efforts will be for naught. Putting the time and effort into a first work that opens the path to an established publisher may be the perfect strategy.
Anecdotally
A colleague was determined he was going to be a writer. He took a year out of his academic and professional career to pursue his writing. His conclusion at the end of the time period was that he didn’t have the discipline or self-critical capability to complete a work.
A friend of my son’s wrote a children’s book, illustrated by a colleague. He went to the book fairs, created a website, organized competitions promoted through children’s associations. He devoted hundreds and hundreds of hours to the effort. At the end of the day the work was a success. He entered into a co-venture with an established publisher for sequels where the publisher managed all of the promotion effort so that he and his illustrator partner could devote their time to the product. Several years later, they have an established brand and range of product – an apparent success.
Is a publisher always the solution? As a legal publisher, I signed a project a number of years ago that was only peripherally legal (although related to legal transactions). I assumed that the publishing house’s standard sales and marketing strategies would have the flexibility to deliver an appropriate sales, marketing and distribution plan for this title. They did not. The book did not succeed. Who knows would a better aligned publishing house have done better?
Would I try self-publishing? Yes, I would try but recognize that the author commitment required to be a self-published success cannot be understated.
I remember discussing the nature of childhood memories with a friend early in my university career.
I have many vivid memories of experiences as a child but I have no recollection of the times between those memories. My friend recalled her childhood in one connected stream – I was astounded – and envious.
Perhaps being a more conscientious journal keeper would have brought my recall closer to her experience. However, when I did write almost daily, it was rarely “documentary”. I was more likely to describe a visual moment or write a poem than set down a chronology of activity.
In retrospect, the importance of note taking is painfully obvious. My husband and I spent 17 days in Turkey – did I take notes? Of course not! I am now recreating the experience tediously through our hundreds of photographs (photography being somewhat of a passion), the itinerary and memories triggered by browsing the Internet. I was convinced during the trip that I could not possibly forget the detail. A notebook and a pen would have saved countless hours….
Fragments of memories develop depth of character in many fiction works. So I do believe that capturing recollections will be valuable and will trigger creative opportunities. Prospectively, I will be much more cognizant of the quirks of “memory” and use tangible aids.
Writing can be a lonely pursuit and there is great value in working with a group of like-minded scribes. The Forest City Wordwrights coalesced after taking several classes together in fiction, memoir and other subjects at Western Continuing Studies where many of the Wordwrights have earned a Certificate in Creative Writing. They support each other with critiques and writing exercises to keep their skills sharp outside of class. I wish all my students could find this kind of partnership to stay motivated through edits and rewrites to produce their best work. It has been a true pleasure to watch each Wordwright become the author of her own literary destiny with stories that are lively and very human. Happy reading!
Mary Ann Colihan
Mary Ann Colihan is a writing instructor at Western Continuing Studies. Her newest course, Nature Writing in the Forest City, is available in May. She has her M.A. in Journalism from Western and is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Professional Writers Association of Canada.
“I love the written word, and believe that a selection of words can change our world. One sentence can make us laugh, make us cry; and so importantly, make us think.”
Muriel’s passion is playing with words and imagining the lives of interesting people, understanding them, and seeing how they heal their wounds.
She is grateful to have found such a creative and talented group of writers, to share the journey of creativity and truth. There is no limit to the secret world of the imagination.
Marian Bron
Marian Bron lives just outside of the city of London, Ontario and has been writing stories and poems since she was a child. An avid reader, she has read everything from Clifton Adams to Markus Zusak. Her books—Arthur Mory, a murder mystery featuring a shoe-obsessed humanoid robot; and Picking Pockets and Picking Battles, the first two installments in a young adult spy series with a healthy dose of romance—are available on Amazon.
Catherine A. Campbell
A lawyer by training Catherine spent most of her career in senior management and executive positions in legal and educational publishing. She chaired the Intellectual Property Committee of the Canadian Publishers’ Council and consulted on copyright and regulatory issues. Catherine completed a Masters in intellectual property law in 2010 and has finished her professional certificate in Creative Writing at Western.
She is currently pursuing memoir and fiction projects and fills her spare time (procrastination) with training her Standard Poodle, Kohl, and playing classical piano.
Annie Carpenter
Annie Carpenter is a Children’s Author as well as a Communication Clerk on a busy hospital unit. The reality that at any given moment…life can be stolen away inspires her writing. She tries to shine a light of hope on such a difficult subject and was picked up by Guardian Angel Publishing for a Children’s book that deals with the grief and loss of a young child in a tender way. Livvy & the Queen Bee won runner up from the Word Guild in 2016 and Annie will be publishing the novella version in the fall of 2017.
