Snowrise is now in Polish and other random thoughts

Piotr Siwecki from Minimalbooks asked to translate Snowrise for his site, and I was delighted and flattered! I hope Piotr stops by and tells more about his project! (Hi Piotr!)

Inspired by a poem by Boris Pasternak, I wrote Snowrise almost four years ago. I'm sentimental about this story. Not only it is a tribute to one of my favourite poets, but it was also my first publication, and in Per Contra no less. My husband just joked that I'd be 80 and this would still be my best story. Boo!

But right now I feel it is one of my best stories, which makes me think, have I improved at all in the last four years? I know, I know, I wrote "The Novel". I've been working on it for the last two years. I wish I had something to show for it, other than countless blog entries that state that the novel is still in revisions. It still is.

To have my "almost first story ever written" (emphasise on "almost") to be accepted for publication within weeks after its completion was an incredible boost to my frail ego. I still think that this single acceptance instantly thickened my skin to rejections, and contributed to my perseverence. I rarely allow myself to be discouraged by rejections, and when I feel like my writing is worthless, I remember Snowrise. And that it was later nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and that I was awarded The Evelyn Sullivan Gilbertson Award to an Emerging Artist in literature for it (I had to copy and paste this from my bio on Zoetrope). (Stern self talk: Ania, you are NOT a one story wonder. You will write more. You will write better.)

Today I read a post by my friend Len (scroll down when you see him running in the rain. There IS a blog there. Hi Len!) And he mentioned that some of the stories that are finding good homes right now were written a couple of years ago. This same thing is happening to me. There's so much luck involved in placing a story. The lesson here is to submit, submit, submit. Which is almost a part time job in itself, but there's no way around it.

Riding on the Night Train

I haven't been motivated to post lately. I keep thinking that in the last years I haven't grown as a writer, haven't accomplished much. I'm not sure if this is true, as I've been focused on my novel, and there wasn't the almost immediate gratification of flash fiction (both writing it, submitting, and getting pieces accepted.) I'm re-reading my novel and making more changes.


This time I'm finally distant enough from my writing, and I'm able to actually read it, rather than simply remember it. I think I've done a really good job with it. (Is this normal to be impressed with one's own writing?)This might sound like I'm contradicting my first paragraph here, but I still feel that I could've written this very same novel three years ago, hence the issue of "growing." Is it really happening? Silently and invisibly? Or am I stagnating? I simply don't know. Only time will show.


Another issue that has been bothering me is this: What if in my efforts to remain positive about my writing and not to get too affected by rejections, I'm creating an illusion that my writing is better than it actually is? How do I find the right balance? I started this post to shout about my new / old piece in Night Train, and ended up whining about my lack of progress. This is the story with the words penis and vagina in the opening lines. How's that for a hook? I wrote it 3 years ago, when we just arrived to Iqaluit. Read it here!

Mini Stories

I'm addicted to fifty words mini stories. Yes, there's a prize involved, but the fun is still pure. I love the challenge, and am impressed with the depth that one can get with such brutal constraints. Another advantage? I can compose them in my head! I come up with a version late at night, before falling asleep, and in the morning I write it down and polish. Last night I tried to summarise my novel in 50 words. I wasn't successful, but I'm working on it.

The deadline is August 1oth. With the rate I'm going, I should have about 100 mini stories to choose from.

New and Cool

"Nanoism is a new online publication dedicated to twitter-fiction: fiction of up to 140 characters. Shorter then traditional flash fiction, it’s both a challenge to write and quick as a blink to read. It’s the perfect art form for the bleeding edge of the internet revolution."

Love it! I love the challenge, I love the form. Particularly this one, by David Tallerman, from April 6.

And this: Imagine going to your favourite organic coffee shop and reading your paper placemat? And instead of the typical Welcome / Bienvenue, there's a flash piece or two? How perfect is that? My only suggestion would be to publish several flash pieces of let's say 250 words, instead of one of 1000 words. 1000 words might be a bit too long with coffee.

