Writing a First Draft: You Can Do It!
If you’ve lived, you have a story; if you can tell it, you can write it; if you don’t write it, who will? In this session you’ll be invited to write what you like without fear of failure … to begin a story you remember or one you invent … to write how it was or how it ought to have been. Each day you’ll be invited to write first drafts — that stage where you let the pen follow rather than lead, where you are often surprised by what appears on your page and you don’t worry about perfection; where you discover what has been waiting for you to write. First drafts are not about finishing. They are about exploring. First drafts produce pages from which a complete story or article or poem can be composed. You’ll go home with several first drafts, and perhaps even a finished one!
The page waits, pretending to be blank. Margaret Atwood
About Eunice Scarfe
I trained as an English teacher but after several years of teaching, I began to write fiction — without warning or really planning to. Writing fiction soon became a full-time occupation and a life-long companion. No one can fire you from the work of writing fiction! I completed an MA in English (creative writing thesis), for which I wrote a novel, “Sing Sorrow.” I designed a summer writing program at the university and taught in it for the next twenty years. I also launched my own company, Saga Seminars, through which I have taught workshops across North America. My writing has received grants from Canada Council and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts; has been awarded first prize for short fiction from Malahat Review (U of Victoria BC) and Event magazine (U of Alaska); and has been published in numerous anthologies and little magazines including NeWest Press, Fifth House, Coteau Press and Best Stories in Canada.