Never forgotten

Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Today is the sixteenth anniversary of the massacre at the École Polytechnique. I was ten years old when Marc Lépine entered an engineering class and separated the men from the women at gunpoint, screaming invectives against "feminists." After forcing the men outside, he opened fire on the women, killing fourteen and injuring eight others before turning the gun on himself. He left a note blaming feminism for all the failures in his life.

His actions shook our entire nation, and on that day we vowed that we would not let this go forgotten. So now, every sixth of December, we remember that fourteen women died simply for being women. We remember that fourteen women died simply because they wanted to work, and study. We remember that fourteen women died, because they were living their lives. We remember that fourteen women died for no reason.

We remember that fourteen women died, and that it could have been prevented.

Victims of the Montreal Massacre at l'École Polytechnique on December 6, 1989

Geneviève Bergeron

Hélène Colgan

Nathalie Croteau

Barbara Daigneault

Anne-Marie Edward

Maud Haviernick

Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz

Maryse Laganière

Maryse Leclair

Anne-Marie Lemay

Sonia Pelletier

Michèle Richard

Annie St-Arneault

Annie Turcotte


We will never forget.

Blood from a pen...

Questions about writing ganked from meallanmouse. Meant to get around to this earlier but, well, you know. :P


What do you find the easiest to write?

Short stories. Anything that's less than 20,000 words and that I can end with a sucker-punch, basically. ;)

Dialogue comes pretty easily, too.

When is it easiest to write for you?

I don't have a particular time of day or anything like that. The answer to the question I guess is "when I don't have writer's block" and "whenever I have a free moment, a pen and paper."

What do you enjoy writing the most, an old friend that never fails you?

Roleplaying. It may not count as "real" writing to most people, but my RPG characters are the ones I know best, and there's *always* a story to tell about them. I can whip out a few thousand words of introspection, or drop an anvil on their heads, anything. No matter what, my RPG characters are always there for me. :)

What tends to inspire you to write?

Seeing other people writing. Reading really awesome books or seeing really good movies that make me want to tell stories that are just as good.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I've mostly learned not to look for inspiration. It hits when it hits, and in the meantime I still keep writing, because writing is, as they say 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. :)

What is writer's block to you? How do you define it? What does it encompass?

Writer's block is any state of mind that prevents me from writing. It can be depression, hypomania (it is very hard to write when your thoughts are going too fast for your mouth, let alone your fingers), or anything at all. It can be a story that wants to be told but for which I lack the words. It can be worries about finances, health, family, pets, whatever.

Often enough, it becomes a vicious cycle in which I stress about not writing, and that stress results in more writer's block. I have to learn to ignore the little voice in my head that screams "Sit down and be creative! Now!" because it doesn't actually help.

I have to be reasonably happy and relaxed in order to write, especially if I'm putting the characters through a rough time.

Have you ever had writer's block? If not, can you think of a reason why?

Oh yes. Very much so. Just getting over it now, as it happens.

How do you work around writer's block?

I don't, for the most part. I try to keep writing, but most of it is just exercises to make sure the writing muscle doesn't atrophy­. Eventually the block goes away on its own, once I've resolved whatever issue was preventing the writing.

What do you consider to be "real" writing?

Words on a page. If it's in my head, it's not real writing. When it gets down on paper, or on the screen, then it counts. I'll be inclined to take something more seriously if it's finished (serials count in a different way, since each instalment is "finished" in its own way).

I always have difficulty acknowledging the RPG stuff as "real," but I produce tens of thousands of words a year in one of my games, and some of it is really damned good. So, yes, I count it as "real" too.

What does it feel like when the perfect concept hits and demands to be written right now?

Usually pretty frustrating, as perfect concepts rarely hit at the perfect time. I'm either at work, or otherwise not in a position to be writing. Then it gnaws at me for hours, and sulks when I finally get around to it.

Has this perfect concept ever turned out to be a dud?

Did I mention the sulking? Yes. Many times my "perfect concepts" have turned into vignettes that really aren't all that inspired-looking.

What is your writing weakness?

Feedback. I am a complete sucker for comments on my writing, and when I don't get any for stuff I put up publicly, my Muse crosses her arms and goes off to sit in a corner in a big old huff.

I can never pretend to be writing only for myself. I like having an audience for my writing, and I like having an appreciative audience. I can deal with constructive criticism (some days are better than others), but I find it very hard to deal with silence.

What is your writing strength?

Lately it's been a willingness to experiment, and a willingness to take risks with what I do. I have a few stand-bys that I want to go back to, but I would like to push my own boundaries for a while and see what happens.

What satisfies you the most in your own writing?

I'm very rarely satisfied by my own writing, although occasionally I'll come across a really well-crafted sentence that I'd forgotten about, and that's one of the best feelings in the world. :)


:::cross-posted to secret_history:::

Damn...

It just occurred to me that I won't have the means to post Beyond the Pale for most of the week, even if I do get it handwritten. Maybe tomorrow I might be able to use my parents' computer...

Grr. I wanted to get at least two instalments done this week.

O_O

So I thought to myself that I could print out all the write-ups I did during our Deadlands campaign, to have a hard copy of our adventures to which I could refer if I wanted.

Turns out it's over 400 pages, single-spaced, in Times New Roman 10pts.

Damn, but I am a wordy person. Didn't help that our sessions lasted anywhere from six to twelve hours a stretch and were every week for a while.

So, no printing out just yet. That's a lot of trees.