April 2015 RCLAS Ezine Wordplay at work

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/924512517566993 Website http://artscouncilnewwest.org/litfest/ To Register for Workshops: Call 604-525-3244 or email info@artscouncilnewwest.org

ANNOUNCING WRITE ON! CONTEST WINNERS 2015 First Place Winners will read @ the LitFest New West Gala Showcase Curtain: 7:30pm, Saturday April 25, 2015 at Douglas College Muir Theatre, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster

$100 first prize $50 second prize and $25 third prize Poetry Judge: Bernice Lever POETRY WINNERS Poetry First Place (LitFest Gala Showcase): ALAN GIRLING – A SIMPLE SPOKEN WORD Poetry Second Place: Alan Hill – Poverty Poetry Third Place: Cynthia Sharp – Into the Heart

Non Fiction Judge: Sylvia Taylor NON-FICTION WINNERS Non-Fiction First Place (LitFest Gala Showcase): CHRISTINA MYERS – LUCKY GIRL Non-Fiction Second Place: Donna Terrill – Sugaring Season Non-Fiction Third Place: Marylee Stephenson – Parking Lot Waltz

Fiction Judge: Sylvia Taylor FICTION WINNERS Fiction First Place (LitFest Gala Showcase): ELIZABETH SCHOFIELD – WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE Fiction Second Place: Elizabeth Schofield – PizzaBoy and Princess Fiction Third Place: Aline LaFlamme – Fat Boy Falls

Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who submitted!

RCLAS WRITE ON! CONTEST 2015 Honourable Mentions (in order of rank) Fiction Judge: Sylvia Taylor FICTION Honourable Mentions Claire Lawrence – The Purse Aline LaFlamme – Big Dave’s Brush with Glory Elizabeth Schofield – Stella and Ruthie (and Jack) Poetry Judge: Bernice Lever POETRY Honourable Mentions Celeste Snowber – The Great Love Story Alan Hill – Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles Carla Evans – Fraser River Tug Non-Fiction Judge: Sylvia Taylor NON-FICTION Honourable Mentions Elizabeth Schofield – They Wear the Red Paint P.W. Bridgman – Virginia Woolf and Pete Seeger Lausanne Yamolky – Surviving the 1991 Kurdish Exodus

LitFest New West 2015

Workshops Register: 604-525-3244 / info@artscouncilnewwest.org

Shelley Fralic: Newspapers: The Reports of Our Death Are Greatly Exaggerated Join Shelley Fralic for a chat about her time at the Vancouver Sun! Hear how the business has evolved over the last 40 years and what the role of the media will be in the 21st century, and find out why journalism and, with luck, newspapers will survive, despite the doom and gloom about print media’s future. Includes Q&A session.

Don Hauka: “You Must Remember This…”: How to Write Your Own "Casablanca" “You Must Remember This…” is a practical, interactive workshop that gives participants the tools to write their own "Casablanca." The letters of transit packed into their workbooks detail the steps to take before typing "FADE IN" and everything thereafter. From defining the Big Idea to pitching their box office blockbuster to Hollywood, participants will be guided through the screen writing process. They'll also get a start on their screenplays and share the results in an atmosphere of respect and tolerance based on the principle that no movie concept is too daft for Hollywood (hey – look at "Ishtar").

Jónína Kirton: Page as Bone ~ Ink as Blood: Exploring Cellular or Ancestral Memory Memory, an essential element of creativity, is a curious creature. Some feel it resides in the mind but then others offer ideas of cellular or ancestral memory. As writers, we often seek to access memories sifting through our own mind, family stories or history books we often find dry details, not the moist and ripe elements that bring visceral experiences to our readers. Using elements from her sacred circle work and Continuum practices which will include simple breathing techniques, drumming and a short reading, Jonina will lead you into a writing exercise designed to deepen your relationship to your story whether it is a poem, a creative fiction or non-fiction piece.

Ruth Kozak: So You Want to Write a Historical Novel?

Writing historically may seem to be an easy and exciting genre. But in writing the historical (whether it be fiction or nonfiction), be prepared for many challenges and time-consuming research. Bringing to life real or imaginary people from long-ago times is a daunting task. But writing the historical has rewards that are well worth working for.

This workshop will give you some pointers on writing the historical (including non-fiction): choosing a subject you are keenly interested in (and may already have some knowledge about), story line, characterization, settings, background and how to weave in historical facts. Remember: A good historical novel must first be a good novel!

Neil McKinnon: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Laptop If a man tells a joke in the forest and no one is there to hear it, is it still funny? What makes something funny? What is a sense of humour? Writing humour is complex and difficult because it is subjective. Age, culture and gender play a role.

