Featured Writer: Kim Fahner
On creating space to write and writing advice.
Hello all,
Welcome to the 10th edition of Women Writing. First, I want to thank you for returning week after week to learn from these incredible writers. Like you, as an author and book coach, I struggle to find time to do all the things, but I know that writing needs to be a priority. If I’m not writing regularly, my body knows it … something just doesn’t feel right. Writing is like exercise. I sometimes try to avoid it, but I know my mental health improves when my runners hit the pavement, my palms hit the yoga mat, my pen glides over the paper, or my fingers tap the keyboard. If you’re a creative person, I’m willing to bet you know what I mean.
This week I’m very pleased to feature poet and novelist Kim Fahner, and First Vice-Chair of The Writers’ Union of Canada, who has been an inspiration to me and many others over the years.
Kim Fahner lives and writes in Sudbury, Ontario. Her most recent collections of poetry include Emptying the Ocean (Frontenac House, 2022), as well as a small chapbook of poems, Fault Lines and Shatter Cones (Emergency Flash Mob Press, 2023). Her first novel, The Donoghue Girl, will be published by Latitude 46 in Fall 2024. Kim is the First Vice-Chair of The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC), a member of The League of Canadian Poets, and a supporting member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. She may be reached via www.kimfahner.com.
“I think we need to be mentors to those who come after us, so that we can continue to encourage women writers to create new work and to help them feel connected.”
On a writing routine …
I find that I mostly write on weekends, when I can give myself over to the creative project(s) I'm working on. My day job as a teacher is fairly demanding, so it's hard to have the time or energy to write during the week, except that I do try to read each day. Usually, I wake up early--at 5am--so that I can do a bit of yoga or go for a short walk, and then I always fit in about half an hour of reading at that point. In the summer, I swim as often as I can in the mornings. If I have a writing project that's pressing down on me, then I'll also write for a bit in the mornings and evenings during the work week. I also consider reviewing and mentorship part of my writing life, so those things weave themselves into my days in a consistent way. I like to keep very busy, with teaching and writing, but I know I need to try and balance that with relaxation and self-care as well. Being physically active helps me attain that balance between brain and body. Trying out my creativity in other artistic mediums--including free form embroidery, rug hooking, and watercolour painting lessons--also help me stay creatively balanced.
On writing spaces …
I write in the little sun room where I do yoga. It's full of light and I can see out to the back yard where there are many trees. I write at a small antique desk with the dogs at my feet, and I light candles and listen to instrumental music while I write. I love Glenn Gould, but also traditional Irish bands like The Chieftains. A large part of my writing process is ritualistic, in terms of candles and music. I create a tiny world where I can escape into my stories or poems. It's a bubble of light and creativity, and it's where I feel most at home.
On writing communities …
I am part of a creative non-fiction writing group that meets fairly regularly. We first met online when we all took the CNF class at the Sage Hill Writing Experience during the pandemic. I also met some great playwrights at Sage Hill the following summer. All of the writers I've met during my times at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, as well as at Sage Hill--and from Anam Cara (in Ireland) and Moniack Mhor (in Scotland)-- have become some of my closest friends. I hate that we're so far apart, geographically, but I've been lucky enough to travel to spend time with some of them. Besides that, I'm a member of The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC). I was the Ontario Representative from 2020-2023, but now I'm the First Vice-Chair (2023-25). TWUC has given me a whole new sense of community and is a writerly family. I'm grateful for the ways I've been able to contribute to help writers from across Canada. I'm also a member of The League of Canadian Poets and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. These groups help me feel connected, especially during difficult times in life.
On challenges …
I think every writer faces challenges to make space for writing in their life. Those of us who have day jobs are constantly balancing those work requirements with our personal lives, and with our commitment to our creative writing projects. It requires a lot of discipline and focus, I've found. Writers will understand what that's like, to have to protect the time and space they have, and to stay true to their creative work.
The world isn't always kind to artists, so I find--in recent years--that I spend more and more time socially with other artists because I feel they are kindred spirits and understand the demands of what we're all doing. Who else but another writer could understand the solitude, pain, and joy of writing? Other people just don't often get it, the intensity of the creative work. I find comfort in being with other writers because they accept and love me as I am.
On the best writing advice …
The best piece of advice I've received over the years--from my literary mentors--is to read as much (or more) than you write. Reading is key to being a better writer, so it's not something that 'takes you away' from your writing. Instead, it's something that will strengthen your own work. The advice I remind myself of while writing is to read my work out loud, so that I can listen to how the dialogue works, and to hear awkward bits that need trimming out. I've also learned that revision is a good thing, an art, and it strengthens my work.
On the worst writing advice …
The worst piece of advice I received was to only "write what you know." I write to explore and experiment, to journey into places I wouldn't normally journey into in my daily life. I'm so curious about life. I don't like rules at all, and I love being spontaneous (especially about travel). I don't know that my parents would be thrilled to see me being so unruly with my writing and teaching career choices, but I like to think maybe they'd at least admire my courage because I was once a very fearful person. That's not the case anymore, and I rejoice in that growth every day.
On advice from personal experiences …
If you're a veteran woman writer, I think it's really important that you try and share your knowledge with those women who are emerging writers. (I didn't really have any female literary mentors in my 20s and 30s. It was only when I came into my 40s and 50s that I seemed to encounter amazing women writers like Susan Rich, Tanis MacDonald, Marnie Woodrow, Catherine Banks, Yvonne Blomer, Ariel Gordon, and Jen Hadfield. They have all been some of my best teachers, in terms of strengthening my craft as a writer. I think we need to be mentors to those who come after us, so that we can continue to encourage women writers to create new work and to help them feel connected. It can be a lonely and solitary profession, after all, and finding like minded women writers is important to feeling gathered in.
Kim’s online spaces …
Website: www.kimfahner.com
Instagram: @kimfahner
Twitter: @modernirish
Ready to write or revise your manuscript?
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Oooo! I love that advice to read as much or more than you write! It really can be well-filling!
Excellent edition, Liisa! Kim, as always, thanks for being so generous with your thoughts on writing and the world. Your intentionality and care -- is a model for the rest of us. I love watching your growth as a writer.