The Federation of B.C. Writers held its annual Spring Writes conference and AGM in Nanaimo May 2 to 5, and writers from all over the province converged on the Vancouver Island Convention Centre for four days of workshops, presentations, blue pencil sessions and hobnobbing.
Presentations and workshops included everything from the art and craft of writing, to strategies for pitching your manuscript to publishers, to 21st Century promotional tools writers can use to get their work into the hands and minds of readers, to discussions about the relevance of literature in an era of digital entertainment.
As a novelist, Fed member, and MiF reporter, yours truly took in as much of the action as was humanely possible on the conference Saturday, and – as much as I learned sitting in on the workshops and panels – I had to admit I missed out on much more than I took in. Kudos to the Fed, and to the Nanaimo area members in particular, for pulling together such a rich program of events.
My observer’s day started at 8 a.m., with a Morning Write, facilitated by Keith Liggett. The day before participants had been assigned a 200 word ‘show, not tell’ writing assignment, which they were to read to the group during the Saturday session. The stories were good, many would have earned a high grade in any course or contest… but Liggett could always find something to offer to improve the pieces, or at least for the writer to consider.
“It’s about habits, and it’s about opening creativity and opening doors, and being forced to do things that you wouldn’t do on your own, if you were just sitting in your closet and writing,” he said.
A raison d’être of the FBCW is to get writers out of solitary, bring them together, and help them engage, though collaborative learning and sharing, the realities of writing as an art and a discipline. Inspiration is a spark that ignites the creative naphtha; then the work of putting all the pieces together into a superbly crafted story begins.
Poet and Author Betsy Warland, during a panel on the whys and hows of publishing, said the vital role of creative writing in the 21st Century has not been diminished by the deluge of new media bringing entertainment and information to audiences.
Literature takes us places no other media can, places we need to go. “There’s so much that’s still missing in our collective narrative – that is forbidden, stereotyped,” she said. “We need to have these narratives present in our collective brain and understanding. So that’s why I think it’s important to publish a book.”
The sources of inspiration and information may be different, but youth are still drawn to creating and reading literature. Said Adam, to a gathering of youth at Literacy Central Vancouver Island, “Really, if you want to get to know a character, and get to know a world, reading is the best way to do it.” And bringing those kinds of penetrating experiences to readers is what drives him to write. “What’s closer to magic than being able to do that for someone else?” he said.
You can find out more about the Federation of BC Writers on their web site. For writers and poets who want resources and camaraderie along the way, it’s an organization that’s there for you.