Stephen Leacock Medal finalist Neil McKinnon uses examples, exercises, humorous devices and some do’s and don'ts to generate funny ideas, identify ideas with comic potential and add humour to your writing. This workshop will be especially relevant to those who need to define their audience or who want to write for a defined audience.

Laurie Ann Melnychuk: World Building: A Neglected Skill in Fiction Writing How many times have you been thrown out of a novel because of contradictory details, like the protagonist uses a cell phone in the 1960s or confusion like “A” Street both being parallel and bisecting “B” Street? World Building is about structuring the fictional world your characters to inhabit. The need for this writing tool applies equally to all genres of fiction, but especially for those interested in genre fiction, such as fantasy or horror. In this seminar we will cover how to World Build from the realistic to the fantastical.

Lawren Nemeth & Enrico Renz: Craft & Inspiration in Songwriting This workshop is an introduction to songwriting and looks at the 3 different elements that make a great song: sense, rhythm, and rhyme. This will surely get you moving in your seat and inspire you to craft songs of your own. We’ll also reverse-engineer some original songs to take a look at how they work. All that is required is an open mind, a bit of soul and a small book for notes.

Bonnie Nish: Playing with Shadow: The Poetics of Finding Voice Poetry is about finding your voice and how it resonates in this world. When you change the shapes within, there is a ripple effect that suddenly changes the world around you in profound ways. In this interactive workshop we will explore through a variety of artistic modalities, how to shape life’s experiences into clear and meaningful works of poetry. Gain the inner resources to let your creative shadow take shape. We will come together to create a piece of poetry that blends our voices together and opens us to a new way of listening and being in the world.

Frances Peck: Sentences with Style Have you ever flipped a sentence around, or picked it apart and recombined it, only to find that suddenly it sings? Why does that happen? How does it happen? And how can you get better at it? The study of syntax (sentence structure) may have gone the way of foolscap and fountain pens, but it has a lot to teach writers and editors about boosting clarity, emphasis, and rhythm. In this workshop we’ll dust off the most intriguing old-school syntax techniques and learn, through examples, revisions, and discussion, how they can punch up your prose.

Lois Peterson: Connecting with Children - In Print and in Person Children’s writers need more than just a way with words; teachers and librarians want young readers to connect with authors as well as their work. Author Lois Peterson shares strategies for connecting with children on paper and in person, through listening, writing, reading, storytelling and performing. Along with information and advice, Lois will use one of her books to illustrate how an author brings the work to life in ways that engage young readers beyond the page.

Sylvia Taylor: The Art & Engineering of Making A Living In the Writing World Come out of the cave and into the village! Getting published and making a living isn’t just about writing anymore – it’s about building a solid foundation, a platform, of credibility and expertise. For experienced and emerging writers alike, we need to build our presence from the ground up, with good planning, good tools, good materials and creative flair.

Explore the many ways writers can build their professional platform and use their skills in the corporate, educational, media, literary, and consulting worlds. Includes practical approaches in how to translate what you know into what you earn. Worksheet handout included.

Panel (with Wayde Compton, Andrew Gray, Nicola Harwood, and Calvin Wharton): The Scoop on Creative Writing Programs: a discussion with the people who know What to expect when you sign up for a creative writing program! The leaders of creative writing departments at Douglas College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Simon Fraser University, and University of British Columbia are coming together to talk about their programs. Join Wayde Compton, Nicola Harwood, and Calvin Wharton for a discussion on

who their programs are designed for, how to get accepted, and what to expect once you’re in the program. Come get the scoop!

Wayde Compton writes poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. His latest book is The Outer Harbour: Stories (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2014). He is the program director of Creative Writing in Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University.

Andrew Gray is the UBC Creative Writing Program Coordinator. He founded the Optional-Residency MFA program in 2005. He now develops new educational initiatives and coordinates international outreach and marketing. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC; his collection of short fiction, Small Accidents, was published in 2001 by Raincoast Books.

Nicola Harwood is a writer and interdisciplinary artist. Current projects include a production of her play, Buffalo Girls with Frank Theatre of Vancouver; Temple of Our Madness, a series of interactive installations about women, animals and girls. Recent projects include High Muck-a-Muck: Playing Chinese, a collaborative, interactive website and installation project and Salmon Row, a site-specific play commissioned by Mortal Coil Performance of Vancouver.

Calvin Wharton is Chair of the Creative Writing department at Douglas College and a former editor of Event magazine.

His publications include Rowing (with Silken Laumann), Three Songs by Hank Williams (short fiction), The Song Collides (poetry, Anvil Press) and The Invention of Birds (poetry, Alfred Gustav Press).

