Where I Come From

September 17, 2013 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 14 Comments

I am from family dinners of meat and boiled potatoes at the table each night, from Coca-Cola and road-trips for ice cream and chip truck fish and chips (french fries), salt & vinegar potato chips that leave your mouth numb, soccer games with the boys, and always had two or three pets.

I am from farms and the old brick house dated 1890 with the ancient oak my dad cut down, from star-filled nights and rain on a metal roof, from imaginary adventures with my only friend, Scottie, who followed me down any path, protected me from strays and coyotes, and when I buried my nose in his fur it somehow always smelled like popcorn.

I am from maple trees overhanging quiet streets, abandoned train tracks, from where the gravel crunched under your shoes and it was so quiet you could hear yourself think.

I am from Christmas at the farm, from Grandpa playing the fiddle and don’t talk during Tommy Hunter, from Grandma and her fresh baked bread and knitted slippers — who always had the patience to listen to a lonely teen.

I am from stubborn til it’s stupid and loyalty that’s thicker than blood even when it shouldn’t be. I’m from “that’ll put hair on your chest” and be home when the streetlights come on, never hit a lady – but if she hits you first she ain’t no lady, and always leave with the guy you came with. I’m from pony-tails, go hard or go home, and playin’ with the boys.

I’m from farmers who grew enough for their family and the stranger who came looking to work for food, from day-in-day-out hard work and honest sweat, where your animals got fed before you did, from potatoes and corn on the cob and homemade pudding with milk straight from the cow.

I’m from United Empire Loyalists, Irish immigrants, and British Home Children who homesteaded and survived — orphans cast out and forced to start over. I’m from faded yellow scrapbooks of old report cards, from one-day-wonder vacations where you took enough photos so it looked like you’d been gone a week, Sunday drives, and staying up too late because I had to know how the story ended.

I’m the adult who held back her tears until she was home again, wondering who she would talk to with her grandmother gone, and now the questions have piled up so high she wouldn’t know where to start except with a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

Where are you from?

Here’s my challenge – find the template for this post here at the bottom of Sharla Lovelace’s blog and create your own Where I’m From post. Write your own in the comments, or post it on your blog and leave the link.

Been told you should learn Deep Point Of View? Had an editor or critique partner tell you to “go deeper” with the emotions in your fiction? Looking for a community of writers seeking to create emotional connections with readers? Check out the Free Resource Hub and then join the Going Deeper With Emotions In Fiction Facebook group.

You Want To Be A Writer? Write!

June 11, 2013 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 8 Comments

People often ask me how did I get to where I am now with my writing. Did I go to school? “I want to do what you do, but I don’t have your talent.”

The prevailing idea seems to be you’ve either got talent or you don’t, those are the cards you’re dealt. Suck it up. If you can’t be a pro then don’t bother.

I don’t believe writing is like that.

You can do what I do. If you have the desire and the commitment, you can do what I do. I learned this craft by reading a lot of books and blogs and talking to people ahead of me and going to conferences. And I wrote – every day for almost ten years now. Join a writers group, take online classes, have people better than you read your work and ask for their feedback. Submit to contests, submit story ideas to editors, blog 1-3 times a week for almost three years.

But that’s not what they want to hear. See, writing is one of the few arts you can learn. Natural talent or affinity is helpful, but it’s not essential.

Anyone who makes a living from their art has had to work hard for their success. It didn’t fall in their laps. But those on the outside like to stand in awe and make excuses to let themselves off the hook. I could never do that – I wasn’t born with that talent.

But what about those people who have natural talent, but never do anything with it? They’re afraid. They’re busy. They’re waiting for the perfect circumstances to arrive. They don’t want to work for success.

“If I’m too scared to use my powers, then I don’t deserve them.” ~Hiro Nakamuro Heroes Sn 1

If we looked at natural talents like super powers, we’d be less likely to dismiss them — less likely to hide them, because super powers are meant to help others. It would mean everyone has the chance to be a hero to someone. Some people are meant to bless hundreds or thousands of people with their gifts, their super powers/natural talents, some are meant to bless those closest to them. Doesn’t lessen the value of the gift to the receiver.

Reminds me of a line from the movie While You Were Sleeping. Lucy is trying to get Peter to see himself as she sees him — as a hero.

Lucy (to Peter): You give up your seat every day on the train.

Peter nods: Well… But that’s not heroic.

Lucy: It is to the person who sits in it.

I think we need to redefine success. If you’re using the natural talent you have, and you work at improving or growing that talent, then you’re a successful artist. We measure the success of art in terms of financial gains, accolades and awards and the size of our audience. What if we measured it in terms of influence and blessing?

