The Cougar makes top BC adventure book in Explore Magazine!
Avid outdoorsman, writer and photographer, John Geary recently took a tour of Canadian adventure books, selecting one from each province and territory.
It must have been a daunting task to choose only one for each area so I was surprised and delighted when The Cougar, Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous was his pick for BC!
Geary’s selection is featured in the online edition of Explore Magazine.
Here’s part of what he has to say about The Cougar: “This book details the history of the cougar-people relationship, examining cougar attacks in North America over the last 200 years. It’s an eye-opener and a good source of information about cougars — including what to do if you encounter one.…an important read.”
Waves pounding on a rocky outcropping, an eagle perched in a fir tree, the sky drenched in pink and orange as the sun slips beyond the horizon. Every writer dreams of a view like this. But is it beneficial? Does it beckon the creative muse? Nudge you into writing faster and better?
In my thirty-plus years as a writer, I’ve worked in many spaces. The first was at a desk in the corner of the living room. My nine-year old stepdaughter had a tough time understanding why she wasn’t supposed to interrupt me.
But I’ve also been lucky enough to write where I had views of water, treed areas and wildlife. I fondly recall the little summer house I rented as a private writing retreat from Shannon and Brian on their island sanctuary in the Nuchatlitz archipelago.
I loved my writing retreat in this little cabin and spending time with Shannon and Brian at Nuchatlitz.
My favourite writing space, however, was in an Arts & Crafts heritage house I lived in for decades. Two huge transom windows provided expansive views of dogwood trees, large flowering shrubs, and maple trees with leaves as big as dinner plates.
Visual memories include a snowfall of pink cherry blossoms, a hummingbird piercing a small owl’s breast with its beak, and a deer licking the inside of a feral rabbit’s ear.
This is where I wrote a weekly arts column for the local newspaper, hundreds of articles for mainstream and alternative magazines and six non-fiction books. But this was not my most productive writing space. That was a tiny room upstairs.
An engrossing book to work on, The Cougar demanded my full attention. The phone and even the sound of my partner walking around in other areas of the house were unwelcome intrusions.
So I took my laptop to the grey room. The only furniture was a bed, a desk and a bookcase. To my delight, I couldn’t hear anything in the rest of the house. And I didn’t have access to the Internet, so another distraction was eliminated.
There was an unexpected quirk, though. The desk faced the window, and I couldn’t work with the light shining in my eyes. There was no room to move the desk, so I closed the blinds. Then I realized that light from the other bedroom shone in the open doorway, creating glare on my screen. I shut the door, only to discover that the light from the overhead fixture also created screen glare. So, I turned it off.
I didn’t know if I could write solely by the light of my laptop screen. But strangely, it worked. I felt like a captain at the helm of a spaceship careening into outer space. I couldn’t hear anything, see anything, or google anything. It was just me and The Cougar. And I wrote up a storm.
The upshot? Having a view to write by is lovely but not necessarily the most effective.
That said, no matter where you shape your stories, it’s always a good idea to periodically give your eyes a break from the screen. That’s the perfect time to find a window with a view. And if you have time, to go outside into it.
Top image is the view from one of the windows in my former heritage house.
The west coast landscape is the creative inspiration for most of Bev Byerley’s paintings.
As a writer, creativity intrigues me. Why do we seek it? How do we find it?
While I continue to explore the concept in my personal and professional life, I’m also curious about how people in other fields of artistic endeavor, find their muse. Painter Bev Byerley was kind enough to share her thoughts below.
First of all, I take photos of my favorite places. Usually it’s just a few interesting lines I see in these photos that sparks my creative interest.
Then I sketch the bare bones, emphasizing the lines that I find intriguing, with a paint brush and dark coloured paint. After the initial sketch I’m full of artistic excitement and begin to block in colours and cover the canvas.
It’s usually about this time that I realize just how much work it’s going to take to produce the image I have in my head. My energy level wanes and I have to push myself to keep going.
But when I do, there comes the point that I can see the finish line and the initial spark returns with all the energy and enthusiasm to complete the piece.
For me, painting is like walking a long distance; placing one foot in front of another, and another, and another…
Being creative can be as challenging as grabbing a handful of fog. The mind and body may be willing, but the muse often chooses its own time to appear. Some people seem to be in a constant state of creative consciousness, while others grunt and grind their way along as if pushing a two-ton rock up a steep hill.
But sooner or later, most creatives experience an “aha!” moment that propels them forward on a rush of star-studded euphoria.
So, what flips the switch from mundane to innovative?
Sometimes I can write my way into a creative flow by playing with a variety of words, scenarios and random combinations. Or a walk in the woods or along the Salish Sea can transform nebulous thoughts into a quirky idea.
And, although far less enjoyable, creative thoughts also emerge while doing something mindless like washing dishes or vacuuming.
But even when struggling, I’m drawn to the craft of story.
Curiosity is the driving force behind my creativity. Even as a child I was always asking questions and silently watching what people did and the ways others reacted. I want to know why something happens and how people become who they are.
Inspiration is usually sparked by an external incident: rotting fish being converted into ooligan grease, a cougar screaming in the greenspace behind my home or feeling uncomfortable around the homeless in my community.
I’m intrigued by the reasons people live and act the way they do. And of the dark that lies below the surface sometimes swimming to the top to wreak havoc. What’s the backstory? How do people change? Or even survive?
In previous books, I’ve examined relationships between people and wildlife, the landscape, and other cultures. Now I’m exploring a more intimate relationship, that of a family shattered by past events, never acknowledged or spoken about.
Switching from nonfiction to fiction is a challenge, leading to much thought and contemplation. On his website, internationally renowned author Michael Connelly says he recently created a new series, “Because you have to write like a shark. You keep moving or you die creatively.”
Now I’m exercising my creative muscles in different ways and learning new aspects of the story-telling journey. Writing like a shark involves change and stepping outside my comfort zone.
I never know how each dance with the muse will turn out but that’s part of the charm. Every story is an adventure.
Being creative can be as challenging as grabbing a handful of fog. The mind and body may be willing, but the muse often chooses its own time to appear. Some people seem to be in a constant state of creative consciousness, while others grunt and grind their way along as if pushing a two-ton rock up a steep hill.