Readings Kevin Chong reads from Northern Dancer Northern Dancer is a book about a horse who was not only a Canadian legend, but the cornerstone of his breed. While much has been written about Northern Dancer’s prepotence as a sire, this book is the only one devoted to his 1964 campaign, which saw him win two of the Triple Crown races in the U.S. and Canada’s Queen’s Plate. In that time, he captured the attention of the world and the hearts of all Canadians. Northern Dancer offers novelistic detail, not only on the remarkable 1964 Triple Crown and Queen’s Plate races, but also on an era in which Canada needed a national hero.

Kevin Chong was born in Hong Kong but raised in Vancouver, where he lives with his wife and children. He’s the author of five books of fiction and non-fiction, including the novel Beauty Plus Pity and the biography Northern Dancer. His writing has appeared in publications like Taddle Creek, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Walrus, and Maclean’s. He teaches at UBC and SFU and is an editor at Joyland Magazine.

Phinder Dulai reads from dreams/arteries In his third poetry collection, dream / arteries (2014 Talonbooks), Phinder Dulai connects the 376 passengers of the famous trip from the Punjab with other New World settler migrants who travelled on the ship known as the SS Komagata Maru. This same ship throughout its thirty-six-year history made ports of call in Hong Kong, Japan, India, Turkey, Naples, Odessa, Constantinople, Piraeus and Ellis Island, New York. By drawing on ship records, nautical maps, passenger manifests, and the rich, detailed record of the Komagata Maru, Dulai demonstrates how the 1914 incident encapsulates a broader narrative of migration throughout the New World.

Phinder Dulai is the Surrey-based author of dream / arteries (2014, Talonbooks) and two previous books of poetry: Ragas from the Periphery (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1995) and Basmati Brown (Nightwood Editions, 2000). His most recent work is published in Canada and Beyond and has been published in Canadian Literature and Cue Books Anthology. Dulai is a cofounder of the Surrey-based interdisciplinary contemporary arts group The South of Fraser Inter Arts Collective (SOFIA/c).

Jane Eaton Hamilton reads from Love Will Burst into a Thousand Shapes Renowned poet and writer Jane Eaton Hamilton reads short fiction and poems from Love Will Burst into a Thousand Shapes.

Jane Eaton Hamilton is the author of 8 books, including the recent poetry title Love Will Burst into a Thousand Shapes. She is the two-time winner of the CBC Literary Award in fiction, for "The Lost Boy" in 2003 and for "Smiley" in 2014. She has also won the Prism International Fiction Prize twice. Her work has appeared in the NY Times, Salon, Macleans, Globe and Mail, En Route, and in many other periodicals and anthologies. More about Jane can be found at: janeeatonhamilton.wordpress.com.

Linda McGowan reads from Travelling the World with MS...In A Wheelchair Multiple Sclerosis and a wheelchair are not a deterrent! Since her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis (1983), Linda McGowan has tenaciously pursued her dream of travelling the globe. From viewing the top of the world in Nepal from a basket on a porter’s back, to hobnobbing with emperor penguins at the end of the world on the Falkland Islands, Linda describes in vivid detail her colourful encounters in vastly different countries. Using creativity, patience and an open mind, Linda conquers unique challenges on a plethora of wondrous exploits, all from the apparent vulnerability of her wheelchair.

Linda has lived in New Westminster for 23 years. She is consumer advocate for HandyDART. She ran her last marathon a few months before being diagnosed with MS. Since 1989, Linda has travelled to more than 120 countries, touching every continent. Linda, a motivational speaker, encourages all to embrace their dreams.

Ian Weir reads from Will Starling 1816. London is charged with Regency abandon and the zeal for scientific discovery as Will Starling returns from the Napoleonic Wars, having spent five years as a battlefield surgeon’s assistant. He is drawn into an uneasy association with the Doomsday Men, grave-robbers who supply London’s surgeons with cadavers for research. But when a bungled bodysnatching leads to murder—and worse—Will grows convinced that unholy conspiracy exists, and that its dark heart is a man named Dionysus Atherton. A spellbinding blend of Gothic mystery and historical fiction, Will Starling was a “Globe 100” Best Book of 2014.

Ian Weir is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His fiction debut, Daniel O’Thunder, was named one of the top historical novels of 2011 by The Library Journal. Among his extensive TV credits, he was creator and showrunner of the CBC drama series Arctic Air, and the critically acclaimed gangland miniseries Dragon Boys. He lives in Langley.