If you want to write – write. You have permission to chase that dream, but know that you’ll have to work for it and know that what you achieve may not be how you initially define success.

What’s your natural talent/super power? How do you grow that talent? Do you use it to bless others?

How A Recipe Feels Like A Memory

May 6, 2013 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 6 Comments

Is there a memory from your childhood that sneaks up like a shadow? “Ain’t it funny how a melody sounds like a memory.” ~Eric Church My grandmother left me her recipes.

My grandmother’s recipe box.

My grandmother was a farmer’s wife, mother to seven, grandmother to 21. She was no-nonsense, practical, with lists to put order to the chaos and a vegetable garden bigger than my entire backyard. She made her own everything. They never had a lot, but always enough to share with a stranger in need.

Row after row of rising white manna spread out on the baking board, filling our hearts with smells that made that 3rd generation farmhouse a home. Cinnamon buns, dinner rolls, more bread than seemed possible to eat. Basted with egg whites to brown the tops. We always ate the crusts. And every week she made more.

She hid gingersnaps in the cupboard by the door in the old cookie jar. You could have as many as you wanted. She’d wag her finger, “Now, don’t you spoil your dinner.” Those cookies could break teeth, but the thought of sneaking a treat before dinner made Grandma a secret ally, an accomplice. Why is it the forbidden treats taste the best?

And I always ate my supper.

She knew everyone’s favorite dessert and always had it on hand from tarts, to squares to cookies. With apple squares for this group, and date squares for that crowd.

“Fetch me that recipe — the one your mother gave me.” I’d finger through each card stained with shortening and sugar, the corners curled from use. In the recipe box that Grandpa made her. “Now, your Grandfather made that, so be careful with it.” That box was built to survive the zombie apocalypse, but it was handled with care out of love for the hands that made it.

When she wrote a letter, she shared about everyone else but rarely about herself. Those recipe cards with her familiar handwriting are like a personal letter from the grave. Warming my heart. The apple squares that Gary likes. The marshmallow squares for Lisa. I smile at the chocolate cake recipe from Helen (I don’t know who) that says, ‘fill the white bowl with flour to your first knuckle.’

Still haven’t figured that one out. I don’t think she ever did either.

“What can I get you” goodness pulled from the freezer whenever anyone came to visit. In her handwriting I see the love for her family and the wonder of a child who wanted to grow up and be just like her. That box doesn’t hold recipes — it holds memories.

“Why would you want that?” She asked me when making out her will. It’s old, she said.

But I knew what I was asking for.

So I got her recipe box — the one that Grandpa made. It sits on the counter where I make meals and school lunches. The recipe box filled with her at the counter stirring cookie batter, at the stove making tarts, over the bread board kneading dough. The recipe box that reminds me it’s better to listen than to talk, to laugh even when you hurt, that a good list can put everything to rights, and buttered toast cut in four makes every tummy ache feel better.

On my counter where I work every day, sits my grandmother’s recipe box. Alongside her recipes I’ve added a few of my own. She’d shake her head at me for being so sentimental. It’s just a box, she’d say, and we’d both know she was lying.

Ain’t if funny how a recipe feels like a memory?

Is there a keepsake that holds a lot of memories? Is there a specific memory from your childhood that always makes you feel loved?

When We Only Remember The Good Parts

January 25, 2013 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 13 Comments

“You’re going to miss this someday, when they’re all grown up.” Ever received a well-intentioned comment like this? I used to roll my eyes and brush it off. Lady, you have no idea what kind of day I’ve had. I’ve been puked on, peed on, dealt with a temper tantrum at the grocery store, and found out the hubs is working out of town all next week. I am N O T going to miss this.

This is me eating crow.

My babies are growing up!

I had an interesting conversation with my mother-in-law when she made this same comment to me over Christmas. It wasn’t the first time this has been said to me, it certainly wasn’t the first time she’d said it to me. I was about to brush it off – sure sure – whatever, but I paused and thought about it.

I do miss having little ones in the house. I miss the wet kisses, the spontaneous hugs, dressing them up, cuddling on the couch with a book, rocking them to sleep in my arms, telling bedtime stories, the excitement of first smiles, first steps, first-everythings. And most of all, I miss their absolute whole-body-joy when I’d pick them up from Kindergarten. They’d run straight at me, leap into my arms, and hug me as though we’d been apart for a week instead of three hours.

I laughed and shared that thought with my m-i-l.

