Since embarking on my literary journey, I have attended two literary festivals to date:

• the Saints & Sinners (SAS) Literary Festival in New Orleans, LA. USA; and

• the GritLit Festival in Hamilton, ON. Canada.

I have had some amazing experiences at the two events both from a personal standpoint and a professional standpoint.

 

Reuniting with old friends

“Old friends” is a figure of speech – most of my “old friends” are younger than me according to chronological age.  Come to think of it, statistically speaking, most of the people I meet are younger than me…

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Growing up, we meet many teachers in our lives.  For the most part, they come and go…  But, if you’re lucky, you meet one amazing teacher – someone who changes the way you see yourself, the trajectory of your life, your whole world...  For me, that teacher is Ann Y. K. Choi.  Ann was my instructor at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies online novel writing course.  She is a great author, a wonderful teacher, and an overall awesome person.  Through her, I have learned a lot about writing a novel and met some amazing authors, editors, and others.  The GritLit festival was especially emotional for me because it was the first time I met my teacher and my mentor, Ann, in person. 

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At the same festival, I also met Jenilee Austria-Bonifacio, the author of Reuniting with Strangers.  Jenilee was a guest speaker at Ann’s online class.  Meeting her in person was truly a ‘reuniting with strangers’ moment!

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Last but not least, my BFF, Edmund Chow, flew over from Australia to join me at the SAS festival.  There’s a thought about how a person may be judged by the company they keep (or the BFFs they have.)  I certainly wouldn’t mind being judged by the BFF I have, but I hope others don’t think too lowly of Edmund by the BFF he has.

 

Making connections with new people

One of the best things you can do for yourself at literary festivals is to go with a mindset of making connections with others.  Remember, many of the attendees want to make connections with you too.  It’s especially fantastic when those connections turn into ongoing relationships.  Below are some of the people I met during literary festivals:

• Amie Evans – I met Amie at the SAS literary festival.  She was one of the two editors of the anthology containing my short story.  Months after the festival, we reconnected and we are now in a writing group together.  How lucky am I to be in a writing group with a professional editor!

• Jessica Westhead – I met Jessica at GritLit.  During the festival, we exchanged the usual pleasantries as people typically do with acquaintances.  A few weeks later, I completed my manuscript and was looking for someone to provide feedback on it.  That’s when I found out what an accomplished writer and instructor Jessica is.  I reached out to Jessica hoping she would agree to review my manuscript. Great news - she did!

• Paige Maylott – I met Paige at GritLit.  On a hunch, I picked up her memoir, My Body is Distant.  I was glad I did.  Her story about her yearning to live as her authentic self counteracted by her fears of hurting those who loved her, of waiting too long to transition... resonated with me.  I contacted Paige via email after the festival and now, I can claim to personally know yet another great Canadian author!

 

Improving my writing craft

Like most literary festivals, the two that I attended included many workshops run by authors.  Sometimes, during a workshop, you may hear an author say something contradictory to what you learned in your writing class.  That, my dear reader, is a fantastic thing.  Let me explain why…

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Bruce Lee was arguably the greatest martial artist of all time. In addition to the indelible mark he left on the martial arts scene, Bruce left us with many words of wisdom, including:

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Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

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This statement applies to martial arts and many other aspects of life, including, of course, the craft of writing.  By attending as many classes, workshops, writing group sessions, and other events as practicable, you give yourself opportunities to hear contradictory views.  And anytime you hear something contradictory, that contradiction is an opportunity for you to incorporate it into your writing repertoire and make it uniquely your own.  And if you don’t find it useful, well, simply discard it.

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To give you an example of absorbing what is useful, discarding what is useless, and adding what is specifically your own…

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One of my favorite instructors at the University of Toronto, Dennis Bock, helped me improve my writing tremendously.  The writing drafts that he returned to me were often filled with questions such as ‘What is this character thinking?’ or ‘What is she feeling?’  On the other hand, during the GritLit festival, one of the authors mentioned that when writing about traumatic events, he focused on describing the event itself rather than the internal thoughts and feelings of the characters. 

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I have used both approaches in writing about traumatic events.  In the excerpt below from my upcoming novel, The Letter A, although I touched upon the character's thoughts and feelings, they were mostly implied through the description of the traumatic event.

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In my airport motel room, I sat in a wobbly armchair that smelled of wet fur and had mysteriously dark spots all over – they were either mold or spots of blood.  Some idiot was playing annoying Christmas carols in the room beside mine.  I rolled a single bronze bullet between my thumb and forefinger.  It weighed about an ounce.  It’s quite fascinating that something so small could cause such devastation.  I opened the revolver and loaded the bullet into the cylinder.  Then I prayed.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name;

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

I put the barrel in my mouth.  I pulled the trigger.  The hammer landed with a dull click.  And that was how I knew it was God’s will that I shall live this year.

 

Pics!

Some pictures of me at the SAS literary festival and GritLit.

 

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My experiences at literary festivals have been invaluable so far.  I plan to attend more in the future.  If you have attended (or are planning to attend) literary festivals and would like to share your views, drop me a message.