LitFest 2014 Fun

LitFest New West 2015 at Douglas College, April 25, 2015 Time

11-12

Setting A Lecture Theatre 2201 Shelley Fralic Newspapers: The Reports of Our Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

Setting B Lecture Theatre 2203 Laurie Ann Melnychuk World Building: A Neglected Skill in Fiction Writing

Setting C Classroom 2217

Setting D Meeting Room 2212

Bonnie Nish Playing with Shadow: The Poetics of Finding Voice

Jane Eaton Hamilton Reading: Love Will Burst into a Thousand Shapes Ian Weir Reading: Will Starling Linda McGowan Reading: Travelling the World with MS…In A Wheelchair Kevin Chong Reading: Northern Dancer

12-1 Lunch

1-2

Frances Peck Sentences with Style

Sylvia Taylor The Art & Engineering of Making a Living In the Writing World

Don Hauka “You Must Remember This…”: How to Write Your Own "Casablanca"

2-3

Ruth Kozak So You Want to Write a Historical Novel?

Neil McKinnon A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Laptop

Lawren Nemeth & Enrico Renz Craft & Inspiration in Songwriting

3-4

Panel with Wayde Compton, Andrew Gray, Nicola Harwood, & Calvin Wharton: The Scoop on Creative Writing Programs: a discussion with the people who know

Lois Peterson Connecting with Children - In Print and in Person

Jónína Kirton Page as Bone ~ Ink as Blood: Exploring Cellular or Ancestral Memory

4-5:30 Break 5:306:30

LitFest New West Presents: Phinder Dulai Reading: dreams / arteries Poet-ential Open Mic follows, hosted by Ariadne Sawyer & Aidan Chafe in the Douglas College gallery outside the Muir Theatre.

6:30-7:30 Break 7:30

Written in the Stars extravaganza in the Muir Theatre.

Hosts Bob Robertson & Linda Cullen with features such as Steve Burgess, Steven Galloway, Candice James, JJ Lee, Mike McCardell, and many others, including RCLAS Write on! Contest Winners and musical guests.

RCLAS WRITER OF THE MONTH

Sylvia Taylor

Sylvia Taylor is an award-winning freelance writer, editor, educator, and communications specialist in Metro Vancouver, with a passionate commitment to communication.

From conference keynotes to literary coaching, book editing to business websites, ghostwriting to workshops, Sylvia offers writingrelated expertise for every literary need and purpose. Whether supporting others in their self-expression, collaborating in commissioned work or creating insightful commentary and reportage, Sylvia draws from her professional background in education, administration and creative arts.

With 400 magazine and newspaper articles in print and 75 commercial and business writing projects, she consults with a diverse range of entrepreneurs, organizations, and businesses. She has edited over 120 manuscripts in all genres and works extensively with Canadian and international authors through all stages and phases of writing and publishing.

Sylvia is the former Executive Director of the Federation of BC Writers, after eight years as a Regional Director and two years as President. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Surrey and is Board Advisor to the Royal City Literary Arts Society. She is also an inspiring public speaker and presenter at conferences and in writing programs and judges numerous writing competitions, including the 2013 BC Book Awards in Creative Nonfiction.

Her creative writing and poetry has appeared in anthologies and genre magazines in Canada and the U.S, and was shortlisted for the CBC National Literary Awards in creative non-fiction. Her devotion to wellness and the arts led to a nomination for the Women of Excellence Awards. She is a popular author at numerous literary events, where she reads from her works and contributes to panels as an industry expert.

Her literary memoir, The Fisher Queen: A Deckhand’s Tales of the BC Coast was launched by Heritage House Publishing September 1, 2012.

Sylvia Taylor Communications Writer, Editor, Educator, Consultant Business Communications Specialist Author: The Fisher Queen Director, Arts Council of Surrey 604-807-5358 www.sylviataylor.ca words@sylviataylor.ca

Excerpt from Sylvia Taylor’s historical literary memoir, The Fisher Queen: A Deckhand’s Tales of the BC Coast, published by Heritage House, fall 2012 from chapter, “The Salmon Prince” -

I felt him before I saw him, a slight thrumming tension as I unclipped the perlon from the line. Re-clipping it, I nudged the motor lever forward to stop the cable from spooling onto the gurdey drum. My heart kicked up a notch as I whispered instructions and encouragements to myself: “If you don’t secure the line he could yank it out of your hands. Don’t jerk the line or make sudden noises, or he’ll bolt. If he’s not hooked hard, he’ll jerk his head and pull the hook out.”

With both hands I transferred the clip to the holding wire on the inside edge of the stern. I breathed deep and eased into stillness, utterly focused. The world telescoped down to a scarred wooden ledge, a perlon line and five feet of silky water.

I seduced the line in, hand over hand, a few inches at a time. The surface of the water bulged slightly and there was his dark back fin and miles behind, the tip of his tail, languidly sweeping side to side. I drew him to the stern, transfixed by his muscular graceful beauty. He showed me first one side then the other. “Am I not exquisite?” he said. “Am I not a miracle of perfection?”