Annie is part of a “blended family” that could provide her with enough subject matter to keep writing forever. She loves bunnies, puppies and second chances.
Currently, Diane attends Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. She has a Professional Certificate in Creative Writing.
She was born in a small town in Massachusetts but has lived in Canada most of her adult life. She is a published writer of Children’s Books and is working on Contemporary Fiction projects.
Madeleine Horton is a retired teacher. She is enjoying being a member of a writing group where she can try out many forms of expression. At present her focus is fiction (short stories), memoir, and creative non-fiction. She is working on a family history using some journals of her grandmother and mother. She also enjoys being a member of a Reading Group. Taking care of her dog, a horse, and feeding and observing local birds and a resident chipmunk give her great pleasure.
Maria Melillo Jones
Maria was born in a small town in Italy, Calabritto, in the Region Campania. In November 1980 her town and surrounding towns were destroyed by a major earthquake. The beautiful medieval town was brought down to dust and rubble, covering hundreds of corpses – friends, neighbours, family, young and old – too many were lost that night in just a few seconds.
Maria immigrated to Canada in 1981 to join her oldest brother. She is now a Canadian Citizen and proud to call herself one.
Poetry and writing has always been a passion, although the language doesn’t make it easier.She is currently taking courses at Western in creative writing and in September will start poetry.
Married for 33 years Maria has two children, now handsome young men.
Alison Pearce
Alison is a retired teacher whose passion has been working with young children. She worked in a number of schools across Toronto – taught courses for the Ministry of Education – and, in the final eight years of her teaching career, she was principal of the Junior Division of one of Toronto’s private schools for girls.
Several years ago, she moved from Toronto to London so that she could research her family of Elgin County. Alison’s great-great-grandfather was one of the first pioneer families of the early Talbot settlement. She wrote and published “The Pearces of ‘Little Ireland’, Tyrconnell 1809- 2009”.
A little over two years ago she took her first course in Creative Writing at Western University. In her new-found hobby, she enjoys writing fictional and non-fictional character studies of people.
Alison also belong to a book club and plays (a little) bridge with a retired group of teachers.
Catherine Richards
Catherine is pursuing her Certificate in Creative Writing at Western University and is delighted that the Forest City Wordwrights have adopted her into the group despite not living in the London area!
Catherine has always loved school and would spend all her time and savings on courses if she could. She holds a Master of Information Studies, a Certificate in Museum Management and Curatorship and a B.A. in Art History/ Celtic Studies.
Her professional work in municipal government allows her to be emersed in her passion for communities, culture, planning and policy-making. Some of her favourite things include 1,000 piece puzzles, The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch and afternoon tea with a biscuit.
She is interested in personal stories, essays and memoirs and is currently writing about her experience surviving and recovering from a ruptured brain aneurysm during the COVID19 pandemic.
Catherine lives in Cobourg, Ontario with her two loves: Johan (a human) and Lily (a husky).
Cathy Sartor
My Irish mother insisted on calling me Cathryn but, my Scottish father John Campbell preferred Cathy which is how I identify today. My three sons think of me as Mom but in the classroom, my students referred to me as Ms. Sartor. Funny how a person’s name reflects their many roles. Born in London, Ontario, I was raised in Sarnia, but returned to London to attend London Teacher’s College and to teach while my husband completed his law degree at Western University. We raised our sons in Sarnia and as they grew more independent, I commuted to London frequently, while completing my BA at Western. Encountering an empty nest, I settled in Colorado where I completed a Wilderness Studies Diploma, trained as a Museum Docent, qualify as an adaptive ski instructor and ultimately, taught Elementary School for fifteen years while at the same time completed a Master Degree specializing in Literacy Instruction for Students K – 6th grade. Following retirement in 2016, I returned to London where I find myself busy and happily engaged with London Newcomers, Tai Chi, golf, volunteering at Banting House and as a new member of Forest City Wordwrights.
Krista Vanderhoeven
Krista has had a very long journey enjoying writing, having started with poetry at the age of 14. She has turned out to be an avid reader as well, even more in adulthood, tackling two to three books at a time. She is deeply interested in human nature and experience. She is family oriented, living minutes away from family.
This individual recently discovered the creative writing courses with Western Continuing Studies, and became intrigued, discovering once again that this is what she is most passionate about. She is now working towards a certificate with this. Being in the company of other writers is nothing short of inspiring!
She has a comprehensive education and works in a library. One diploma she earned is a Library and Information Technician Diploma from Fanshawe College, and she studied mostly psychology at Brescia University College, both in London Ontario.
She has self-published two books: a book of poems (2014) and a reflection on recovery from illness (2009).