Flash Fiction is Free

Let's face it, most flash fiction magazines are on-line, and most of them don't pay. There are some notable exceptions, like Flashquake, Bound Off, Vestal Review (recently became mostly print) or Cezanne's Carrot (pays a stipend to one author). I 'm sure there're more , one only needs to log into dutrope.com and check the needed criteria to see the whole list. But even the best ones, like Frigg, SmokeLong, elimae--they don't.

I'm not sure why I've embraced the culture of not being paid for my work, and why I think that it is okay to publish a flash for free, while not a short story. True, flash fiction requires, in most cases, less time commitment than a 5,000 word story, but it is not like I spit them out in minutes either. But flash fiction + internet is such a perfect marriage, and I've seem amazing quality of flash on-line. Most editors run those magazines in their free time with no reimbursement. And besides the magazines are free for their readers as well--which is marvellous and celebrates true accessibility.

But then there's The Toronto Quarterly. A new Canadian print quarterly edited by Darryl Salach. It doesn'te even have a web page--their communications are done through facebook, blogger, and my space. They boldly state, scream even, that they won't offer any compensation--not even a free contributor's copy (though pdf file can be uploaded from lulu.com for free). At first I wasn't quite sure what to think about it, but then I started to like the idea. I liked their honesty. They're certainly grounded in reality. Other non-paying mags might say, in a small print, at the bottom of their submission pages, that currently they don't offer any reimbursement. Some might add that in the future they hope to be able to do so. Right. It is not that they are lying, but they are certainly dreaming. Dreaming is great, I admire it. I also admire honesty. So I submitted a 500 word flash, and to an email yesterday that it is going to appear in the Fall issue of the Toronto Quarterly. It is called "No Memory of Rats." It is one of my "early" stories, and thus obviously the issue will become a collector's item in the very near future, so make sure you (YOU! And You, and you! ) buy a dozen copies. (Psssssst, and send me one).

Shitty first drafts

Zoetrope is a great on-line community and workshop. I've been a member since November 2005. Today I posted a 240 word flash--a rough draft. I was stuck and needed direction. I knew the story wasn't there yet--no edge, no spark, no cohesion. And yet I wanted the story to work, wasn't prepared to give up yet, and needed help. The story is a for a local newspaper contest.
In any workshop where you've been a member for a while, were rated high enough to be in the monthly "top three" several times, as a writer and as a reviewer, there's a danger of insincere reviews. It has happened to me before--a story I thought needed major work received glowing reviews and suddenly everyone was saying how great it was. Pleasant to my ego (in the first 30 seconds of receiving such a review), but overall, useless.


Today was a notable exception. The reviewer said my story had no structure, no meaning, was poorly written, and my sentences were awful. Good luck your writing, he added. Ouch. And very refreshing too.

I hope more inspiration comes to me before the deadline.

Flashing and Blushing

My story Piercing Heat was accepted by Night Train! It was rejected by one of the Canadian print literary magazines, and after that it took me a while to submit it again. So even if it has been almost three years since I wrote it, it hasn't travelled much. I remember writing this flash, the moments of its creation. I remember thinking that it was an odd one. We just arrived to Iqaluit, the computers weren't even unpacked yet. I sat at the dining room table, in the furnished, but otherwise empty house, writing on my husband's legal pad. The truck with the hundreds of our boxes would be delayed for weeks, and the house felt bright, spacious, and not fully "ours" yet. I rarely hand write my stories. One story that comes to mind is Yevdokiya's New Name, published by the now defunct BuzzWords. The energy of the handwritten stories is different, I think. They end up being my favourite. Yet not every story is suitable for the medium. I love the fast typing and deleting and the conveniences of the computer.

I have a bad habit of submitting previously polished stories without rereading them. I reread this story just now, and wowza, it has the words "vagina" and "penis" right in the first paragraph. Though as I just told my friend Stacy, the story is not, I repeat, NOT, about sex. It is much more subtle than that. Despite its rather graphic beginning, It is about mysterious and gentle connections.