Featured Writer: Heather Babcock
On creating space to write and writing advice.
Welcome to Women Writing! How are your New Year’s resolutions going? A lot of research has gone into how we fail at our resolutions, with most of us dropping off our initial enthusiasm and returning to old habits by early February. Making changes is hard. Being consistent is hard.
One way to ensure your writing goals are met is to find accountability and community to support you. Like having an exercise buddy, a writing group can give you the motivation to show up for yourself and get words on the page. Check out our Women Writing Circle and join us for biweekly writing sessions and meet your 2025 writing goals.
About the author…
Heather Babcock's debut novel, Filthy Sugar, was published by Inanna Publications in 2020. She has had short fiction and nonfiction essays published in many literary journals, including Descant Magazine, The Humber Literary Review, The Toronto Quarterly and WRITE Magazine. In 2015, her chapbook, Of Being Underground and Moving Backwards, was published by DevilHousePress. She is currently working on a novel tentatively titled The Memory of Crows. Babcock has experience as both a performer and an organizer of open mic and reading events. She lives and writes in Toronto.
On a writing routine …
Although it isn't always possible, I try to schedule an hour each week day to write. I'll take a short break after work and then get at it. I also keep a small notebook with me at all times (tiny enough to fit into my vintage handbag) because you never know when that elusive—and precious—inspiration will strike. As I was saying to a writer friend the other day, if only I could keep a notebook in the shower—lately, that's where the muse has been visiting me!
“Remember that your writing career will have an ebb and flow. When a new book or publication comes out, it can seem like everything is happening and then all of a sudden, nothing is happening. This can be true of writing inspiration as well.”
On writing spaces …
I enjoy writing outside of my apartment, whether that is in a park, a library or a coffee shop. I find this helps me to be less distracted and the surrounding energy can also lend itself to my writing in positive ways. For example, I was sitting in High Park writing a dance-marathon scene for my novel, Filthy Sugar, when a soccer game broke out in front of me. I believe that the liveliness of the game helped me to create a zippy, animated scene.
On writing communities …
In 2012, I saw a public event on Facebook for an open mic at a pub close to my work. Pushing aside my shyness, I headed over and I am glad I did! I met many writers that night whom I am still in contact with today. During the pandemic, I also discovered the joys of connecting with fellow writers over Facebook and Instagram. One of those writer friends, Diane Bracuk, recommended me for this interview!
On challenges …
My biggest challenge is self-doubt. The following quote from Betty Smith’s essay “I Want to Write!” gives me comfort: “The cruelest thing about this desire to write, is the hopeless hope that it engenders. Deep down in my heart, I know that I shall never get anywhere with this writing business. But who can tell? Sometime, to-morrow even, someone may find something marvelous in the things that I write.” Years later, her novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, would be published and is now considered not only a classic, but one of the greatest novels of all time.
On the best writing advice …
I love author Lisa de Nikolits' advice for writer's block, which she shares on her Goodreads Author Page: "Write one thing a day," even if the "thing" is a paragraph or only one sentence or an idea. I take this advice to heart on the days when all I can eek out is one sentence and I don't beat myself up for it; as Lisa says, "After all, novels are made up of one sentence after another!"
On the worst writing advice …
Years ago, I was a part of a small writing group and I read one of my short stories in front of the group. One of the members was fixated on the fact that I had used the same word twice. He didn't have anything to say about the style of the writing or the story itself, only that I had used the same word twice and he had been told that this was a "no-no." I don't like this kind of obsession with proper rules: the most exciting writers I have read throw all the rules out! For example, one of my favorite novels is Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. There are very few paragraph breaks in this novel and Selby doesn't use quotation marks or apostrophes, and it works! It adds to the intensity of the story.
On advice from personal experiences …
Remember that your writing career will have an ebb and flow. When a new book or publication comes out, it can seem like everything is happening and then all of a sudden, nothing is happening. This can be true of writing inspiration as well. There will be quiet times and you'll need this time to recharge and focus on your work.
On a recent publication …
My creative nonfiction essay, “Fifty Dollars for the Powder Room,” about my coming of age as a Hollywood obsessed dreamer in blue collar Alderwood, Etobicoke, was recently published in the Fall/Winter 2024 issue of the Humber Literary Review. This was my first time trying my hand at memoir-style, nonfiction writing and I found it very rewarding. I am currently working on a novel with nonfiction elements.
Heather’s online spaces …
📚 Upcoming:
Women Writing Circle
The Women Writing Circle will meet on the second and last Monday of the month from 6:30-8:00 PM EST starting January 13, 2025. This offering is for paid subscribers. You can learn more about the benefits of subscribing here. I’m looking forward to creating a magical writing community with you, and getting some pages written in 2025.
Spring Group Book Coaching
Teachers, join my 8-week Spring Group Book Coaching sessions especially designed for teachers and receive 20% off if you register by December 31, 2024. You don’t need to have any experience to take part, just an idea for a story that work on developing. In fact, you don’t even need to be a teacher! If you have a work-in-progress, these strategies will work for you, too. You have a story to write and I can help you write it.
Are you a teacher who wants to write fiction? I have something just for you. Download a free copy of my workbook, Beyond the Blackboard: Empowering Teachers to Write Fiction.
Happy writing!
