On Momentum

My Banff Centre experience has ended for now. Six intense, non-stop, morning 'til midnight days of writing, writing, writing. We talked about writing. We read about writing. We wrote, we read, we wrote some more.

And then suddenly – not with a bang but an awkward, poorly attended Farewell Reception – it was over. Not that I expected much from something called a Farewell Reception. The name evokes sweaty cheese and strained small talk. If it was called Last Night Piss-Up, well, that would have been a different story.

Have decided I'm terrible at goodbyes.

I used to avoid them altogether by perfecting the art of what I called The French Exit in which, at the height of the party's attendance and energy, I would slip out the back door unseen and vanish into the night. It's fine for nightclubs when there are creeps lurking about, but really, it's rude otherwise. So I quit that business. And now I suffer through my discomfort like everyone else.

But all this goodbye stuff is secondary to the fact that this residency was probably the most important experience of my writing career thus far. It was a perfect way to begin my year as a full-time artist.

I sat down with Facilitator Bill for an hour on Friday and we came up with a plan and a schedule for the next twelve months. He said what I already knew: that it's time to get published. The plan is pretty simple, I'll work on the book in the mornings when I'm most productive. In the afternoons, I'll revise, work on short pieces and submit them to journals. Bill always submits two stories at a time – shows them variety, gives them a choice and lets you know which of your pieces are resonating with editors and which aren't.

When I'm finished the book, I'll get an agent. Then get the damn thing published.

I've left this residency with rock-solid confidence and resolve. I got wholeheartedly positive feedback from all three facilitators and the director of the program – all of them prolifically published writers and one of them an Order of Canada recipient. You can't buy better affirmation than that.

So, I got a week-long confirmation that I'm on the right path. Now my job is to stay on it, keep writing, up the ante and GET PUBLISHED for God's sake.