She said (I’m paraphrasing because I didn’t write it down): “Well, we tend to forget how hard it was and just remember the good parts. Life is like that.”

Having a wise m-i-l is a double-edged sword – I’m warning you!

My mom gave me an iTunes gift card for Christmas. I love gift-cards. It’s double the gift – you get the gift AND you get to go shopping. Anyway, I love music so I’ve had fun buying a bunch of the songs I was too cheap to buy previously – older songs.

I found this song by Phil Vassar – Just Another Day in Paradise. I had it on a cassette back in the day – you know when you’d wait for a particular song to come on the radio and you’d run to the tape player and press record. lol Forgot how much I loved this song – long before I had a family of my own.

“Kids screaming, phone ringing, dog barking at the mailman bringing
that stack of bills – overdue. Good morning baby, how are you?…

Well, it’s OK…It’s just another day in paradise. There’s no place that
I’d rather be.”

I also found this song by Lonestar – My Front Porch Looking In.

“I see what beautiful is about when I’m looking in not when I’m looking out.”

If I had the chance to go back and relive those days, I’d spend less time rushing them to grow up and be more independent. I’d stop and study that caterpillar on the sidewalk, read just one more book, laugh more. I’d spend a lot less time looking out feeling like life was passing me by.

When you remember only the good things, you forget how much you did just to survive. Having little ones is tough, and I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, but time does sweeten the memory. These songs and that conversation have reinforced my intention to live in the moment more with my kids. There’s a time to laugh and a time to dance.

It’s easy to know what we’d do in hindsight, but if you could go back and relive some time in your life, what lesson that you’ve since learned would you want to remember? Would knowing that truth change anything?

Why Writers Should Be Wrecked with Jeff Goins

October 31, 2012 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 20 Comments

This summer I entered an online book tour contest to host the author of Wrecked on my blog…and I Won! I don’t win anything very often so this is a big deal for me. I tend to the be the 1 in 10,000 in a bad way usually.

I follow Jeff Goins’ blog, so of course I purchased his first book the day it released. Wrecked did not disappoint.

wrecked book cover This was one of the first books I uploaded to my Kobo reader, and I read it in a day. I really enjoyed the thought-provoking style of his writing, and authenticity. He challenged my thinking in a number of ways. I regret buying the e-version now though, because there’s so many places I want to highlight and make notes in the margins…and I can’t 🙁 Maybe I’ll have to buy a paper version soon.

On the book’s release, Jeff launched a contest for those who had read the book and had their own blogs to host him for an interview or guest post based on a pitch you sent in.

The same week I stumbled upon his book tour contest, I heard a podcast Jeff did with Mitch Joel on Six Pixels of Separation (if you have an interest in marketing make sure you follow Mitch, he’s very funny and practical…and he’s CANADIAN 🙂 )

I came up with an idea for an interview and sent it in (a day after the contest closed – ooops). The next day I received this email:

Congratulations! You’ve been chosen to participate in the online book tour for Wrecked.

You are invited to host a Q&A. Here’s how it will work – send me a few questions that would be applicable to your readers, I’ll answer and send them back…

**Jeff, if everyone got an interview don’t wreck this for me. 😛

It’s taken him a bit to get to me, but worth the wait IMO. Hope you enjoy!

LHW: There’s many theories (and studies have been done) supporting the idea that Creatives (writer’s in particular, but not limited to) are tortured souls. The list of authors coming from abusive childhoods, struggling with addictions of a variety of sorts and mental disorders, including depression, is long. Would you say those writers were ‘wrecked’ or would you define wrecked another way?

Jeff Goins – Author

JG: That’s a great question. I have a more redemptive view of being wrecked. Certainly, there is pain in life that cannot be explained. There are situations that expose us to incomprehensible suffering. Getting wrecked means more than that.

I would never attempt to explain away someone else’s pain or say that it was good. What I would say is anything that happens to us is not beyond redemption; it can be used for good, in some way.

To be wrecked, quite simply, is to be made uncomfortable. This means that the experience doesn’t devastate you (even if it’s a devastating experience); it empowers you. A wrecked experience shifts your worldview away from self and onto the bigger picture of the world around you. It isn’t easy, nor does it feel good — but it is good.

LHW: You defined wrecked as: to intentionally step into discomfort and live in that tension. How could being ‘wrecked’ in this sense, help or hinder a writer? Do you think being wrecked is a valuable (or required) experience for a writer?

JG: I think it’s essential. Writers need empathy. They need to write stories and messages that meet people where they’re at and give them hope. Connection is a must for a writer who wants her words to matter.