I understood why the ancients sang songs of love and gratitude to the plant and animal beings around them. I understood why they asked permission to take lives that sustained their own, why they performed rituals of gratitude and humility. It wasn’t just to ensure future plenty, but to honour their partners in the dance of life and death.

I felt my heart swell with joy and the cooling tracks of tears on my face. Shaking, I reach for the spiked gaff. He was too massive to pull in by the line. The hook had pierced just inside

the corner of his mouth. Even if the hook held, the line would slice my hands open hauling him in. My only chance was to hit him precisely behind his head with the club side of the gaff to stun him so I could haul him over the stern by the hook side.

I brought the gaff down and missed. He swam gently. I hit again and missed. By then I was weeping. He continued swimming gently. “Please help me, I don’t know how to get you in,” I whispered. My civilized mind recognized the madness in this, but it came from a great distance.

I couldn’t bear to club him again, to submit him to my clumsy attempts.

This time I reached down as far as the waist-high stern would allow. Balanced on the transom, I tipped forward and slipped the gaff hook under his gill. What madness was this? One lurch and I would launch headfirst into the chuck to be his briny bride forever. But he held steady and leaned gently to his other side. I wondered if I was just dreaming.

“I’m going to pull you into the boat now,” I crooned. Easing back to the floor, I started to haul him out of the water. He was impossibly heavy and I was too short to get the leverage I needed. I grunted and strained and begged him not to thrash, begged every deity I knew and some I didn’t, to help me. I was shaking with tension and wondered how long he would tolerate dangling in another element. Paul had lost a monster spring yesterday. Just as he was pulling it over the ledge by the gaff the fish freed itself with a mighty twist and flung itself back into the water. In my other life I would have cheered it on, but we were so damned broke I cursed its freedom. It felt like someone had opened my wallet and torn up the money in front of my face, or stolen my food and shoes.

His head appeared at the stern ledge and I crouched lower, straining every muscle in my body. The ocean and I had given birth to this beautiful slimy creature and with one more grunting cry he slithered over the stern and into the cockpit where he slowly flapped and gasped.

I couldn’t bear to see him drowning and struggled to lift him into the bin, cradled in my arms. I stroked his luminous flank once, thanked him for the gift of himself, and then hit him hard, precisely behind his head.

When the skipper stumbled out onto the deck, blinking and yawning, he glanced around for signs of my folly. Instead, he found me sitting quietly on the hatch cover, gazing at the hazy line of land.

I was too tired to lift my prize into the dressing tray, he did. He didn’t insist on dressing him, I did.

He took a photo of me in my Helly Hansens and gumboots. I braced the Prince against me, hands in gills, knees bent from the weight. His nose was at my heart, his tail at my knees. He was as wide as my body was thick.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright Sylvia Taylor

“Opening of an upcoming book project about BC’s north coast”

SURRENDER

There is still a place on this earth so wild, so elemental it does not waste its energy noticing you.

It does not lash out at you defending its primeval virginity. It does not seduce you in hopes of winning your heart. It just ignores you. You are that inconsequential.

It thrusts itself from the top of an otherwise benign and domesticated island like a wild crest, giving new meaning to the geographical term ‘point’.

For those of us without wings or fins or four sturdy legs it is only reachable by boat – a harrowing deed in itself, as it is guarded by some of the most savage waters on earth. Everything is restless, shifting, and temperamental, never still, never at peace. Moody stillness erupts into churning rages that shatter into crystal brightness. Everything is on edge. Everything is tough and wary, wiry and spare, scoured by the relentless wind and sun, the waters that pummel from sea and sky. To indulge in laxity would mean death.

But in spite of this tumult, and perhaps because of it, there is opportunity for uncanny liberty here. Surging through the ragged channel into the twin bays hugging the point you begin to lose your mind. The mind that calculates and postulates, that arrogantly insists on itself. There is no thinking here, only feeling. There is no language here, only sensing.

Gaia rewards her daring ones with sweeps of sand and sea and brooding forest that leave you weak and breathy. There are curios and treasures coquettishly flung by the roiling waves, like hankies and flowers to tempt a foolish suitor. But the sea is a fickle lover and never to be trusted.

