Monique Polak - Recent Blog Posts - Monique's Blog

Nov

Home Sweet Home, but Feeling Very Inspired

MyBlog

I always tell my students to avoid the word "very" -- but sometimes, a person just can't help it. I'm just back from the Packaging Your Imagination conference in Toronto and I'm feeling VERY inspired. The conference is run by a great group called CANSCAIP (that stands for Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers). But let me get to the interesting

1640 Hits

Oct

Exciting Evening with Friends from Nunavik!

Monique Polak

MyBlog

Well, as life sometimes does, it served up a great gift yesterday. I think I told you I'd heard from my friend Sapina Snowball in Nunavik that she was coming to Montreal for a career conference. Yesterday, when I got home from school, there was a phone message from her. She explained that she'd arrived late on Monday and had been at her conference all day yesterday... and that she was leaving

1871 Hits

Oct

Preparing for a Talk about Writing -- and Researching

Monique Polak

MyBlog

I got through that pile of correctingÂ I was moaning about earlier this week. Mercifully, many of the essays were excellent. I didn't tell you, but the assignment was to analyze a joke using the Freudian model we have been studying in class. The class, in case you're wondering what kind of class studies jokes, is called "The Stuff of Nonsense."

Today, to celebrate my freedom

1707 Hits

Oct

Want to Read about Bibliotherapy?

Monique Polak

MyBlog

In a previous blog, I told you how I was writing a story for The National Post newspaper about bibliotherapy -- how reading books can help us cope with life's challenges. If you want to check out the story, here's the link:

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=0757758e-b5bd-471b-ac45-717b63ce4888&k=84179

I'm still working my way through

1861 Hits

Oct

I Shouldn't be Writing a Blog Entry Right Now...

Monique Polak

MyBlog

I shouldn't be writing a blog entry right now, but as you may have noticed, I am. What I should be doing is marking term papers. Only I miss writing too much!! As you may know, I teach full-time at Marianopolis College here in Montreal.Â This week,Â my students' major mid-term assignments are due... about 80 essays came in this morning, and I'll get more work on Wednesday. All this to

2879 Hits

Oct

Thinking about Vancouver Island... and clotheslines

Monique Polak

MyBlog

This time last year I was gearing up for my trip to Vancouver Island. I was there for the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Book Week and did I ever have fun!! I met so many interesting young people, heard so many great stories, and saw such gorgeous rugged terrain. I am also thinking about Victoria because I got an email this weekend from Darinka Popovic, the teacher librarian at Rockheights

2286 Hits

Oct

Thursday hello

Monique Polak

MyBlog

Ever have one of those mornings that slipslides away? That's what's happening to me today. Luckily, though, I still have nearly two hours till I have to leave for school -- and I'm planning to use them more efficiently than I used the last three hours (though I did go for a run and I picked up some groceries en route).Â

My editor's second set of notes for the school bus story has landed

2106 Hits

Oct

Reading is Good for Mental Health

Monique Polak

MyBlog

Well, I just finished writing a story for The National Post newspaper about something called "bibliotherapy." Though there are no universities that train people to become bibliotherapists, a lot of librarians, English teachers and therapists know that books can help people deal with difficult problems. I'm going to tell you about a few of the people I interviewed for the story. This

2198 Hits

Oct

The Lasagna was Dry, but the Conversation was Great

Monique Polak

MyBlog

So I promised I'd report back on my evening with children's writer Marsha Skrypuch, who was in Montreal for the launch of her latest book, Prisoners in the Promised Land: The Ukrainian Internment Diary of Anya Soloniuk (Scholastic). As I've already told you in the title of today's entry, my salmon lasagna didn't turn out that great. On the bright side, though, I learned a lot from

2090 Hits

Sep

It worked!

Monique Polak

MyBlog

Yippee! Now ALL my blog entries say "Posted by Monique Polak." Here are all the people I need to thank: Gord and Gio at Ecohosting here in Montreal, and my new friend Mark in Malaysia. I'm feeling downright computer-literate tonight!!

2231 Hits

Sep

Still testing

Monique Polak

MyBlog

I should be making salmon lasagna, but I'm still working on getting rid of "Posted by Adminstrator." So here goes! This time, I think it's going to work. This blog should say on top: "Posted by Monique Polak." Let's go, Computer, do it right this time!Â

2226 Hits

Sep

Friday hello

Monique Polak

MyBlog

Only time for a quick blog entry this morning. I'm trying to get rid of that annoying "Posted by Administrator" tag that has appeared on the top of each of my blog entries so far. I've been busy figuring out how to do that (with a little help from technical support people) --Â and you'll be able to tell from the top of this posting whether I found the solution. Let's just

2221 Hits

Sep

Hello from George River!!

Monique Polak

MyBlog

The thing is, I'm not really in George River (which is about five hours away by plane from Montreal). I'm sitting at my desk in Montreal, but I've been writing about George River, so in a way, I've spent the morning there.Â

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am writing a book set in George River, which is in Nunavik, in northern Quebec. I was there last February. So far, all

2222 Hits

Sep

Why Starting a New Book is a Little Like Falling in Love

Monique Polak

MyBlog

Starting a new book is a little like falling in love. That's because you're very hopeful and everything seems possible. That's why it's very important to take advantage of the burst of energy that can come with starting a new book (and falling in love)!!Â

To be honest, I was not planning to start a new book just yet. As you may know from my website, I teach full-time at Marianopolis

2218 Hits

Sep

Hello hello! Anyone out there?

Monique Polak

MyBlog

It's Monique P, writing to say I've now got my very own blog! For one week last month, I was a guest blogger on the Orca Book website -- and I liked it. In this blog, I'm going to tell you a little about the writing life. Only today, I didn't get much writing done. Sigh!! Sometimes, ordinary life gets in the way of the writing life.... But at least I learned how to set up this blog

2461 Hits

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