Emerging writers hone their skills BY JESSICA COLE
M
onica Wang and Libby McKeever both write novels and short fiction. Currently, Monica lives in England, where she has just embarked on a Master of Arts in creative writing from the University of Exeter. Libby, a retired youth librarian, lives in Whistler, BC, and is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University. WordWorks caught up with each of them via email to discuss their experiences as emerging writers. “I was born in Taichung, Taiwan, back when it was still pretty rural,” says Monica about her beginnings. “The first house I lived in faced a pile of construction rubble, and the second was a three-storey brick mansion with electronic gates adjacent to nothing but rice paddies.” She grew up around Vancouver and Taipei, starting a new school every year from kindergarten to high school. Meanwhile, Libby was in Australia, growing up “on a quiet bay surrounded by bush on one of the many
reaches of Sydney Harbour.” Being raised on an island continent fuelled a curiosity about the world for many of her peers, who travelled widely. “I was no different,” says Libby, “and met a Canadian, who became my husband on one of these sojourns.” After many trips across the Pacific, Libby and her husband settled in Whistler to raise their daughters. Libby and Monica were each influenced by teachers. “My high school writing teacher […] was brilliant and odd and terrifying. He was also the first person who ever encouraged me to write, and when I write, I still think of some of the things he told us,” Monica says when asked about her influences. Libby, however, had a different experience. “I was asked by my Grade 9 English teacher […] if my parents had helped me with a writing assignment. Instead of being fuelled by this challenge to prove to her that I was capable, I was discouraged and didn’t write for years.” Both writers found support along the way by seeking out community. “The writer friends I’ve made on Twitter have […] given me serious help, advice, and encouragement,” says Monica, while Libby found mentorship through her involvement with the Whistler Writers’ Festival. “Writing is a solitary pursuit,” says Libby, “and as such, I firmly believe we need to have a community. It is necessary but also so very difficult to write in isolation, so reaching out to join others, either through a festival or a group of classmates at a course or workshop, is a fantastic way to create community.” Although writers generally work alone, publication requires them to put their work out to an audience, risking both rejection and acceptance. Monica remembers her first acceptance letter, for a piece of short fiction, “Glass Tank,” from Green Hills Literary Lantern. The piece was subsequently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. “I’d been quietly panicking about the rejection process and publication ‘tiers’ for months, so GHLL being a university literary journal, and its editor Adam Davis
12
wordworks | 2022 Volume I
