Terri Something

     We were given the opportunity to have a real, "best-selling" Canadian author come to speak to our class. He was particularly inspring because he faced many challenges before finally obtaining a certain degree of fame and recognition. He was not a die hard writer but began to professionally write later in life. He is also an example of how difficult it is to be a writer in Canada. He maintains and full time job and has a family yet still finds time to write. His concept of a humourous book about Canadian politics did not appeal to any publishing houses in Canada so he made the decision to self-publish his first book. After some small success he submitted and won the Stephen Leacock Award, enabling him to sign with a legitimate publisher. After his first novel was selected for Canada Reads his book gained new recognition and enabled his book to sell over 70 000 copies.
     I found his writing process to be especially interesting. He is very meticulous. He spends a few months crafting a very detailed plan before he even attempts to write. This, I could never do. I rarely know the events in my story as the take place before I sit down to write. He chooses to have, from beginning to end completely planned out in advance. I would feel that this process would lose much of the creative thrill that I associate with writing but it works for him. Because of his very detailed planning he is able to write his very quickly. From his presentation I will take away some knowledged of the benefits of prewriting and will try to incorporate them more willingly into my own writing process.