Bill Engleson's Blog, page 11

The Denman Island Readers Writers Festival July 18 and 19

As a just published author, I found Terry Fallis’ workshop at the Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival on Thursday particularly timely. I accept the proposition that I need to promote, promote, promote.

Time will surely tell.

In terms of writing style, I usually let my stories lead the way. I have two novels in the works, one almost finished and the other half way there and I need to become much more structured in my approach to them. They have both bogged down. Terry always uses 2 1/2 -3 page outlines for each chapter before he begins the writing of the novel. I do believe this is the route I will impose as a way to re-invigorate my two stuck works. Can’t do any harm.

Friday was full of excellent events. The 6 local writers who read were diverse and entertaining. Katherine Monk presentation prior  was forceful.

The street in front of the Denman Island General Store was full of poetry, jazz and a little harmless beer-tasting.

The evening pretty much ended with Kathryn Gretsinger hosting two fun back to back discussions; the first with Steven Price and Fred Wah; the second with Anakana Schofield and Terry Fallis. Lots of verbal juggling, barely any jousting.

Back home, a glass of brandy and a visit from my cat, Shadow, wondering why I was away so long. I tried to explain the concept of festivals to her but, really, it was like talking to a wall.

 

 

 

 

The Denman Island Readers Writers Festival is poised to begin

I am quite excited. My novel is in the mail…purolating north with a casualness I wish it would rev up a tad. It may arrive on time for the Denman Island Readers Writers Festival. Whether the actual copies arrive on time to be unveiled or not, I will still be reading an excerpt as one of the local writers reading. I have taken this opportunity for the past 7-8 years to read from my writings. Typically, I have written a special essay or short story to read. This year its quite a bit different for me. Local readers have up to 12 minutes on stage. Years past, I have written specifically to the time limitation…except for one year when I know I unfashionably eclipsed the allotted time by quite a few minutes. The guilt still lingers.

 

Ongoing dialogue is needed to examine our services to children and youth

Quite often I write letters to the editor. A few are published. Though I feel driven to comment on a range of subjects, often the subject I most frequently am drawn to are issues that evolve out of state initiated services to children and youth. As a retired social worker, I am a lot freer to make observations about aspects of this field of endeavour; certainly I am not under the thumb of an employer.

In response to a hard-hitting Ian Mulgrew column  in the Vancouver Sun on July 5 2013  (linked here) Mulgrew article

I wrote the following:

http://www.vancouversun.com/quick+judge+ministry+harshly/8634128/story.html

I think it essential that we have a public discussion about how decisions are made in the world of child protection. Though I don’t quibble with the valuable requirement of confidentiality, organizational systems like MCFD need to find ways to demystify how they work.

Ian Mulgrew raises a swath of excellent questions in his column. Whether anyone from MCFD, senior staff or politician, will actually respond informatively is anyone’s guess. Well, there actually is no guesswork, really. It is a closed  system for the most part and has yet to learn the benefits of being forthcoming.

 

Welcome to my new blog

I am incredibly excited to be days away from seeing my first novel in print. The next step will be to get the word out about it and hopefully receive some critical, not to say positive reaction. As a local Denman Island author, I have had the privilege over the past 8 years of reading a variety of essays and short stories at The Denman Island Readers Writers Festival.   This year, I will have the additional thrill of reading a brief excerpt from the novel, Like a Child to Home. I am pumped.

This island has been an artistic windfall for me and provided a range of opportunities to create using the written word. I have been fortunate to be able to see many articles of mine appear in the Flagstone. This is no small bit of luck. The opportunity to write regular columns and have them published in our small Islands premiere (some say only) monthly journal has assisted me , not only to benefit from maintaining a consistent writing regimen but also to enjoy the satisfaction, and occasional feedback, that comes from being frequently in print.