Good morning, friends and followers, and welcome back to my Nanowrimo Spotlight interview series. Today I’d like you to meet Sally P…
Hi! I am Sally and I am a Newfoundlander living in Alberta. I have been writing stories since I was in about 5th grade and I can’t stop. I get an idea and I have to get it out in print or else it literally consumes all my thoughts. I have been doing nano for the last 4 years and I have managed to squeak out a win each time. Last year was for sure the most difficult one for me because I decided to write something out side of my comfort zone (no action, not much drama, a minimum of…uh…love I guess). I was so bored with myself by the end of it that I promised myself that this year, no matter how typical it is of me I am going to stick with what I love and what I myself would like to read in a story. After all I am mostly writing for myself. I have no intentions to be published, even though I imagine it would be a delight to see a book of my own in print. If you want to have a looky loo at my nano profile here it is.
What are you writing about this year?
I initially had no idea but this past weekend I was in the mountains and I found myself getting inspired. Not so much by the mountains themselves but by a little tale about one of the hotels we visited. Seems that in the 1930’s a bride slipped to her death on a stair case there, on her wedding night no less. Not to say I find inspiration in tragedy but I did start feeling a spark. She reportedly haunts the hotel which got me wondering what if all this time she’s tried to possess other brides getting married at the hotel. Or what if she tried to run off the grooms? Or perhaps she’s lovely and helpful and adds beautiful, magical touches to weddings. OR maybe yet she spys on guests who look like her beloved and then one day one of them can see her. I obviously haven’t fleshed it all out yet but the ideas keep coming so I am getting very excited.
What is your favorite movie – you have to pick just one!
I rarely watch movies actually. I have trouble keeping my attention focused and not picking everything apart. When I do settle in front of one though it’s usually a black and white movie of old. My favorite one of those is…oh man, I guess it’s probably “How To Marry a Millionaire.” It’s so full of witty humor which is my favorite and it has so many of things I consider beautiful like vintage clothing and old signs, cars and buildings . I just love the style of the 1950’s.
What advice would you give to all your fellow Wrimos?
Write what you enjoy. I think it’s great to challenge yourself once in a while and make your self uncomfortable, however, I find nano to be much more enjoyable and less intimidating if you use it to write what you love. So what if it’s My Little Pony fanfic or the goriest of horror stories. If you write about something that excites you the words just seem to pile up.
Also, don’t expect it to be perfect. Perhaps you started with a perfect vision of where your characters would be by chapter 10, but doesn’t mean that’s where they want to be and that’s ok. If your story veers off course and you end up in strange territory let it run! If it feels good in the moment and the words are flowing there’s no harm in it. If you read it back at the end of Nano and you think “wow, what was I drinking there?” then you can always go back to your original idea and fix it up during the long,cold winter(can you tell I’m Canadian).
Sneaky Ninja question! If you went missing, who would notice that something was wrong first?
I don’t know. Everyone complains that it takes me forever to respond to texts so I don’t think anyone would be immediately alarmed. I suppose eventually my husband would get concerned if I didn’t come home at night!
I’ve tried many times to start a blog about my adventures ghost towning with my husband and good friend but some how I never get around to it. I think I am just not disciplined enough to keep up with it. Most (actually all) of my Nano’s have featured crumbling old houses in one way one another. They are one of my very favorite things. I do have a Flickr page that I like to post to. It’s part dilapidated houses and part other things I find neat.
We’ve never found anything too exciting unless you count old books and newspapers…oh and one very dead cow 😦 I knew out there in the wide world of abandoned home steads there was “the cow house” but I didn’t think we’d ever find it. I read about it on a blog I follow. Alas this past summer on one of our adventures we found it. I’m glad I always let my husband go into the basements first!!
Thanks for the interview, Sally!
The Kelworth Files 