Way back when I first started this blog, I interviewed one of my favourite (and fellow Canadian) writers, Arthur Slade. You can read it here. He has a new book out, and it’s been so long since we’ve heard from him here, I thought he should come back. He very generously took time out from his rock-star-like schedule and wrote this guest post while he was on the plane going from one big book event to the next. So, welcome Arthur Slade. And if you’re looking for a great book of his to read, I’m sure they’re all fantastic, but I personally love Tribes.
Learning to get to the root of things
A guest post by Arthur Slade
One day when I was out chopping wood in my backyard, I thought about the process of writing a novel. Now, before you think I’m a lumberjack, I want to point out that I was slowly removing the stump of a tree I had previously cut down with a chainsaw and this was my first time swinging an ax in years. I had decided to stretch out the job and only use my ax and a shovel. I could have rented a machine to tear it all out in about 20 minutes but my theory was that I would do an hour of work each evening as exercise. And I liked the idea of doing this job the old fashioned way.
Five days and five hours of work later the roots were all gone and I was left with a feeling of satisfaction. Somehow I was closer to nature. But as I was chopping, I actually did a bit of thinking (a dangerous thing while you’re swinging an ax). Writing a novel is very much like removing a tree stump. If I had looked at the job as a whole I might have been overwhelmed. But because I approached it one chop at a time it was completely manageable. A novel requires the same technique. It’s okay to stand back and look at the big picture. But our main job is to swing that ax and get the job done. Just watch your toes!
Thanks to Joelle for letting me guest blog!
Arthur Slade is a writer for young adults. His latest novel is The Hunchback Assignments.
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