Monique Polak

It's Wednesday, Jan. 2 and this is my first blog entry for the new year. I took the last two days off to basically hang out with my husband. But that doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about my book!! In fact, before we fell asleep last night, I got Mike to let me talk some of the plot details through with him. It's something I tend to do over the summer (when I am working full timeon my fiction) on Sunday nights, when I  am gearing up for another week of writing. Sometimes Mike contributes an idea, but really, the most helpful part for me is just talking things out. Like now, I am planning to write a fight scene between two boys and since Mike is a former boy, he had some insight into how these things go. 

We've had another major dump of snow in Montreal, so I'm still in my pajamas. I am meeting up later with a friend who's in from New York... I'd been hoping to drive her to the airport, but I've changed my plans on account of the snow. I'm going to jog downtown, take her for lunch, and then she'll take a cab to the airport -- and if I'm lively enough, I'll jog back home. My friend, by the way, is named Carole Wilbourn and she's a CAT THERAPIST!! I met her many years ago when I interviewed her for a Gazette story and we became friends. By the way, she's got a website, too. If you're into cats, or are just curious, you can check it out at: thecattherapist.com

Enjoy the snow if it's snowy where you are. And if it isn't, enjoy not having to shovel your way out the front door!  

That's the quota I've been setting for myself over the holidays. It doesn't sound like much, but it seems to work for me. But just so it doesn't seem to you like I've got it too easy, I should explain that I start my writing day by reviewing and tweaking whatever I wrote the day before. 

This morning, I was writing in my diary about how much I am enjoying this timeoff from teaching. I think it's because I've been able to focus on writing and reading. (And oh, I forgot to tell you that Frances -- our cat-house guest -- is very nice to have around when you are reading on the couch since she comes to sit next to you and purrs like a furry engine.) Back to what I was thinking/writing about in my diary (thinking and writing sometimes seem like the thing to me)... I was thinking/writing about how I like working simultaneously as a journalist and novelist. It's funny how those two types of writing can sometimes feel very different, but yet they somehow feed off of each other. When I write a newspaper story, I have to be as accurate as possible. I rely on notes I've taken and sometimes when I'm working on a newspaper assignment, I have to phone people I've interviewed to ask a few more questions -- or check some fact or other. But the focus is on getting to the TRUTH. On the other hand, writing a novel is basically TELLING A LIE. You get to make things up and have things go whichever way you'd like them to. But -- and this is where the distinction between journalism and fiction blurs a little for me -- when you make up a story, you are essentially trying to TELL THE TRUTH about life or people. Also, in a lot of the fiction I write, I need to do a lot of research in order to make my story seem real. 

Speaking of research, today I went to visit my friends Maite and John and their new baby Noam, who is very very handsome. Maite is on leave from her job as educational programs coordinator at Blue Metropolis, the literary foundation that arranged for me to visit Nunavik last winter. In fact, Maite was there, too. There was one weekend, though, that I stayed "home," while Maite went winter camping with a group of friends from Nunavik. (I stayed home because I wanted to help look after a dog who was hit by a pickup truck when she was out on a run with me. The dog, you'll be glad to know, survived the accident and is doing well.) Anyway, not only did I get to meet Noam, but I got to ask Maite some more questions about winter camping! She told me how some other campers trapped a fox, and how one of the kids used the dead fox for a puppet. I know that sounds gross, but GROSS MAKES GOOD STORIES!! So, guess what I'll be writing about when I'm back at the computer next week?!

Since my husband Mike will be off for the next four days, I am planning to take a little holiday, too. Which means I may not post again until 2008. So  if you don't hear from me before then, I wish you a very happy and healthy and safe and fun and creative new year. Did I leave anything out? 

It's a good thing I live with an editor. That's because I just asked Mike whether house guest is one word or two. So that saved me from having to check the word/s in the dictionary.

The house guest we are expecting is my friend's cat Frances. Frances is a Siamese cat and she has stayed with us before -- despite the fact that I am allergic to cats and dogs. The funny thing aboutFrances is we think she may like our house better than the one she lives in! That's because last time she was here, Frances made a habit of coming to sit on the couch with us when we were reading... something she never does at her own house.

Since Mike is working over the holidays -- people still want to read their newspaper --  I have time to keep working on my George River story. I think I've told you I'm nearing the climax. I find that as I've been working on the story over the last few days, my fingers have been moving more quickly than usual across the keyboard. Maybe it's because my story is speeding up, too. A lot of tense things are happening all at once -- which is rough for my poor main character, but super fun for me!!!

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a great day. Michael and I did what most people who are Jewish seem to do on Christmas: we went to see a movie (Juno -- I really liked it) and then we had dinner in Chinatown. 

Well, bye for now... I've gotta get organized for Franny-bo-banni! 

... and all Monique wanted to do was WRITE -- but there were presents to wrap and a dinner to cook... and friends wanting to come by to visit. I did want to tell you a little about Hadley Dyer, formerly the children's editor at James Lorimer & Co. Hadley is now the very successful author of a YA book called Johnny Kellock Died Today (Harper Collins) and has left the editing world to writefull-time. Well, Hadley and her dog Luke, a spaniel-mix, spent the night here on Saturday -- and we had a lovely visit. You'll be relieved to know that unlike Ruby, the cat-next-door, Luke doesn't have a problem with having his feet wiped. Now, a good invention would be a dog who wipes his own feet!! (Or maybe they could add that to the lessons at obedience school.) 

I asked Hadley whether she could offer some advice to aspiring writers who might be reading this blog. Here's what she had to say: "Don't be in a hurry to get published. It doesn't matter whether you start at 12 or 42 -- it takes many years to learn the craft, probably at least ten." I also asked Hadley to tell me a little about her writing process. Before she starts, she generally knows her story's key events. "I struggle a lot to connect the dots between these key events. It happened in my first book, too," she said. Hadley has recently finished two manuscripts. One's another YA novel set in Nova Scotia (that's where she's from and where she was headed this Christmas) in the 1980s. The other is a non-fiction project about public spaces and why they are important in kids' lives.

So, that's it for today's blog entry. It's nearly noon and though I went for my run at 8:30, I'm still in my jogging clothes. Time to take a shower and then spend a little time on my story. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a happy healthy New Year. To my regular readers like Kim and Sophie and Tamar, I send holiday hugs. 

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!