My Not-So-Little Helper

Gizmo knows I have a lot to do today, so he's helping by keeping my arm warm. He's such a team player.

You're Sh*ting Me! (Or, Another Reason to Love the Internet)

I don't usually watch Grey's Anatomy, but we've been taping this season for my busy aunt and with our set-up you can't watch another channel. So on Thursday nights I've generally had one eye on Meredith and her wacky gang, and another on my computer screen.

On last night's episode a woman was diagnosed with c.difficile and was prescribed a fecal transplant - they were going to put a tube down her throat and shoot some of her boyfriend's poop into her digestive system, so she could have his good bacteria. I immediately turned to Steve and said "Do you think that's real?"

Cut to three hours later. I go to my Google homepage where, along with everything else, I installed the Hot Trends widget that tells you what is suddenly popular in Google searches. And there, sitting at number two (pardon the pun), was "fecal transplants". It's neat to know that so many other people turned and wondered "Is that real?" at the same time I did.

This morning, "fecal transplants" is still at number nine. And if you're wondering, yes, apparently fecal transplants are real. According to a CBC story from just over a year ago, "Don't poo-poo technique: Fecal transplant can cure superbug, doctors say", the procedure was then being performed by a handful of Canadian doctors and more in the States, although they mention using an enema. Which seems only slightly less icky, but also a far less amusing procedure for Dr. Karev to explain.

Thoughts on the Humber College Workshop "An Insider's Guide to Getting Published"

This week I was at the Humber College Lakeshore Campus in South Etobicoke for a two-day workshop on how to get published. Although there was some content on U.S. and International sales and agents, the focus was very definitely on the publishing industry here in Canada, which was the main reason I finally signed up.

I say finally because I was back and forth about whether or not I should spend the money. I noticed the course was coming up last week and thought the content looked pretty good, but with currently tight finances the nearly $350 fee was daunting. I've done a lot of research into the business aspect of writing on my own, so I was worried I'd be paying to hear things I already knew. But my cheerleading squad were all for the idea (thanks mom and Steve!) so I took the plunge with an eye to the "I want to be a Canadian writer" content I rarely find online.

CanCon notwithstanding, I should have known what the real value was going to be based on the workshop's name, "An Insider's Guide to Getting Published". Workshop leader Cynthia Good, current director of Humber's Creative Book Publishing program, was with Penguin Canada for many years and thus was actually the one on the receiving end of countless queries. She gave us specific tips, was happy to answer any questions and also said a whole lot about what would really annoy an editor just by her reaction to questions or the emphasis she would put on certain points. I have a had a growing list of small but annoying questions I could never find the answer to in books or online, and over the two days Cynthia answered them all. She even gave her feedback on our first-attempt query letters! Then one afternoon was spent with Jennifer Murray who did marketing with Penguin Canada and Kids Can Press, and had just as much specific, practical information on how books actually get sold and what writers can be doing to help that happen.

Another great thing about the class was that we were a small group (under twenty) which made for a nice atmosphere and let us get to know a bit about each other's projects. I'm certainly eager to hear who does get their book published and I'm sure many - if not all - will (I also have a feeling who will be first... Patricia, I'm looking at you).

I'd recommend the class to anyone who is fairly well along in their manuscript. I still have a lot of editing to do, but I wish I'd been ready to apply what I'd learned the second I walked out the door. That said, some people who weren't even sure what form their manuscript was going to take seemed to get a far better sense just by learning about the publishing/marketing end of things. So it could be helpful if you're at the other extreme, too.

Of course now that I've spent the money, I'm even more motivated to finish this current project and get it out into the world. And for me, added motivation to finish is never a bad thing.

• Check out Humber's workshops, events and classes - including their well-respected correspondance program - on the Humber School for Writers website. (Watch your sound level if you don't want your boss to know you're browsing - a welcome video plays automatically)

Why I'm Not Doing Nanowrimo This Year... Yet

November 1st is significant for many writers as the kick-off to National Novel Writing Month. Hunkering down to hammer out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days is a fun, frantic plunge into fiction writing, and I've done it more than once before. But the situation hasn't changed since I last posted about Nanowrimo - none of my earlier Nanuscripts have been fully edited, or even given to friends or family to read (although a few chapters of the first one did make it to a writer's group).

I've finally gotten back on the horse with the 2005 book. I'm on a roll with it, and suddenly problems with plot and character that seemed insurmountable enough to keep it all tucked away on my hard drive for three years are disappearing in a domino effect (I give a lot of credit to my fantabulous guy, who is a sounding board extraordinaire).

Still, I do love the rush of Nanowrimo and have the urge to jump in the melee. So I've made myself a promise. If I can get the second draft of the 2005 Nanuscript completed by mid-month, I'll put it aside to sit for a little while at the same time I engage in an exercise to bring me closer to the characters - I will plunge headlong into the sequel, trying to hammer out the first draft by the thirtieth.

I highly doubt I'll get to the new book, but hopefully the desire to get in on Nano this year will keep me motivated to edit my Nano book of old.

Updates to come!

• Get in on the novel-writing action yourself at Nanowrimo.org

My Formerly Guilty Pleasure

Last night we had a friend over who brought a selection of horror films ranging from high-quality to highly-laughable. In the ensuing discussion, he referred to something as a "formerly guilty pleasure". It turns out the only New Year's Resolution he ever made was never to feel guilty about liking something again. It's been working for him for several years now, and I thought that sounded like a much better way to be. So today I shall tell the whole of the internet about a formerly guilty pleasure of mine, and I shall do so with pride:

I enjoy cliche-riddled teen and tween films.

Not all of them mind you, but generally if they have to do with the empowering of oddballs, I'm in. Just tonight I watched Sydney White, the Amanda Bynes movie based on the story of Snow White (and the Seven Dorks, in this case). I didn't love it, but I plain old enjoyed watching it. And it doesn't surprise me in the least that screenwriter Chad Gomez Creasy is now a scribe for Pushing Daisies, which I do love.

A few weeks ago I watched the latest Nancy Drew movie, and before that it was Accepted. And yes, both Sydney White and Accepted are set in universities (and strangely both feature Jeremy Howard as an obsessed-yet-endearing student focused on his own special projects), but I think the audience they were aiming for is clear, and it wasn't supposed to be me.

The odd thing is, I didn't care much for these kinds of movies when I was actually in the target age range. Beyond animated Disney films, all I wanted to see as a kid was whatever my older brother and parents were watching. Now I'll happily watch Unaccompanied Minors, The New Kid, Sleepover or anything else of that ilk if it's on TV and I'm looking to just relax. I'm also big on the ones that aren't as cliche-heavy, but are still clearly aimed at younger viewers. I really liked Harriet the Spy a few years back, and again am not surprised the writer went on to do other things I liked even more (Doug Petrie = one of the best writers in the sea of awesome writers that was the staff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Currently I'm waiting for the day Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl shows up on afternoon movie rotation, because I have a feeling I'll like that one, too.

So there it is. When I want to just kick back and be entertained, I like to do it with stories that tell me I don't have to do what the other kids are doing to be cool, I just have to be myself. And I like to see those stories told by actors who most people over the age of twenty have never heard of, yet whose career I may well be following with interest (and who often break very big not long after, but that's a story for another post).