The Saskatchewan Festival of Words got started on Thursday, July 13 with workshops by authors Casey Plett and Michelle Good on the writing skills of character development, and the delicate tightrope walk between personal privacy and public vulnerability.
"It was an excellent group of people, because they were all really engaged and interested in exploring the idea of character development as the real foundation of writing a story," Good said about her session. "I think they got the picture. I put them to work, I made them write, and I made them read, and they did a great job, it was fun."
Good shot to national and international stardom following the publication of her debul novel, Five Little Indians (2020), which won Canada Reads 2022, the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction, the Amazon First Novel award, and others, and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Michelle Good is the daughter and granddaughter of residential school survivors and a member of Saskatchewan’s Red Pheasant Cree Nation. She earned a law degree in her 40s, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in her 50s, and published her debut novel in her 60s – after nine years of writing and editing. Her novel guide readers through the journey of five residential school survivors and shows the trauma they endured and how that damage lingers through lifetimes.
"The workshop was all about breathing life into your characters, and we really got a sense of how important character is, not just to tell a story, but to drive the story forward," explained Cat Abenstein, one of the participants. "We learned that plot can sometimes be secondary, or even a restriction on your stories, and how when you're writing from your experience and from your areas of knowledge, you can create something that is truly inspiring.
"Michelle is a fabulous facilitator and just an incredible presence and role model to writers, regardless of their identity or experience."
Plett's workshop revolved around the difficulty many writers face with potential exposure to their readers. Plett's work has often centered around her experience as a trans woman, giving her an uncommon insight into the balance each writer must strike between authenticity and personal boundaries.
"She talked about how to be vulnerable and how to deal with that idea of people one day reading my writing and, you know, 'How do I feel about that?'" said Sara Grimes. "The idea of making your writing public can really bring it to a standstill, and she said you don't have to share what you're writing with anyone if you don't want to. So, I think that's such a beautiful and refreshing way to look at it ... Kind of bringing it back to why you wanted to write in the first place and realizing that this could be something that's published, or maybe not, and that's OK."
Plett is the author of three works of fiction and a non-fiction, the editor of several publications, and a contributor to the The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, and many others. Her latest novel, A Dream of a Woman (2021), is published by Arsenal Pulp Press.
Thursday's Festival of Words events also included a Great Big Book Club session with Suzette Mayr, moderated by Angie Abdou, and a session by journalist, researcher, and author Tamara Cherry on the relationship between media and trauma.
The Festival's first Street Fair was, unfortunately, driven inside the Cultural Centre lobby by rain and strong winds. However, the show went on, with food and drink and readings from Jeanette Lynes, Ted Barris, Ken Carriere, Ali Hassan, and S.C. Lalli. Thursday evening also included picture book illustration crafts with Miriam Körner, and the Festival concert featuring Diyet & The Love Soldiers.
The Festival will go through Sunday the 16th. The full schedule of events and presenters is at www.festivalofwords.com/schedule
