Monique Polak

Here's the link to my Gazette story about how the snow has affected Christmas shopping here in Montreal: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=bed00925-e759-417d-ba1b-4fb4661a78e5

Wish I had more time for a longer entry,  but I've got three friends coming for lunch today at one. Since I'm Queen of the Multi-Task, I'm about to go for a run and pick up lettuce en route. If my guests don't have too good a time, I hope to be back at the computer for a couple of hours later this afternoon. I'm getting to the climax of my George River story. Not that I want to give away all my secrets, but there's going to be a polar bear. Did you know they are so big and fleshy that bullets rarely penetrate their skin? 

Okay, so you never wondered. A streeter (in case I've piqued your interest) is a term used in journalism to describe a story where you interview people on the street. Today, just when I was about to sit down to work on my manuscript, I got a call from the Gazette Business editor asking me what I was up to. It turned out he needed me to write a story for tomorrow's paper about how local merchants have been affected by the snowstorms that have recently hit Montreal. Since I was going downtown anyhow to meet my daughter, I said yes. And so, this is how I got to spend most of my day in reporter mode. I got lots of good material -- some from shop owners whose stores are suffering, and some from people whose businesses are benefiting from the bad weather (like the manager of the Yellow shoe store in Place Alexis-Nihon who has been doing a brisk business in winter boots.) 

My daughter wanted me to "see" a down winter coat she has been coveting. Well, let's just say the proceeds from the story have gone directly to the coat. But my girl is warm (the top half of her at least -- she practically refused to even try on a full-length coat  -- not fashionable enough for her!!) and the story is written... and I have to admit I do get a bit of a buzz from working on a tight deadline. I'll send you the link to the article in tomorrow's blog entry. And oh, I almost forgot to tell you. My former editor Hadley Dyer (I mentioned her in a previous entry -- she is a very successful YA writer who lives in Toronto) is coming to spend the night on Saturday with her dog Luke. Should be fun. I just hope Luke doesn't mind having his feet wiped. (The cat next door doesn't seem to like it.) Bye for now. Be good, be safe, have fun...   and wipe your feet!

Today was one of those days when the writing went quickly and fairly painlessly. Also, I'm working on a section where my character, who is out on a winter camping expedition in Nunavik, wakes up to a terrible snowstorm. It helps that it is snowing again today in Montreal, though it's not stormy like it was on Sunday. So, all I've had to do is tilt my head a little to the right to getsome inspiration -- that's because the balcony to my office is in that direction, and the railing has about nine inches of snow on top of it. It looks almost edible! 

I have to be at Marianopolis at four today to help set up for the English Exit exam tomorrow. It's an exam that all second-year students at English language colleges in the province will be writing. I think I might have to walk to school. That's because my car is snowed in -- but my next plan is to head out and do some shoveling. I'll consider it part of my research. In fact, and you'll probably think this sounds a little wacky, but I am going to bring my pen and notepad outside so I can jot down my observations about being out in the snow. That way, I can let the character I am writing about have some of my thoughts. You can probably tell that even when we're not at the computer, we writers are still writing (well, in a way)! Okay then, off I go to face the elements!! 

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=f7f76eb0-3816-4d47-947b-0384a8b07894

I was supposed to meet up with two teacher friends today for lunch, but our rendezvous is cancelled because of all the snow. Which means I can stay in my flannel nightgown all morning and WRITE! First, I've got to work on that newspaper story about the place that recycles mattresses -- then I'm going back to the George River project. In fact, the snowstorm has inspired  me. Yesterday morning, we had thunder and lightning in addition to heavy snow -- I didn't even know that particular combination was possible -- so I'm going to work that into my story today. I was thinking that because I am writing a story set so far in the north (Nunavik, Quebec), it's as if the weather gets to be a separate character! Okay then, off I go to get to work. It's certainly a lovely day to be a writer who works at home. Hope your day is cozy, too!

It's not just Friday -- it's Friday at four minutes to five. This has been a very busy week. I'm glad I had nice long stretches at the computer. Some days, the writing comes more quickly than on other days. Those telephone interviews I did last week with Isabelle and this week with Mark really helped me gain momentum on my latest book project. Though I have kind-of-an-idea about wheremy story is headed, I have to admit that this time, I am working without at outline. It's a little like crawling through a tunnel in the dark -- I can only see a little bit ahead of me. Every once in a while, I think that I should use an outline, but then I seem to want to keep telling my story instead. Maybe next week I'll write an outline -- if I do, I'll need to go back to the beginning and map out what's happened so far... or maybe I won't!

I also did some reporting this afternoon for two stories I am writing for the Montreal Gazette. One story is about how people who don't have garages get upset when someone else takes their parking spot on a snowy day. My friend Viva told me how one of her neighbours spent half an hour shoveling out her car --  only to discover it belonged to someone else!! So I went and knocked on the lady's door... and luckily for me, she agreed to be interviewed. I'm also researching a story for the Business section about a company that recycles mattresses. 

 Did I tell you that the advance readers' copy of the 121 Express arrived in the mail? It's got a very cool cover!! Of course, the rest of the world will have to wait until spring to see it! My 77-year-old dad read the advance copy of the book this week -- and he said he loved it. Must mean he's still in touch with his inner 13-year-old!!

Other news: I had five friends over last night for dinner and a cookie exchange. That means everyone made six dozen cookies -- one dozen to keep,  and five dozen to give away. So now, I'm thinking about having a cookie -- the only problem is which one to choose! 

Talk to you next week. Have a happy, fun, safe weekend.  

