monique polak

Monique Polak's Books

2 minutes reading time (350 words)

'Twas the Day Before Christmas

... 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. 

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Comments

Guest - Kim on Monday, 24 December 2007 18:21

Happy Christmas/Holidays to you too, Miss. Polak!! Hopefully, you'll write another entry before the New Year, so I'll wish you a happy New Year then!
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who had to finish gift-wrapping this morning... at least I finished my shopping yesterday!! (I finished school (Robotics club) on Friday, though, so that's my excuse)
If you have some time (probably in the New Year, at the rate you're going!), I'd be curious to know more about that project on public spaces... and what happened to that article on waiting...

Happy Christmas/Holidays to you too, Miss. Polak!! Hopefully, you'll write another entry before the New Year, so I'll wish you a happy New Year then! ;) I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who had to finish gift-wrapping this morning... at least I finished my shopping yesterday!! (I finished school (Robotics club) on Friday, though, so that's my excuse:D) If you have some time (probably in the New Year, at the rate you're going!), I'd be curious to know more about that project on public spaces... and what happened to that article on waiting...
Guest - Tamar on Wednesday, 26 December 2007 21:16

Thanks for the good wishes!
Hope you had great holidays!!

Thanks for the good wishes! Hope you had great holidays!!
Guest - Sophie B. X. on Thursday, 27 December 2007 12:52

I feel guilty about not reading your blog for the past week or so, but I caught up today so all should be forgiven. I haven't had time to do anything for myself, that is to say, except reading Harry #7. (Kim does leave many comments! I'm jealous...) I really did go shopping till i dropped in the little free time that I had and my dad, who accompanied me on most of my trips, said it was "the most painful time of my life." All he had to do was hold my jacket and lazy around, how difficult could that be? I was flipping through my little book of poems which I showed you last semester and I found "The Highwayman" which I first read in grade 9. The poem bought back some delightful memories and I was touch once more by how strong love can really be. Happy holidays and best of luck in your writing projects! (I have a very hard time imagining you sitting down to write, energetic as you are. Do you talk to yourself when you write to get more out of your ideas?

I feel guilty about not reading your blog for the past week or so, but I caught up today so all should be forgiven. I haven't had time to do anything for myself, that is to say, except reading Harry #7. (Kim does leave many comments! I'm jealous...) I really did go shopping till i dropped in the little free time that I had and my dad, who accompanied me on most of my trips, said it was "the most painful time of my life." All he had to do was hold my jacket and lazy around, how difficult could that be? :D I was flipping through my little book of poems which I showed you last semester and I found "The Highwayman" which I first read in grade 9. The poem bought back some delightful memories and I was touch once more by how strong love can really be. Happy holidays and best of luck in your writing projects! (I have a very hard time imagining you sitting down to write, energetic as you are. Do you talk to yourself when you write to get more out of your ideas?
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