There is evidence of our species’ brave folly: its misbegotten attempts to tame and marry this unruly place. For all their Nordic resoluteness, they too slipped away, into the earth, into despair, back into the holds of battered sailing ships. Broken silvery planks, crockery shards, fern-choked geometric shapes are all that remain; fragile trappings of an inconsequential past merely ignored into non-existence.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright Sylvia Taylor

I Love to Watch You Jack, Resurrection, Middle-Essence, Black Gaia all previously published in Royal City Poets Anthology 2013 (Silver Bow Publishing)

The Hungry Heart and Winter Harvest previously published in Royal City Poets Anthology 2012 (Silver Bow Publishing)

cc APRIL 2015

View Calendar and Bios at www.poeticjustice.ca

HERITAGE GRILL, BACK ROOM 3-5 pm Sunday Afternoons—two features and open mic 447 Columbia St, New Westminster, near the Columbia Skytrain Station CO-FOUNDER & BOOKING MANAGER—Franci Louann flouann@telus.net Website & Facebook Manager, Photographer—Janet Kvammen janetkvammen@rclas.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/poeticjusticenewwest/

April 5

Closed EASTER LONG WEEKEND April 12 Sunday 3 – 5 pm

Poetic Justice featuring AIDAN CHAFE & KYLE McKILLOP

Host: Deborah L. Kelly

http://poeticjustice.ca/event/poetic-justice-aidan-chafe-kyle-mckillop-deborah-kelly/

April 19 Sunday 3 – 5 pm Poetic Justice featuring ALAN HILL & PC VANDALL

Host: Franci Louann

http://poeticjustice.ca/event/poetic-justice-alan-hill-pc-vandall-franci-louann/

April 26 Sunday 3 – 5 pm Poetic Justice featuring ELLEN JAFFE & KEVIN SPENST

Host: Franci Louann

http://poeticjustice.ca/event/poetic-justice-ellen-jaffe-kevin-spenst-franci-louann/

May 3 Sunday 3 – 5 pm Poetic Justice featuring DEBORAH KELLY & LILIJA VALIS

Host: Candice James, Poet Laureate, New Westminster http://poeticjustice.ca/event/poetic-justice-deborah-kelly-lilija-valis-candice-james/

Workshops in Review "Building A Better Story"

Facilitator: Sylvia Taylor March 19, 2015 New Westminster Public Library

Photos by Ken Ader and Deborah L. Kelly

"Building A Better Story – A Blueprint for Success" with Sylvia Taylor, March 19, 2015 From Notes Compiled by Sonya Furst-Yuen The expectations of readers and the marketplace has changed dramatically and the boundaries between genres are getting narrower, with lots of crossover.

Readers want to learn something, be moved in some way, and be entertained by well-crafted, authentic and engaging writing.

Journalism is the writer's "boot-camp". It’s where you really learn to hone your writing skills, to write with focus and discipline.

Creative non-fiction is the "literary love child" because it is what grew out of formal fact-based journalism and fictional novels, and combines the best of both.

With every piece, begin by determining: Why this piece?

Why now?

Why me?

If you're looking to build Deborah L. Kelly, Sylvia Taylor and Sonya Furst-Yuen your portfolio and credentials, write creative non-fiction as it is a highly published genre with lots of varied opportunities.

Writing short pieces for anthologies, magazines, newspapers etc, is a good way to begin this journey.

By learning the skills to Inform, Inspire and Entertain the reader, you become a better writer.

These skills are just as important as the plot and need to be present on every page.

Set a compass for the "true north" of everything you write ---> ask yourself why you are writing the story; how it will benefit the reader.

Free-writes are a great way to tap into the raw creative energy of the first draft as well as break through boredom and writer's block.

Email: words@sylviataylor.ca

Website: www.sylviataylor.ca

Workshop Video by Ken Ader: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpNIVzB0oQFxNUaheI3IlSIDZxfcC1RhE

The Skinny on Tax Deductions for the Writing Life

by David Blinkhorn How can I deduct my writing expenses when I don’t make any money from it at this point in my writing career? This is a question many writers begin to ask as they approach the time in their development when they start to think realistically about being published.

It's a good question. One that many of us don't ask early enough. If you're asking it a few months before you start sending out your work, you're probably two to three years too late and left some tax refund with the government.

Do you have a reasonable expectation of profit from your writing business at some point on your journey? If no, you’re a hobbyist. If yes, you have a business. Once you crossed that hurdle, you can claim your expenses as deductions on your income tax return each year.

The first thing people fail to appreciate is that you don't need a positive income or any income from writing before you can start writing off those classes, your pens and all that paper. Revenue Canada determines your income tax on the basis of all your taxable income, positive and negative. You'll see that under the Total Income section of your income tax return, there are entries for Business income, Rental Income, Professional income, Commission income as examples and that Employment income is way at the top under line 101? And have you noticed that line 150 lists your total income for which you are taxed on? Your total taxable income for the year is total of all the profits and losses from these various heads of income. Writing income comes under Business Income for most people. If you are pursuing a business with the reasonable expectation of profit at some point, you get to deduct all sorts of things and that loss, if you haven’t managed to stay in the black, gets deducted off your total income.