So the last three days have been what I consider heavenly. Not much to do, except WRITE!! Though I manage to keep writing during the school semester, it does feel like I'm juggling a lot of balls when I'm teaching full-time... and now, I'm down to just one ball... or two. I've been moving forward on the George River project. Did I tell you that last week I had a very good phone conversation with Isabelle Guay, who told me how net fishing works? Today, I contacted Mark Brazeau, the vice-principal at the school I visited in Kangiqsualujjuaq, since I have a few questions for him, too. Mark and his family are really into winter camping and he has his own team of Inuit sled dogs. 

The other ball I've been juggling this week has to do with journalism. Yesterday, I wrote a story for The National Post newspaper about waiting. Not sure if I mentioned that I was researching this topic. I got the idea last week when I was waiting for some guy to finish using the bank machine. Not only did he take forever (well, it felt like forever to me!), but he had a bad cold and he was sneezing all over the ATM. Anyway, I learned some very interesting things in the last week or so about waiting. Did you know that the average person spends five years of his or her life waiting in line? One good thing about being a writer is I always have something to do while I wait -- you guessed it, write!! I'll let you know when that article appears in the Post. It might take a few weeks... meaning I'll just have to WAIT!! 

Okay, I'm going back to my story. More from me later this week! Hope that wherever you are, you're also getting to spend your days doing the stuff you most love to do! 

I spent yesterday afternoon at John Abbott College, where I spoke to Deirdre King's Journalism class. Lately, when I've been doing school visits, I've been speaking mostly about being a YA writer -- so this was a change for me. But part of what I spoke about was the link between being a reporter and writing fiction. Reporters have to get things right; fiction writers can play with the facts in order to tell a good story. But as I told the students yesterday, writing fiction often requires a lot of research. I never realized that until I started my first fiction project. I was pleased (and impressed) that so many of Deirdre's students said they hope to write professionally. A few already write for the John Abbott newspaper, which, of course, is great training and experience for them. I often wish I'd been involved in school newspapers at college and university -- that way, I'd have gotten back to writing sooner. During yesterday's visit, I also mentioned an interview I read in last week's National Post with Dave Eggers, an American writer best known for his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, in which he tells the story of raising his little brother after the death of their parents. Asked what kind of project he's now interested in, Eggers says something really interesting and important about journalism: "I wanted to recommit to what I'd been taught in journalism school: Use the medium to give voice to those who might not have one and a platform to effect change." Now that's something for all writers -- journalists and novelists, too -- to think about!!

Classes are over at Marianopolis College. I've been marking like a fiend. Ask my husband who got a little miffed when I brought term papers with me to the grocery store on the weekend!! It's always a bit of an adjustment to go from teaching to writing full-time, especially over the holidays when there are so many other demands on our time. This afternoon, I'm going to phone my friendIsabelle Guay -- she is the teacher at whose house I stayed when I was in George River last year. I want to ask her some questions about winter camping in Nunavik. That's because I'm working on a section in my new book where my character is going to go on a winter camping trip. So I'm looking forward to catching up with Isabelle, who's been traveling in Europe for three months -- and who is now living outside of Quebec City. 

I also wanted to tell you about one of my students, Kim A. She dropped by my office this morning to chat (and to give me moral support when I had a little computer trouble). Kim, who's Chinese, told me she's adopted and that next week, she'll celebrate the 17th anniversary of her arrival in Canada. She doesn't know for sure what she'll do to celebrate, but she said she plans to eat eclairs -- her favourite dessert. Coincidentally, another student, who was also in Kim's class, told us she was adopted, too. Unfortunately, Kim was absent that day. But the other student's account of her life really fascinated the class -- and me. And of course,  you know what I'm thinking (because I always think the same thing!!): ALL THIS MAKES GREAT MATERIAL FOR STORIES!!! Speaking of which, I'm going to make myself a cup of green tea and settle in to do some writing before I call Isabelle. Have a great afternoon wherever you are!! 

My students submitted their final essays this week, which means there's a big pile of 'em on the living room floor -- and a smaller pile (those are the ones I've already graded) in my schoolbag. All this to say I don't expect to be doing any new writing until the middle of next week. When I'm not writing, I miss it -- it's kind of like not getting to be with your crush!!! <div>But I decided to write this blog entry today, anyhow, to fill you in on some news. First, I wanted to tell you about some of the really cool papers I've been marking -- I've been teaching two sections of a course called "The Stuff of Nonsense" and for the final assignment, my students had to create a work of nonsense and analyze it in a separate essay. So far, I've seen some amazing stuff. Katherine D made a scarf out of red licorice! Steven B took a totally cool photo that was a play on the I Spy books he loved as a child. Becky W made a guitar that's half chicken and half musical instrument and Zach K made a sandwich that he filled with the layers that make up his personality. So even though I've got a  ton of marking, I can't complain too much since so many of the assignments are just plain fun to read. Also, projects like these make me reflect on the pleasures of creativity. It makes me happy to know there are an endless number of great ideas out there -- if only we're open to them and if we take the trouble to turn them into something. 

Just time for a quick entry today, but I wanted to say thanks to those of you who've been posting comments on this blog. It's fun to know that even with the many things we all have to do, we're making time to read people's blogs. Darinka Popovic, teacher-librarian at Rockheights Middle School in Victoria, B.C., shared an interesting memory about clotheslines (she doesn't share my fondness for them, however!). I've also had feedback from students I've met in the last few weeks on school visits -- so thanks to you Victoria, Joy and Lawrence. Lawrence, who's a student at Westmount High in Montreal, is a blogger himself. I checked out his blog last night and found it pretty interesting, especially when he gets personal. If you want to see it for yourself, go to http://yellowjordan.spaces.live.com/default.aspx