Ask the Author: C.J. Frederick
Answered Questions (9)
C.J. Frederick
I seem unable to answer this question adequately, so I do not know.
C.J. Frederick
"Where is the TV remote?" It never seems to be exactly where I left it. And each time I sit down to watch some TV, a cloud of pillows and accusations are thrown about the room. :-)
C.J. Frederick
I am presently composing multiple short stories and thinking of creating a collection of stories based on my childhood growing up in southwestern Ontario in the 1980s.
C.J. Frederick
Join a writing group. (Keep looking until you find one that makes you feel welcome and comfortable.)
Seize on any creative bursts when they happen.
Keep notes about story ideas in a centralized spot.
Be open to feedback, but just because you receive feedback, it doesn't mean it's correct or true. You own the story and it's yours to tell.
Make a pleasant writing environment somewhere and keep going to it when you feel inspired.
If you don't feel inspired, get up and walk away. It will come to you later.
Seize on any creative bursts when they happen.
Keep notes about story ideas in a centralized spot.
Be open to feedback, but just because you receive feedback, it doesn't mean it's correct or true. You own the story and it's yours to tell.
Make a pleasant writing environment somewhere and keep going to it when you feel inspired.
If you don't feel inspired, get up and walk away. It will come to you later.
C.J. Frederick
Licorice! And ice water. And my view out the window to the bird feeder.
C.J. Frederick
A couple of things got me started.
First, it was April/2020 and I was locked down with the rest of the world and looking for activities to free my mind while I was stuck at home. I began researching a little newspaper story that came out years earlier about a tree being dedicated to the memory of a WWI soldier. Because my own grandfather was a WWI veteran, I've always had a cosmic connection to that era and have wondered what life was like for people during that time. I first intended this to be a short story for a CBC contest, but the more I uncovered and the more information I accrued, I realized it was far too complex for a short story. I work by day as a business writer and I've had a goal of compsoing a novel, so I seized my opportunity and stuck with it through the peaks and valleys of the writing process. And here we are!
First, it was April/2020 and I was locked down with the rest of the world and looking for activities to free my mind while I was stuck at home. I began researching a little newspaper story that came out years earlier about a tree being dedicated to the memory of a WWI soldier. Because my own grandfather was a WWI veteran, I've always had a cosmic connection to that era and have wondered what life was like for people during that time. I first intended this to be a short story for a CBC contest, but the more I uncovered and the more information I accrued, I realized it was far too complex for a short story. I work by day as a business writer and I've had a goal of compsoing a novel, so I seized my opportunity and stuck with it through the peaks and valleys of the writing process. And here we are!
C.J. Frederick
Travelling to faraway places without leaving my home, meeting fascinating, fractured, damaged characters, and controlling the outcomes.
C.J. Frederick
I just started reading "Swimming Lessons" by Mary Alice Monroe. I picked it up from a book sale because the subject matter (SEA TURTLES!) interested me immensely and grabbed me. You see, I have been heavily involved in volunteering to help Ontario's native turtle species by working as a turtle taxi driver for injured/dead turtles by giving them a lift to the turtle hospital in Peterborough, Ontario.
C.J. Frederick
Facing pandemic lockdowns in April, 2020, like everyone else in the world, I was looking for a way to pass the time at home. I began thinking about old stories I'd heard and wanted to pursue writing one as a short story. I recalled hearing one that my father told me about from 12 years prior about a mysterious tree growing near my childhood home dedicated to the memory of a WWI story. As I began to research it further, I discovered it was not a short story at all but instead had the makings of a full-length novel.
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