Lisa Young

You may have noticed I deleted my page "News in the Writing Community"  –  as I realized I can post all the news on Twitter. I just finished posting a bunch of noteworthy items in the writing world  –  not the least of which is the fact that my brother, Mark Young, is going to be published in Measure   –  a highly esteemed magazine. I also tweeted about Sarah Selecky  –  she has some great tips for writers! Everyone should read her article, "The Ten Biggest Mistakes Short Story Writers Make"  –  which is available on her site now (as a gift to new subscribers of her free email dispatch). Click here to go to her site. Follow me on Twitter to find out all the news. So what is this post "Reality" all about? Good question. It's about the reality of working on a poetry manuscript. It's a very different reality  –  full of surprises and steep learning curves. This is my first time going through this p...

Guest Blogger: Maddy Curry, Assistant Publisher at Quattro Books, Tells Us About Quattro’s Second Spring Launch Hello digital world! I feel very privileged to be a guest on Lisa’s blog; she is a remarkably talented writer and her blog is always chock full of great advice to writers, established and aspiring alike. I’m also thrilled to talk about Quattro’s latest event. Last Tuesday (May 17th), Quattro Books packed the house once again for the second wave of our spring 2011 line up – even though it was a rainy night (that was far too cold for May), the Supermarket was full to the brim with an attentive audience. (Working the book table has its advantages, one of them being a guaranteed seat.) The room had a great energy to it; this is my sixth launch of Quattro titles that I have worked at, and each time I am always blown away by the dedication and enthusiasm of all those who attend. It can be difficult, sometimes, to believe that people actually like to not only read but be read to; t...

I'm feeling pretty quiet - in need of hiding away - turtle-style. It's my introverted side rearing its head. But that's okay - I don't really have time to hibernate - but whether I'm out and about or not - the feeling is with me - quiet. Even in the busyness. What I've been slow to accept is that the life of an editor means always being busy. Hello denial. I kept thinking if I could just get a handle on things - it wouldn't be so busy. Wrong. After almost six years as an editor, I'm starting to realize busyness is a way of life. I mean of course all the deadlines that surprise, surprise, never stop. Writing of course has deadlines - I guess all of life is a kind of deadline. But the thing is, I'm learning to accept my lifestyle/career. I don't run around telling everyone I'm busy (as much). I'm not constantly surprised anymore by the piles and piles of paper on my desk. Eventually the deadlines get done and the paper is recycled and the...

This week I had my third meeting with my poetry editor. We have now gone through the entire manuscript. Some poems have been scrapped - others have been polished - others are still undergoing editing. The whole ms is now back in my hands and I have to go through it all section by section: adding, subtracting and basically refining. It's daunting, but I'm finding my way through. I'm also reading a lot of poetry. Just read Denise Levertov's collection, The Sorrow Dance. I loved it - read it in one sitting. Now I'm reading Lorna Crozier's collection, The Blue Hour of the Day. If you open her book to a random page - you never know what you're going to get. She uses a variety of styles and voices. I stumbled upon her poem entitled, "Why I love Pumpkins." I was curious to see what she could do with pumpkins. As it turns out, she can do a lot with them. It's my new favourite poem. This weekend I took some time to work on a flash fiction piece for M...

At the beginning of April, my poetry manuscript, When the Earth , was accepted for publication. The night I found out, my husband poured me a scotch and I was so calm. I expected to stay calm, but by the next morning, the excitement was intense. Nerve-wracking and thrilling.    My poetry editor explained that it's not too late to add some additional poems to the manuscript - but I have a fairly small window. My book is already available for preorder!  In the midst of all this, I had my first speaking engagement coming up at WriteNow!@King – the writers’ group that meets at the King City Library. It took a lot more time to plan the talk than I imagined  –  from handouts to researching hot leads. I did get a bit side-tracked in my research, but it was worth it. I had one link that looked interesting about how to make a free book trailer. Free book trailer? Fantastic. But I thought I'd better check it out thoroughly before ...

There’s so much going on lately. First off, I experienced my first Quattro Launch last Tuesday night. The author readings were spectacular – it was their night. Even the author introductions were riveting. John Calabro introduced Vanessa Smith, author of the novella Grace . We learned how John met Vanessa at a writer’s festival. John read Vanessa's blog and found her to be a talented writer. As it turned out, Vanessa was working on her story Grace , which John asked to see. The rest is history. A.F. Moritz introduced poet Luciano Iacobelli, author of Book of Disorders . We learned from Moritz that Luciano lives in such an eclectic apartment that it should be called a “togetherment”. Moritz ended by saying that Luciano is a poet who addresses the reality that thought and passion are not separate – but one. With incredible ease and charm, Beatriz Hausner introduced poet Rob Rolfe, author of Saugeen . Apparently Rob’s book needed little to no editing – but then again...

Last week, Luciano Iacobelli of Quattro Books held a workshop for blocked poets at the Toronto Reference Library. “We’re going to produce a lot of nonsense today,” Luciano announced. Out of the nonsense – he assured us – something would emerge. Luciano gave us permission to have fun. “Language is Plasticine; it’s Lego; it’s like sand in a sandbox,” he told us. He wanted us to get out of our usual way of approaching writing and be ready to experiment. He asked us to be aware of what we’re telling ourselves, even before we begin writing. What is our “editor-self” or “censor” saying? In order to quiet this censor, we have to give ourselves permission to write badly. Our first exercise began with a free write. The censor was not invited. We had to write whatever came into our heads and keep writing no matter what. Luciano coached us through several other writing exercises, including one that I found one particularly challenging. We had to pick a phrase from the wri...