What’s the best way to do this? To actually feel what you write about. In other words, you can’t fake it. Having a wrecked experience is a great way to make you sensitive to other people’s needs.

LHW: In a podcast interview with Twist Image’s Mitch Joel you said, “Creativity comes out of hardship, out of strife.” What did you mean by that? What advice would you give writers concerning this?

JG: I read the Bible. In it, the book of Genesis gives the account that God creates the universe out of chaos. This is an age-old philosophical debate: did God create the chaos or merely shape it? What’s interesting is that the chaos was there, regardless. This is an allegory for all creative processes; we must begin with a mess.

Messes aren’t clean or easy to manage. They are chaotic. It is the artist’s job not to tame the chaos, but find a way to hover above it (just like God) and bring some order to it — that’s the creative process.

LHW: My blog tagline is “Blogging Through The Fire” and I like to dive deep and honestly write about difficult issues and situations – experiences that wreck us (because the truth sets us free). Do you think that, as a writer, your writing has improved or been deepened by your own exploration of the situations and circumstances that wrecked you? Have these experiences affected your writing in any way?

JG: Love that name.

To answer your question: definitely. The more I become a better person by listening to other people’s stories and making them feel like they matter, the better writer I become.

For me, writing is deeply personal and intimate. The more I get in touch with how I feel and what gives other people hope and encouragement, the more I know what to write and how to write.

Writing is a tool that makes us feel more human, so it stands to reason that the more human we feel, the better we will write.

Thanks, Jeff! Make sure you visit Jeff’s blog, or buy his book (not an affiliate link). Stand up guy.

What do you think – should writers be wrecked? Does being a tortured soul make our writing better, more authentic, more realistic?

The Litigous Side of Blogging

August 2, 2012 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 10 Comments

This week on the Candid Writer…An interview with award-winning photojournalist Brent Foster.

It was a crazy week in the blogsphere. Are you still feeling the ripples? Fellow WANA blogger Roni Loren (trad published romance author) posted a candid cautionary tale that has bloggers running scared: Bloggers Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Pics On Your Blog – My Story

Yep – this blogger was sued, and lost the case. You mean that happens? Uh – yeah. We’re all artists. I’ve had my work stolen, even posted online without permission or compensation. It can be maddening – even if credit is given.

As bloggers it’s easy to search Google for an image and use it. We reason that we haven’t made any money from the photo so no harm no foul. If that’s how you feel, and I know there are a lot of bloggers who do feel that way, I want to present another side of the story. I interviewed award-winning photojournalist Brent Foster (a fellow Canuck) about how he views copyright and bloggers. **Keep in mind that this is not legal advice – I’m not a lawyer, Brent is not a lawyer. While copyright laws – especially fair use terms – do differ between Canada and the U.S.A. both countries give creators full copyright (this includes art, music, images, written word, videos, etc.). Bloggers beware.

LHW: As a photographer, what is your perspective on others using your work online even if it’s just on a blog, even if they link to your site or give you credit, even if it’s been published in a newspaper/magazine, even if they haven’t made any money off the image? Is this a cut and dry issue for you, or are there shades of gray? (ie/ Pinterest)

BF: There are so many shades of gray with people using my work (and other photographers work) online. Truthfully, I think it comes down to respect, context, and sometimes even cross promotion. As a photographer that crosses multiple platforms in photography (I shoot editorial, wedding, commercial, and cinema) things become very blurry. For example, let’s say a high-end wedding blog wants to use a pic I took of a venue for an upcoming feature about them with credit and a link back to my website http://www.brentfosterphotography.com … no problem. Now, if that same blog takes the image and uses it without permission, or a credit with link back, and we have a problem. Let’s say the venue now looks at the blog, likes the image, and then takes it from the blog for their own website/commercial promotion claiming they didn’t know who took the image and simply got it from the blog… now we have a really big problem. I think you can see where I’m going here. Each and every case may very well be unique.

In my wedding photography, I want people to come across my images with my website link/credit in as many places as possible when searching for photographers, ideas, etc. Being featured on blogs that thousands of brides see is a big part of my marketing, and sharing the photos I take with those blogs benefits the blog, and our business, so it’s a natural win-win.

