Well, it's done. This draft of the MS is done.
It now rests in the gentle hands of my good friend and editor who is giving it a read. It is something to be grateful for to have such a friend -- someone who can be counted on to drop everything and start reading whenever I send something her way. Thank you, Becca! If I ever get anything published, it'll be because of you. Seriously.
Today, I'm going to nestle up to a proposal I'm submitting to the provincial government for a creation grant. Deadline is mid-May and I've been sitting on it for the past month so I better get it done. The government administrator was helpful (imagine that) and looked over my draft so I have a better chance of acceptance. I've never applied for one of these babies before, but imagine the competition is pretty tough. I have no idea what the odds are of getting one, but hey, no harm in trying. Wish me luck.
Have a great writing day!
Colleen
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6 comments:
Congratulation!! I know that's one of the best feelings in the world, to get that first draft done. Great work!
On a side note, what's a "creation grant?" Is that a grant for your novel, I take it? I don't believe we have anything like that in the US...
Chris
Hey Chris: A creation grant is a grant offered by the Nova Scotia government, culture division, to offset living costs of local artists. It's goal is to encourage more artists to create in their chosen media. The federal government also offers grants, but those would be for published authors only. Other provinces would have their own versions of grants.
The state of art in Canada isn't great. I checked the recipients of these grants last year and Donna Morrisey was one of the recipients. She is a writing goddess. It would be like Anne Tyler or John Irving having to apply for a grant for living expences so they could afford to write.
Artists in Canada do, indeed, starve. I suppose that's because 1) we have a disgusting tendency to believe that if it's Canadian it can't be good and 2) we have a really large country with few people so it's tough to promote, get high sales, etc.
However, there have been more than a few Canadian authors who have managed to rise above all of that and do more than eke out a living.
Thanks for the interest and note of congrats.
Colleen
No problem. Thanks for the notes back on creation grants; that's really interesting, and it makes sense when you put it in context like that. You mentioned that Canada has few people, so I googled and found that it was only about 33 million. Wow, that's a lot smaller than I was expecting. Still, it's really refreshing to know that there must be so much wilderness still up there. I'm in a reasonably urban area (local tri-city population of 1 million), and it seems like there are just people everywhere. Glad to hear that you apparently don't have quite the same problem, even if it isn't too good for artists' careers.
Chris
You're right. Canada is really beautiful. There is no city where you can't be in wilderness in between 10 minutes to an hour. It's great. Nova Scotia has fewer than one million people most of whom live along the coast. The interior is pretty empty. Plus we have the Cabot Trail, one of National Geographic's Top 10 Most Beautiful Places in the World. Okay, I'll stop the promotion already. :-)
Congrats on finishing the first draft. It always feels good to get that part behind you. And yes, a good knowledgable friend willing to help is the best thing a hopeful writer can have.
Hey Travis: Thanks for dropping by. I've just visited your blog. Lots of fun. I love that you're writing women's fiction.
Best of luck,
Colleen
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