{"id":815,"date":"2014-03-02T15:54:54","date_gmt":"2014-03-02T23:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/cmns\/?p=815"},"modified":"2016-01-13T14:07:11","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T22:07:11","slug":"professional-writers-association-of-canada-members-share-thoughts-on-professional-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/cmns\/2014\/03\/02\/professional-writers-association-of-canada-members-share-thoughts-on-professional-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Professional Writers Association of Canada members share thoughts on professional writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five Fraser Valley writers are visiting UFV\u2019s Abbotsford Campus on March 12 to talk writing with students, graduates and others. Here\u2019s a taste of what they\u2019ll share at the event.<\/p>\n

\"Kathleen<\/a>
Kathleen Rake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kathleen Rake is\u00a0founder of Click Media Works. She has more than 20 years of professional experience writing and editing for social media, magazines, newspapers, industry, government, non-profit, small business, and the web.\u00a0I asked her about the<\/b>\u00a0valuable advice she learned from her mentor(s).<\/b><\/p>\n

Some important advice from one of my mentors, paraphrased is:<\/p>\n

\u201cWrite to express, not impress\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Heidi<\/a>
Heidi Turner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heidi Turner is an award winning writer who specialises in business writing and grant proposals. She has published on\u00a0CBC.ca, Just Dance Magazine and Business Fraser Valley. I asked her what\u00a0<\/b>advice she’d give to people starting out their careers as professional writers.<\/b><\/p>\n

Know what you are worth.\u00a0By graduating from a writing program, you are already more prepared than 90 percent of the people out there who call themselves writers.<\/span><\/p>\n

When you’re applying for a job or setting your rates as a freelance writer, don’t sell yourself short. Charge what you’re worth, even if you’re just starting out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Janet<\/a>
Janet Love Morrison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Janet Love Morrison’s writing\u00a0has appeared in publications including the Pique Newsmagazine, Ski Canada,<\/i> The Globe and Mail.\u00a0<\/i>I asked her to t<\/b>ell us something about her writing process.<\/b><\/p>\n

Before I start to write, I meditate and become clear on my intent \u2013 what I want to share. It\u2019s not about me, it\u2019s about how my writing serves the bigger picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel we have to be careful with the word “influence”. Are you writing from another\u2019s beliefs or your own? I don\u2019t seek anyone\u2019s approval.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lynda<\/a>
Lynda Grace Philippsen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lynda Grace Philippsen’s\u00a0reviews, essays and feature stories have appeared in various\u00a0journals,\u00a0<\/b>newspapers and magazines nationally and internationally. She\u00a0is also the current president of the Fraser Valley chapter of the\u00a0Professional Writers Association of Canada. \u00a0I asked her what she\u00a0<\/b>loved most about being a professional writer?<\/b><\/p>\n

Living the dream, in the Joseph Campbell sense:<\/span><\/p>\n

If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.<\/i><\/p>\n

Nothing can touch that.\u00a0 And sometimes somebody pays me to do that. Bonus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ronda<\/a>
Ronda Payne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ronda Payne is a full time copywriter, freelancer and creative writer. She is a regular contributor to\u00a0a variety of publications and\u00a0also has\u00a0a number of\u00a0books\u00a0and stories on the go. I asked her if she had<\/b>\u00a0a favourite quote that sustains her through her writing.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cLook then into thine heart and write\u201d Henry Wadsworth Longfellow .<\/span>This has been one of the quotes that sustains me and keeps me going. Just write.<\/p>\n

When that isn\u2019t doing the trick, I\u2019ll go with one I created. You know the song \u201cIt\u2019s a pirate\u2019s life for me\u201d they play in the pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland? I modify that to sing:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s a writer\u2019s life for me\u201d<\/p>\n

And then, when all else fails, I remind myself of what sports columnist Red Smith said,\u00a0\u201cYou simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.\u201d<\/p>\n

All students and recent UFV graduates who love writing are welcome to attend the March 12 event. This is your chance to make connections with people who share your passion.<\/span><\/p>\n