Accountants at various presentations about the taxation of writing income suggest that you need never create a profit. You just need to show that you have a reasonable expectation of profit at some point.

Even Revenue Canada's own Interpretation Bulletin IT504R2 (Interpretation Bulletins are official documents that set out Revenue Canada's policies for the professionals in the tax industry; sort of like guidelines) states they recognize that a writer may not even earn a profit on the writing project during his or her lifetime but may still have a reasonable expectation of profit. This seems a reasonable approach given it may take years to complete your manuscript and to find a publisher. Should you be denied the write-offs from work that takes time? Revenue Canada seems to be saying no.

The only issue for Revenue Canada is whether you have a reasonable expectation of profit. In other words: are you carrying on a business of writing? Hobbyists don't expect to make money but a professional writer wants to earn money. The real key to everything is to run your various writing projects like a business: keep records and some sort of in/out statement or ledger, file your receipts in envelopes. You need to be able to show a paper trail for Revenue Canada to document your business and the transactions within it should the need arise.

What are the factors that Revenue Canada looks at if they are going to assess whether your writing is a business?

Here’s a non-exhaustive list:

       

the amount of time you’re spending and whether there is a business-like quality to the way you run the writing side of your life; whether the end-product is marketable; the extent you are recognized as a writer as evidenced by your education as well as public and peer recognition in the form of honours, awards, prizes, and critical appraisal; whether you do readings; whether you submit your work for publication; whether you're represented by an agent or publisher; whether you belong to a professional association of writers; and whether you keep books and records.

No particular factor is more important than another and none by itself is determinative. It is an objective test. In all likelihood, a self-published book in some format, whether that be hard copy or ebook, where you solicit sales regularly (or irregularly for that matter) would get you over this hurdle. A hand-made chapbook of poetry would qualify as well. Thank god for the family and friends of those poets out there.

The deductibility of any expense is a question of reasonableness. Can it be said that the expense was reasonably necessary to advance your writing and the production of the end-product?

Some are obvious deductions: cost of printing, editing, cover design, advertising, marketing expenses, and set-up.

Here’s a list, again incomplete, of some potential deductions:  office supplies  books  course of study/fees for professional development  membership dues  courier  postage  subscriptions  travel for research  expenses such as bus or car for going to writing groups  conferences and retreats  telephone (portion only)  internet (portion only)  accounting and legal fees  parking (if no receipt keep a note in a your mileage log)  software (if over $350 for any given expenditure, it’s gradual)  Computers and hardware (if over $350 for any given expenditure, it’s gradual)  office furniture (if over $350 for any given expenditure, it’s gradual)  meals and entertainment (only 50% deductible)  work area expenses (only to bring your writing income to zero; cannot be used to generate a loss)  automobile Computers and software have special rules for deductibility. Computers and their operating systems

like Windows are capital expenses and are deducted by using a capital cost allowance formula (CCA).

The maximum you can use as a deduction in any given year is the fixed percentage of the underappreciated capital cost. Whew. That’s a mouthful. Here are the two things you need to know: 1. Computers and their operating systems bought after February, 2011 can be written off at a rate of 55% per year. So year one of my $650 laptop purchase can be written off for the amount of $357.50. I carry forward the remaining capital expense of $292.50 for the next tax year.

2. Depending on your global income for the year, you may not want to deduct any CCA for the year. You can save this deduction for other years when you might need it more or you can use something less than the 55% for the year. In my laptop example, I could claim only $250 which would leave $400 for future years.

Software is 100% deductible in any given year but there is an odd rule that states that you can only deduct half of it in the year you make the purchase. If the software costs less than $350, just claim it as an office expense. It’s a lot easier.

Work area expenses are another interesting deduction fraught with problems. Most experts agree that you shouldn’t claim any of the capital cost allowance on your home office portion of your home because you’ll lose some of your capital gains protection from the principal residence exemption. Work area expenses can only bring your income down to zero. You cannot use them to generate a loss for the year.

You can claim some of the household expenses. All you need is some reasonable formula based on room number or square footage and time use for deducting things like a portion of mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, water and sewer, utilities, strata fees, maintenance and repair costs, house cleaning, and rent. Keep your proof of expense and the rationale for the portion as records.

The automobile expenses can be deducted as well. Keep a mileage log for your writing trips and divide your “writing kilometers” by your total use kilometers for the year. You use that percentage to determine how much of your driving and automobile expenses can be deducted from your writing income. Possible expenses that may be deductible as a percentage of writing use are insurance, gas, repairs, car lease payment, interest on a car loan, BCAA membership and a portion of the purchase price if you went that route. Your car can depreciate 30% per year for that portion represented by your writing.

