Margaret Hollingsworth - Toronto, Canada

Margaret Hollingsworth is an award winning writer of short stories, plays and fiction. Originally from the UK, Margaret emigrated to Canada in 1968 where she has lived and written since. For a full biography and profile go to her website.

FE: How did you get your first novel published?
MH: It's all who you know! Without an in, even a small one, it's a real uphill slog to get anything published or produced. I'd advise people to socialize at literary or writer's gatherings, go to readings and talk to whoever is there, take writing courses, one of your fellow students will probably get into some sort of position of power - or maybe it will be you - read the journals, contribute stories to literary mags. subscribe to Quill and Quire so you have an understanding of the Canadian scene. (Libraries usually have it behind the counter and are loathe to part with it).

1st book of fiction was a collection of stories 'Smiling Under Water' and thereby hangs a tail and a tale. The editors at Collins read it, courtesy of a friend who was 'well in', and decided it would be the lead volume in their new line of fiction. Just before it was due to be published they were bought up by a consortium led by my agent. I thought I was made for life until he decided not to publish my book! I was too upset to send it to other large publishers (this always takes months or years and I'd already waited two years), so, when an acquaintance who has a small publishing firm offered to publish it I said yes please. It's out of print now of course, but still available on sites like Amazon.

FE: Why do you write?
MH: I think I write to punish myself. Sadly it's the only thing I feel I do well, the thing that gives me most pleasure (and pain) i.e. makes me feel alive, connects me to the world of words which has always been my structural underpinning, and theatre which I fell in love with when I saw my first amateur production of an Agatha Christie play when I was six.

FE: What’s your greatest challenge with writing?
MH: The greatest challenge right now is motivating myself - I've had a career and I'd like to rest on my laurels. I don't feel like having to make the effort to keep reinventing myself as is the case for all but the lucky few of 'senior' writers - if I don't make the effort I'll be starting from ground zero which is pretty much where I am now.

FE: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
MH: Keep writing, keep schmoozing, don't be discouraged - it's a very competitive world out there and opportunities seem to be diminishing. It goes without saying that you should look to the electronic media as a means of broadcasting your skills and maybe inventing new forms. Don't let rejection discourage you - be playful.

FE: What are you currently working on?
MH: I'm working on a play and I have ideas for a novel - I swore I'd never write another - and a memoir revolving round my father and his connections with the British communist party in the North of England.

FE: What's the worst 'day job' you've had to hold to support your writing habit?
MH: Day jobs? So many - I think the most boring was being a facer at the Post Office - i.e. I had to spend days and weeks making sure the stamps were in the top right hand corners and the mail was the right way up. I was also a filing clerk in the United Africa Department of Unilever, filing cables about Ground Nuts waiting to be promoted to the heady heights of the typing pool - it never happened.

FE: Who are your inspirations?
MH: Inspiration? I don't think I have any - certain authors give me a real lift and urge me to try harder - I've always had an affinity with Japanese writers - my current favourite is Haruki Murakami. I like the seemingly careless mixture of surreal and earthbound.I'm not a great fan of conventional narrative.

FE: Are there any writing programs, workshops or courses that you're a big fan of?
MH: I don't think it matters which workshop or writing programme you attend. If you find a teacher who inspires you, or who is willing to spend time over your work, stay - if not think about leaving. Beware of creative writing teachers who teach their own style and preferences as an example. Look for a teacher who is well-read, eclectic, flexible and intent on drawing out the best in their students rather than imposing 'rules' and 'should-be's'.

Musings from the Fiction Exchange

This is me, in case you want a face to the name. I've been slow to post recently and I have been thinking a lot about what I am trying to do here. I was trying to hard to be a neutral 'resource' that I don't think I added any personality and so I am going to be a bit more me and a bit less neutral.

I have been working on a new novel and am happy with the progress so far. The process of writing raises a lot of questions for me and I would love it if this site gained followers who contributed their views, thoughts and ideas. The question that I have been pondering today is, whatever it is that you write- whether short stories, poetry, screenplays, novels or whatever, do you plan it all out before you start and if so, in how much detail? If not, how do you manage to control where it goes or how it ends up?

I read a book on writing screenplays some years ago and it changed the way that I planned my stories. Before I read that I planned very little and could easily get stuck or lost. Fast forward to five years later and I am 10,000 words into my latest piece of writing and I know exactly where I am, where I am going and it is so so much easier. The only thing I don't have enough of is time.......

Any thoughts are welcome.....

Alison C Frost in the Hot Seat

Alison C Frost is originally from Brooklin, Ontario and is now living in Vancouver, BC. Alison has been writing fiction since she was 12, back when she wanted to be a journalist.

FE: Have you had any work published?
AF: I have had short fiction published in Canadian literary journals, but it is a struggle. I have learned to take each rejection slip out of the mailbox and send the piece straight back out. The whole submission/acceptance or rejection process is a long one and there’s no point waiting around. But it is ultimately not the most important part of writing.

FE: Why do you write?
AF: I write because through writing I process, if not fully understand, my experiences and what goes on around me. Things come to me as sentences and images and scenes, the world gets translated/ transformed that way in my head. I feel uneasy when I am not being creative, namely when I am not writing. It just doesn’t feel okay not to be writing regularly.

FE: What’s your greatest challenge with writing?
AF: My greatest challenge with writing is not knowing when to let go of a story and move on. I am not a prolific writer; I spend a lot of time working and reworking the same terrain. I would like to let go of old material and call it done, but that is hard for me. Any piece can always be un-done and reworked. I want to draw those hard edges, but ultimately any piece is amorphous.

FE: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
AF: Call yourself--that is name yourself-- “writer,” at least in your own head. Don’t get caught up thinking you have to reach a level of publication or notoriety or success before you have a right to call yourself “writer”. If you write, if you must write and that is how you negotiate the world, then you are a writer. Believing in the authenticity of that gives confidence and motivation and can keep you going when no exterior element can do it for you.

FE: What are you currently working on?
AF: I am currently on yet another reworking of a collection of 10 short stories that I hope to publish as a book. I am working on several stories at once, trying to figure out how they all work together as one.

FE: How do you support yourself?
AF: I have supported myself through various retail and teaching/editing jobs. I steer clear of any job which might become too consuming for too long since that would take away from the writing. I have only started to get paid for some writing and that feels like a real victory of sorts. At this point, the truth is I am lucky I have a husband with a steady paying job.