Featured Writer: Melanie Marttila
Featured Writer: Melanie Marttila
On creating space to write and writing advice.
Hello all,
Welcome to the 8th edition of Women Writing! Wishing everyone a spooky Halloween and a very Happy Birthday to our featured author Melanie Marttila.
Melanie Marttila has been writing since the age of seven, when she made her first submission to CBC's "Pencil Box." She is a graduate of the University of Windsor’s masters program in English Literature and Creative Writing and her poetry has appeared in Polar Borealis, Polar Starlight, and Sulphur. Her short fiction has appeared in Pulp Literature, On Spec, Pirating Pups, and Home for the Howlidays. She lives and writes in Sudbury, Ontario, in the house where three generations of her family have lived, on the street that bears her surname, with her spouse and their dog, Torvi.
“No one knows the story you need to tell better than you do. Make sure that vision finds its way into the world. The world needs your stories!”
On a writing routine …
I would love to have a writing routine! As an autistic, rituals appeal to me. Unfortunately, I still work full time (and will be for a few years yet). So writing is very much catch as catch can. What routine I have is dependent on the season (i.e., the number of hours of daylight) and the number of spoons I have left at the end of any given work day.
Right now, I aim to write after work until supper, and then after supper I walk my dog and try to get another hour in. After 9 pm, my brain shifts into recovery mode and I'm fairly useless, creatively, though I have worked late into the night if I'm writing toward a deadline.
On weekends I get 1-3 hours in the afternoons and maybe another hour or two in the evening. If I've had a particularly challenging day or a big project at work, I may not have the energy to write at the end of the workday, however. And longer projects require longer periods of recovery, so occasionally weekends are unproductive as well. I would love to find out if I have a more productive time of day and write at those times, but that will have to wait until retirement.
On writing spaces …
I have an office, which was my childhood bedroom. Back in 2008, Phil and I renovated it and it's now my writerly haven. My office is filled with objects of significance—and books! I usually listen to podcasts, lofi, or various playlists on Spotify. In the summer, I try to get out to write on our patio, but that depends on the weather. I usually write on my desktop (in the office), or laptop (on the patio), but if I'm working on a particularly knotty problem, I'll switch to writing by hand in a notebook. The change of writing method can often lead to a breakthrough, or at least, a change in perspective. Research is often multi-media. Some can be conducted online, some will require reading books or copying articles at a library, or buying books not otherwise available. I have a cork board and a white board in my office but, depending on the project, they may or may not see any action. I'm a big fan of Evernote and Excel spreadsheets.
On writing communities …
I am currently ... (deep breath) a professional member of the Canadian Authors Association (CAA), a member of The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC), a full member of the League of Canadian Poets (LCP), an associate member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), and a member of SF Canada, the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Association (CSFFA), and the Sudbury Writers' Guild (SWG). Whew! Most of my interactivity is online, through Facebook groups, Discord servers, and other collaborative spaces (like Trello). I have benefitted by connecting with other writers, critique partners, editors, book coaches, and agents. I often attend writing conferences, workshops, readings, and book launches, and have found publishing opportunities through various groups.
On challenges …
As I mentioned, finding time (and energy) to write is a continual challenge. I have to be careful. Though I'm prone to bouts of hyperfocus, that can lead to burnout. Finding a work/life/creative balance is tricky.
On the best writing advice …
Don't write to the market. Write that thing that makes your soul sing. If you don't love it, no one else will. The book of your heart will find its audience and its home in the right readers' hearts. Trust. Keep the faith. Never give up.
On the worst writing advice …
An academic advisor once told me to stop wasting their time and mine with this "fantasy nonsense" and leave the masters program. I did withdraw from the program until that person went on sabbatical and returned to complete my masters on my own terms with a different academic advisor who was much more supportive of my approach.
On advice from personal experiences …
Watch "The Gap" by Ira Glass. It's all about how, when you're a beginning writer, you have no taste and about the gap between what you can write now and that vision you have in your head. It's tough love, but it's so true. When you've learned enough and developed that sense of taste, though, stay true to your vision. Be open to constructive criticism and editorial feedback, but learn when to stick to your guns. No one knows the story you need to tell better than you do. Make sure that vision finds its way into the world. The world needs your stories!
Melanie’s online spaces …
Substack: Alchemy Ink
Blog: Always Looking Up
Debut poetry collection, The Art of Floating, available April 6, 2024 (Latitude 46 Publishing).
I believe the world needs more women’s stories. Are you ready to write yours?
If you've been dreaming of writing a novel or memoir but don't know how to get started, or you have a work-in-progress that needs attention, as an Author Accelerator Book Coach I can give you the tools to move forward. We all have a story within us, waiting to be shared. I can help you tell yours. Let me show you how.
Writers, I have one space available for a manuscript evaluation in November. You’ll receive a detailed editorial letter and a 1:1 Zoom call to discuss your manuscript and develop steps to move forward. Send me a message!
Don’t forget to attend our information session about Rekindle Creativity: Women’s Writing Retreat in Muskoka on November 1 at 7:00 PM via Zoom. Find out all about our retreat in January 2024 in beautiful Muskoka and ask all the questions. The early bird discount is available until November 8. Claim your spot now.
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Very cool that your office is your childhood bedroom! I have an upstairs office space in which I’ve basically re-created my childhood bedroom (without the bed and my sister’s belongings). Lots of my hardback books from childhood on two bookshelves, my toy chest (crammed with yarn and crochet needles), and other miscellaneous art supplies coexist in creative clutter. I love seeing books my father gave me some 50 years ago. Your setup, even with remodeling, sounds like it firmly roots you in place!
I enjoyed reading this newsletter BUT the more I read I was reminded of another woman with the same last name, who rescued me from classroom boredom, and taught me how to sew my own jeans and bras (in the early 70's )while I was at Laurentian University on a federal government scholarship for a BScN . I was awarded my four year degree in three years perhaps "because there is a time and space for everything". I have also graduated from making bras to knitting breast prostheses for cancer survivors.