The Gifts of Illness

I’m finally emerging from a lovely shared family experience of what’s probably noro virus.

I’ve done no writing for days, but a few ideas started to bubble up as I recovered, and I started to play with a story idea. This consistently happens, when I’m frustrated from not writing because I’ve been ill. As soon as I have enough energy to feel frustration, I also start to feel creative energy bubbling – and I feel renewed, hopeful that I will write again.

And I’ve discovered another lovely book. I tried reading, and found most things simply too hard to follow, but then I started the YA novel Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, and I’m charmed by it. Finding a new favorite book is always a delight.

Maureen

Boy Protagonists/Girl Protagonists

There’s a common belief that girls will read books with boy protagonists, but boys will not read books with girl protagonists.

When I was a child, I read adventure and fantasy and science fiction stories with boy heroes because there were none with girl heroes. Not a single one, that I remember, except Nancy Drew, which my mother hated and even I recognized as rather pathetic. So I read stories about boys, and I didn’t care. I was happy reading great adventure and fantasy and science fiction stories, regardless of who the hero was.

But I think it did matter to some writers, because when they grew up they began to write great adventure stories with girl heroes. My favorite is Tamora Pierce, who has been writing for years about kick-ass girls.

Now, I think boys are starting to read adventure stories with girl protagonists. I haven’t heard anyone describe The Golden Compass or The Hunger Games as girl stories, and no one has threatened to clothe them in Barbie-doll pink.

I suspect that boys want to read really great stories, just as I did when I was a child. As long as it’s adventurous, and doesn’t venture too far into romance, perhaps the gender of the protagonist really doesn’t matter.

Maureen

Winter Play

I just spent three days in the mountains – skating on Lake Louise, snowshoeing around Baker Creek and at Pipestone, some delicious meals out. I came home feeling that winter’s pretty good, especially when I was greeted by daffodil tips peeking out of the soil in my garden.

I worked, too, in between playing on ice and snow, developing an outline for an eight-week course I’ll be teaching this spring at the Alexandra’s Writers Centre, in Calgary. The best part? coming up with writing exercises appropriate for writing for kids. Mwahaha.

Maureen