Spending Some Time with Beatrice Mosionier
Hey folks! A couple weeks ago I got to share some time, cyber time, but still special time, with one of the most acclaimed writers our province has ever produced, Beatrice Mosionier. Author of several books, including the just plain amazing, In Search of April Raintree, Bea recently penned her much anticipated memoirs, Come Walk with Me.
Incidentally, you too can spend some time with Bea, 100 Minutes of time to be precise, when she hosts our next 100 Minutes with the Author on Saturday, April 17th @ 1:30 pm in the Carol Shields Auditorium @ Millennium Library…
Kate: “Hey Bea! Thanks for talking with me. We’re so very excited to have you host our next 100 minutes show! I just finished Come Walk With Me and loved it, just as I loved In Search of April Raintree. Both books are very different – autobiographical and fictional respectively, but they also have a lot of similarities, how would you compare the writing process for the two books? different? the same?”
Bea: “Writing In Search of April Raintree was a creative process in that I could make up scenes, once I decided on a storyline.
The memoir was a process of recalling my past and writing facts. While both processes are emotional, I found myself being much less emotional in my memoir, and I realized that may have been because it was my true-life struggle for survival. It’s how a driver might focus on avoiding a crash – no time for the emotions of those seconds. Kind of like that.”
Kate: “You have had such a long and remarkable career, what, if anything was your favourite writing experience? a certain book/piece? an event or workshop?”
Bea: “In February, I did a revision of In the Shadow of Evil. I loved writing this book as much as In Search of April Raintree, the first time, but really loved doing the revisions and was almost sorry to finish it.
I can’t pick one event because it always depends on the audience, and I have been so fortunate to have fantastic audiences who are with me all the way.”
Kate: “A lot of our members are emerging writers trying to get out there, you talked some of your initial experiences in Come Walk with Me, but if you had to do it over again, what would you do differently? What is your advice for the emerging/struggling writers out there?”
Bea: “If I had to do it all over again, the only thing different that I’d do is access the website a lot sooner than I did. Until last year, I used to use my daughter’s computer for e-mailing and never explored the internet. How slow am I?
My main advice for emerging/struggling writers out there is to run to your nearest library, and pick out all kinds of books on writing, editing, proofreading, etc. etc. Then when you find the ones that are really helpful to you, or that you can relate to, buy them, so you can mark them up and always have them handy.
Secondary advice is to join writing groups or take classes.”
For more amazingness, come out on the 17th and hear more! I, for one, will be there with my Book Geek on!
Katherena Vermette
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Looking forward to listening to Ms. Mosionier on April 17th. Have read “In Search of April Raintree” and “Come Walk with Me” and both left me with a feeling of great respect for the writer. Have just requested “In the Shadow of Evil” from WPL and am looking forward to another great read. Thanks Kate, for bringing this to us.
The distinction that Beatrice makes between memoir and fiction is so interesting – the idea that memoir is less emotional because it’s her real experience. Also, that she loved doing revisions (I hate revisions)! Sounds like she has a fascinating perspective on writing and how it works.
I know what she means by saying she loves doing revisions because every time I bring out an old piece of work and go over it I find a gazillion things to change and that in itself is exciting–always making it better. But, and this is a bit BUT, there comes a point when you have to say, Enough is Enough! and leave it alone.