Emerging writers hone their skills

BY JESSICA COLE

Monica 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 McKeever

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 being an English professor, meant a lot to me […],” says Monica. “It made me feel more secure branching out toward different genres and indie lit mags after. That Adam nominated ‘Glass Tank’ for a Pushcart gave me confidence to last at least another year.”

Libby’s route to publication was equally unique. “I performed a short story, ‘Travels and Trails: The Burrard Cattle Trail’ at the 2010 Olympics as part of the street entertainment.” Engaging the public with her work was an inspiring achievement for Libby. “People stopped and listened to my words […]. I could see their immediate reaction. The trust that someone put in my words, to be a source of entertainment or interest to people, was extremally gratifying.”

These acceptances were galvanizing and powerful experiences. Still, as for all writers—emerging or established—there were rejections, too. When asked about how they handled their first rejections, Libby and Monica blend their experiences with advice.

“I let out a great bellow and didn’t write again for three months,” says Monica. However, she persevered. “If you believe in a piece, don’t stop submitting. If you love a piece but feel it’s not as good as what you had in your head, or have other doubts about it, don’t stop revising. Eventually a publication you like will like the piece, too.”

Monica Wang

When reflecting on her first rejection, Libby muses, “I think I was so naive. After getting positive feedback from my writers’ group, I had a small feeling that someone might want to publish my words. Being told it was interesting but not what they were looking [for or] had space for just left me questioning both the story and my ability.” Despite the setback, she didn’t stop writing. “I handled it by writing something new.”

As each writer continues to hone their craft, themes have emerged. Libby writes about grief, failure and success, and coming of age in her historical fiction and time-travel fantasy novels. Recently, however, she switched genres to work on a novelization of her grandfather’s life. “I have realized [this novel] is about discovering the Australian in myself,” she says.

Meanwhile, Monica deadpans that her work “used to be predominantly stories about bad parents and sad women, but I’ve gotten that out of my system.” Today, she writes literary fiction about subtly unlikable outsiders, sometimes with speculative elements. “Now that I’m no longer writing for catharsis [or] to shame my parents, I’m hoping to entertain while striving toward [...] greater meaning and artistry.”

Both Libby and Monica have serious aspirations; they have each pursued or are pursuing post-secondary studies in creative writing. Monica received a scholarship to the Master of Arts program at the University of Exeter while Libby returned to Simon Fraser University after graduating from The Writer’s Studio to be a teaching assistant in the program and take graduate workshops. Both writers give a nod to the power of workshopping to stimulate a writer’s growth.

Though life surely tugs them both in many directions, both Libby and Monica are determined to continue honing their grasp of the craft. “Carve out time for yourself,” says Libby when asked about her practice. “Put writing in your day alongside appointments, family needs, work, and other commitments. You deserve equal billing.”

Jessica Cole is the managing editor of WordWorks She enjoys supporting writers and developing their work for publication and writes fiction under the pen name Jess Wesley.