The editorial side is kind of the opposite. Many times, I am investing my own money to work on stories focusing on social issues that I feel have to be told. In order to get those stories out to editors, and show my body of work, the images are often presented on my editorial website http://www.brentfoster.com. If a blogger randomly grabs those images to add to their site we have an issue. First of all, the stories are often sensitive, and can be used on sites that may not line up politically with the story. The images taken out of context of the full story could end up anywhere on the web, and this poses a huge problem. For example, someone that took a photo I took of a child suffering in Africa could be adding it to their blog for what they would consider the right reasons (eg. a campaign to raise money, etc.) but then that same image could be taken from their blog and end up on an inappropriate site. The other part, of course, is that because a lot of the work I do on large editorial stories is self funded, that means I have now payed to give content to a blogger stealing my images.

Lastly, in order to sell a story I’ve spent weeks/months on to a large editorial client it most often must be exclusive. Even if a blogger took an image and credited me, a simple google search by an editor at a large magazine could lead them to deciding not to run the story.

Read the rest of the interview here. Thanks to Brent Foster for taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with me.

Brent Foster is a photojournalist concentrating on wedding and editorial work who says, “I believe in storytelling, and photography is my tool.” Brent has travelled from Palestine to the Congo, and has met (and photographed) actors, authors, and even the Dalai Lama. His work has appeared in The National Post, The Los Angeles Times, Canadian Geographic, and TIME, to name only a few.
Connect with Brent on Facebook, through his website or on Pinterest.

Read previous Candid Writer issues

As an update to the Candid Writer, Kristen Lamb WANA Mama posted a great blog this week about the WANA Commons group on Flickr. Make sure you check that out.

A Study of Proactive Characters

July 27, 2012 by Lisa Hall-Wilson Leave a Comment

There’s a rule that your main POV character must move from reactive to proactive. Some rules are made to be broken. This week in the Candid Writer.

What is a proactive character? Proactive characters take action into their own hands. The proactive character doesn’t wait for others to create a solution, he is involved in creating his own solutions. They make decisions about their situation, maybe come to a fork in the road, maybe make a bad decision – but they don’t wait around for others to fix things. These characters are more interesting to read about, and because the reader is along for the decision-making process they’re invested in the character.
But not always. This has got me thinking. Does your POV character HAVE to be proactive to have a great story? Some rules are made to be broken.

5 Case Studies: Reactive or Proactive?

Buffy (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame)

Bella Swan (of Twilight)

Edward Cullen (of Twilight)

Sarah Connors (of Terminator 2 fame)

Anakin and Luke Skywalker (of Star Wars)

Who Do You Care About?
Regardless of who the main POV characters are, which characters sell those stories to readers?

Read the Candid Writer here.

See if you can spot the typo. I accidentally mislabeled one case study – though the description should make it clear what I meant.

4 Tips From Top Indie Authors

June 28, 2012 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 4 Comments

As you may know, I don’t blog about writing here at Blogging Through The Fire any more. Instead I publish a weekly newsletter called The Candid Writer. This week, I’ve interviewed 3 top ranked Indie authors and asked for their advice on 4 areas newbie Indies want to know more about:

What are the top 3 tools available to the Indie or self-pubbed author who wants to be widely read?
What are the top 3 things that the about-to-be self-pubbed or indie author needs to know about today’s market?
What are the top 2, in your opinion, advantages and disadvantages to self-pubbing in today’s market?
What are the 3 most important lessons you’ve learned as an indie author – whether they were successes or failures.

Big thanks to Indie authors Kait Nolan, Diane Capri, and Jillian Dodd who were kind enough to answer my questions. Enjoy!!

Next week’s Candid Writer will offer tips and tricks for building platform on Facebook! Don’t miss it. Read this week’s Indie issue here.

If you’re a writer, what topics would you like to see appear in The Candid Writer?

A Note From Writing Conference Faculty To Attendees

May 10, 2012 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 12 Comments

I’ve been added as a late faculty member to my favorite writing conference Write! Canada. Why is it my favorite? Because that’s where I got my start. I met so many fabulously encouraging people there who I connected with and have formed personal and working relationships with. These people helped me build my writing career. Virtually every editor I’ve worked with I’ve met in person at this conference. I met my co-writer Marcy Kennedy at this conference – in fact, this conference is one of the few times a year we actually see each other face to face.

Marcy and Lisa as Write! Canada attendees

But this year, Marcy’s not going. 🙁

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Why Do You Write?

May 3, 2012 by Lisa Hall-Wilson 19 Comments

I’ve been forced to ask myself this question over the last couple of weeks. Why do I write? What are my ultimate goals? Why do I sit alone everyday for hours at a time staring at my laptop screen, and what do I hope to gain from it? Why do I dredge up experiences I’d rather forget, talk to people who scare me, and endure the blank stares of family and friends who say, “I don’t get it. What do you do?”

Why? What’s your goal?

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