In most accountants’ experiences, the two things that Revenue Canada takes the hardest look at, should you be audited, are your deductions for your automobile and meals and entertainment.

For more information, google IT504R2 to take a detailed look at the information supplied by Revenue Canada. It should be the first thing on your search results page. But remember that the goal of this article is to get you thinking about making your writing work for you and to give you some idea of how to obtain some tax relief. Any specific questions should be directed to your accountant or lawyer.

The time is now to start deducting your writing expenses. Keep records. Maintain receipts. Use the cliched shoebox if you don't have a better storage system at this moment. But start looking at your writing as a business and you'll begin to earn “Income” from your writing in the form of tax refunds.

David Blinkhorn is an award-winning poet and writer who teaches creative writing. He is a member of RCLAS and will be presenting a workshop on utilizing writing prompts to overcome the inner critic on May 19, 2015 at the New Westminster Public Library. He will be taking up residence in New Westminster in November, 2015. David can be contacted at fvwschool@gmail.com

ON THE BEAT WITH LILIJA VALIS RCLAS SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC March 15, 2015 Host: Enrico Renz The magic word being "drum",

magic was created this evening by the songwriters.

Beginning with Lavana La Brey using the moose-hide drum she made, First Nations style, to express gratitude and to honour the Creator.

There were songs persuading people to keep on dancing to the drum beat, intonations to the Great Spirit, music bringing to life fairy tale stories of queens, kings, spells, cats and witches, desert-travel poetry and poetry drumming secret messages to the world.

Music lifted words …and words inspired some beautiful music!

photos courtesy of Lilija Valis March 15, 2015

Workshops In Review: New Tarot & Storytelling Facilitator: Carol Shillibeer March 28, 2015 New Westminster

From Notes Compiled by Sonya Furst-Yuen Photos by Sonya Furst-Yuen

The best way to pick a tarot deck is by looking at the pictures on the cards.

By feeling the ones you connect with you will determine which will best suit your storytelling.

You can then go online to search out where you can find the deck you're looking for.

The functions of the tarot are to go inside the realm.

Also, we can dig ourselves out and give ourselves more choice to write in other genres.

We then can break the narrative, as we are normally trained to see things that we are supposed to see.

Numbers are important in the tarot.

We have a relationship with numbers that is embodied in us.

If there is something a writer does not agree with within the meaning of a card, then they have a conflict in the narrative in their story.

It is suggested not to use tarot books to interpret the meaning of a card, as the books are based on 18th century meanings. Rather, use your own mindset and intuition to find their meaning to you now.

Suggested reading: "Practical Magic" - Alice Hoffman

“Tarot & Storytelling " March 28, 2015 A workshop sampler by Carol Shillibeer The stories we tell sometimes get stuck but even if you don’t know anything much about tarot with a little bit of information, you can use the cards to help you crack open those habitual narratives. Using a simple 3-card card layout, with you deciding what the positions mean, you can make story lines you’d never have thought of yourself, or you can use them to help you get to know a character better, to set them free of authorial expectation. Let the cards fall where they may. Then interpret.

Unless you know a lot about tarot, you’ll be using the images as a springboard to interpretation. That’s why it’s important to choose a deck to work with based on your emotional reaction to the card images. Go online and investigate one of the hundreds of decks that are published in any given year. You can browse the images and wait for that instinctual “oh, I love those pictures”. That’s the key. If you react like that it means the images fit your unconscious ideas about how the world is. It’s a great place to start, because learning the tarot takes a while, but your body, heart and mind already know what you believe about the world. And – here’s the kicker – that’s where your best stories will come from – the unconscious body, heart and mind. That’s why working with tarot works to break open your writing, even if you aren’t terribly familiar with the tarot.

Of course, if you do buy a deck, you’ll be tempted to use the book that comes with it as a “this is what the card means” cheat sheet. Don’t. Card interpretations in books are often based on 18th and 19th century ideas about what things mean and how things are. You are a 21st century person. The image of what it means to be a “good woman” for example is not at all the same now as it was when the card meanings were first written down. Even brand new decks that have pictures that rock your world still need you to do the work of interpretation. It’s your story. Let your body and your heart tell you what is important to say in your writing, and let your mind do the editing. Don’t turn that over to anyone else. Breaking free is often as simple as acting from your own truth.

Why use aids then? Because often that truth is not conscious. That’s where tarot can help.

Website: http://www.carolshillibeer.com/

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Wordplay at work

ISSN 2291-4269 Contact: janetkvammen@rclas.com RCLAS Director/ Newsletter Editor & Design