TINA

(Y The softer side of war
(¥ Chairman of the Board: 50 ways to betray your brother
(Y The hypocrisy of Shinji Mikami

And more!

Seen something worth sharing?

Contact: Chery! Minns, Arts Editor
Marts@theotherpress.ca

www. theotherpress.ca

 

Turn that ‘Once upon a time’ into reality

» Write a novel in 30 days or less with NaNoWriMo

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

t’s that time of year again

when writers buckle
down to write a 50,000-word
novel in 30 days as part of
November’s National Novel
Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
Created by an American non-
profit organization in 1999,
NaNoWriMo has become an

international event that attracts :

people of all ages who have
stories to tell. Luckily, no writer
is alone in their novel journey
because NaNoWriMo’s website
is set up to allow volunteer
municipal liaisons to arrange
social events for participating
writers in their local region.
Carmen Fowle, a municipal
liaison and Douglas College
alumna, encourages new and
returning NaNoWriMo writers
to participate in the weekly
Write-ins, where writers gather
together to work on their
novels and brainstorm ideas,
motivating each other to reach
their 50,000-word goal.
“Write-ins are great for
getting to know your fellow
participants, as well as for

NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaisons:
Dave, Carmen, and Rob

By Cheryl Minns

 

: staying on track. If you get
: stuck, there’s a bunch of people :
: around to bounce ideas off of”
: Fowle wrote to the Other Press.
: “You're guaranteed to get an

: answer—probably more than

: one!”

Last November, Fowle

: hosted a Write-in at the

: Douglas College Coquitlam
: campus for students and

: community members to drop by !
: and work on their novels. This

: year, since Fowle has graduated
: from Douglas College, the

: Write-in will take place at the

: Port Moody Public Library on

: Tuesday evenings from 5 to 9

: p.m.

“Douglas students should
attend the events because they

: serve as an escape from the

: work and school life,” Fowle
: wrote. “Going to an event allows :
: fora brief escape from it all,

: and gives time to focus on the
: writing for fun instead of the

: writing for grades.”

While the events are a nice

: escape, Fowle suggests students : band
: of avid writers each trying to

: reach 50,000 words.

put their studies first during

: NaNoWriMo and perhaps use
: the events as an incentive.

“When things get busy and

: all the term papers are due, try
: to use Write-ins as a reward:
: get to this point in the essay,
: attend the event for an hour or
: two,” Fowle wrote. “I also know

: that some students find the

) : atmosphere of a Write-in helps
: them to focus on their school

: work in addition to their novel
: writing.”

In New Westminster,

: local author Perry Wilson will
: be hosting weekly Monday

: Motivation Write-ins from

: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Waves

: Coffee House on Columbia

: Street, a five-minute walk

: from the Douglas College New
: Westminster campus.

“This is one of our more

: populated events, so students
: wishing to attend may want

: to arrive as early as possible to
: guarantee prime seating,” Fowle :
: wrote. “We have the small room :
: at the back booked for the

: event and will very commonly

: have people sitting on the floor
: lining the walls!”

Like Fowle, Wilson is

looking forward to the popular

event and being ina room full

“One of the tools we have

: ata Write-in is the Word War,”
: Wilson wrote to the Other

: Press. “We focus on writing for
: a 15- to 20-minute time period.
: With everyone silent—the only
: sounds being a tapping of keys
: and a scratching of pens—the

: words flow.’

Fowle said that the sound

: can make a difference in
: the writing process, even if
: everyone isn't in the same room.

“I once did a Word War via

: Skype with some friends and we
: all turned our microphones on

: just so we could hear each other
: type—that’s how motivating it

: can be!” Fowle wrote.

For dedicated NaNoWriMo

: participants, there are a variety
: of writing-themed events

: happening throughout the

: Lower Mainland in November.
: First up is the Opening Day

: Write-a-thon at 12 p.m. on

November 1 at Take 5 Café in
Vancouver. Next is the Official

: Transit Write-in happening

: on the SkyTrain on November
: 8, starting at the Waterfront

: Station at a.m.

To start your NaNoWriMo

: novel, go to nanowrimo.org,

: create an account, and enter the
: information about your novel

: (title, summary, cover, etc.).

The Other Press will

: cover NaNoWriMo events and

: activities throughout November
: and we want to hear from you.

: If youre a Douglas College

: student and want to show off

: your work, drop us a line!

 

Mixed media projects find beauty in the details

» Father and daughter collaborate for ‘Under the Same Roof’

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

n the fourth floor of the
Douglas College New
Westminster campus, there is a
wall-length mural adorning the

Laure C. Muir Theatre wall in
the Amelia Douglas Gallery. A
colourful mixed media collage,

exclusive art piece designed by
Ewan McNeil and Jessie McNeil,

show Under the Same Roof.

The McNeils discussed the
piece during their presentation
in the gallery on October 24.

Originally starting as a black and you really get a sense of how

: people use their urban space
: to their full advantage. They

white sound wave pattern, the
46-foot-wide mural evolved into

: much more as Ewan would add
: details to the project and then

: Jessie would add some of her

; own

“It represents the process

that my dad and I had on this
: project,” she explained during
: the presentation.

Along with the mural, Ewan

and Jessie also brought their
: own individual works, including :
: Jessie’s collages and Ewan’s

“Mural for a Theatre Lobby” is an sculptures.

For the collages, Jessie took

photos of people hanging out —:
. + and walking around town during :
a father/daughter team, for their : her summer trip to Stockholm,
: Sweden, which she used as a

: guide for laying out the paper

: pieces on the wooden panels.

“Spending time in Europe,

: walk and they enjoy the scenery
: and they go to parks. I really

: responded to that and loved it,’
: she said.

Ewan’s sculptures are mixed

media creations made from

: random items he has found or

: had stored in his studio, such

: as cardboard, rearview mirrors,

: bicycle helmet pieces, and more.

“T have a little micro-

economy going with one of the
: bin guys. I slip him $20 every
: once ina while and he brings
: me building things,” Ewan said,

explaining where some of his

: supplies come from. “I tell him
: why I need this, so he’s thinking
: about my work and he’s into it.”

Under the Same Roof will be

: on display in the Amelia Douglas
: Gallery at the Douglas College

: New Westminster campus until

: December 12.

Jessie and Ewan McNeil

By Cheryl Minns