Flat Track Side-Tracked: My Other Life and Blog

There's been long term radio silence on this blog, largely due to a busy school schedule, a new puppy and very little skate time. Also, I have another blog, but we'll get to that. Though I'm currently out with a recent ankle injury, once I'm cleared, I'm planning to rejoin the ranks of the rolling. ...Again.

Though I feel like I spend a great deal of time trying to get back into derby after recurring absences, I have high hopes this time. Why? For one thing, after hearing that along with physical activity, derby offers a weekly chance for me to work on my social anxiety, my psychiatrist is very firmly on the derby bandwagon and the opinion of the person prescrbing your SSRIs can have something of an effect. Also, my partner Antonio will be joining me: now that cricket season is winding down. he'll be volunteering with FCDG and hopefully attending skate practices. And frankly, I feel so sluggish lately that I'm really craving a chance to reconnect with my body and health. As is often the case, derby is the answer.

With those high hopes in mind, I thought I would introduce my other home on the internet: my gaming blog. Coming into the third year of my PhD, I decided to start up a blog that reflected my academic interests. It's still pretty fresh, but any readers of this blog looking for fresh content and willing to talk games should check out The Bagatelle.

In the mean time, despite the long quiet, TPE has not been abandoned, but awaits new skating experiences to feed it. Jam City Rollergirls, alas, does not count. But I should probably blog about it somewhere.

So, You Want To Start a Roller Derby Blog...

As lovers of derby, we have a lot of ways to stay engaged with our sport. But blogging can be a special way of critically engaging with roller derby. Derby's DIY aesthetic is particularly blogging friendly. This sport is powered by human passion and blogging can be a direct way of sharing what you love, what you think, what you absolutely must say about roller derby with the world.

So, here are my top tips for starting and maintaining a derby blog.

My hypnotic type-writer compels you.

The Starting Line

1) Consider your angle. Are you a newbie? A coach? A derby widow? Your specific relation to the sport can provide a fresh angle on derby and will likely draw readers in your position or curious about it to your blog.

2) Be prepared. Get ready with a list of possible topics, ranging from personal essays to bout reviews to possible interview subjects. Have a list to fall back on if you find your creativity flagging (as it may).

3) Focus on your passions. What do you love or hate about derby? What gets you excited or pissed off? Dig deep into what gets your emotions fired up. That's where inspiration comes from.

Keeping Up Your Pace

1) Commit. Publicly commit to a blogging schedule. You can even start small and then increase your writing load. Committing publicly will encourage you to maintain your pace, even if you drop off as I did in the past few weeks.

2) Read other derby blogs. Check out other parts of the conversation online. Respond to them. Reach out to them. If you disagree, do it politely. You are part of a conversation that crosses the world. Get involved and stay involved.

3) Don't be afraid to come back after an absence. The internet can occasionally be a forgiving place. The important thing is to not feel embarrassed or guilty for not blogging. You still have a right to have your say.

Blog on.

Quick Links and a Derby Update

I found this today: http://quick-brown-fox-canada.blogspot.com/. It's a great blog, absolutely bursting with resources for writers, ranging from literary agent listings to contest information. Not to be missed!

Also, two literary agent listings: Literary Agent Listings from the Writer's Union of Canada

National Literary Agent Listing from Publishers.ca

In other news, I'm taking some time off-skate, but I'm delighted to be volunteering at The Rollergettes' Rockin' Rollin' Ruckus on July 16th, in Toronto, ON. LOCO will be playing a pre-bout low-contact game at George Bell Arena, 215 Ryding Avenue, Toronto. Tickets can be snagged at

Shox's Sports Saloon - Junction, Dundas & Keele
Good Catch - Parkdale, Queen West (@Sorauren)
Freshly Baked Tees - 557 Queen Street West (e. of Spadina)
The Mascot - Parkdale, Queen West (w. of Dufferin)
Hell's Belles - 463 Queen Street West (w. of Spadina)

Look for my blog of the event on the 17th, if you can't join us the night before!

Loser, Baby.

My hard drive is dead. Intensely dead. Parrot in a Monty Python sketch dead. This means my easy access to my thesis written under the guidance of Jane Urquhart and my previous work is no more.

The work itself lives on, I hope. I'll be spending the next few days scouring my half-unpacked apartment for any usb keys, my email for sent attachments, and the hearts and inboxes of friends and family for rough work and sympathy. At the very least, I have a hardcover copy of the thesis, so I didn't actually cry when the guy at Best Buy confirmed my fears. I have noticed that since then I have strange aches as if I've been clenching with grief and Luddite rage, which I probably have. The guy at the counter confided his own hard drive had died earlier this week and that he had no less than six external hard drives at home.
On the positive side, once the computer comes back and I obsessively back up my files as they come back / start anew, I have a lot of gigabytes to fill. I feel energized both by my panic and the kick-ass pencil skirt I bought from Weezi in the belief that after paying the equivalent of my rent in repairs and equipment, a) one sweet skirt will probably kick up my words per minute and b)  my budget is reeling drunkenly already, so why not?

In the mean time, I have some outbox scavenging to do, Mad Max-style. I'll give my external hard drive a mohawk to get in the spirit of things.

Writing Desks, Tree Branches and a Cave of One's Own

Sadly, not everyone who writes has a hermitage, so we make do with dens, coffee-shops and frequently in my case, my couch or bed. These last were nominally comfortable, but the longer I wrote the more pronounced the curl of my spine became, so I took the plunge and rolled off the couch. It's only recently that I've made the switch to a desk. It has drawers. It has good light. It looks sturdy enough to support a mug of tea.

My ideal writing place would be a comfortable tree branch, but since my handwriting is messy at best and my laptop and collar-bone are surprisingly fragile, I've decided on this particular perch.

My other options below the level of branches were limited. I have friends who go to write in coffee-shops and university libraries, both of which I find far too crowded and heady with caffeinated people. Having recently moved to an apartment, I'm sadly without a back-yard (inhumane though it would be in winter). My new living room is certainly out of bounds, because my room-mate doesn't to hear that much cursing as she's trying to read (except when I'm playing video games, of course, in which case I howl loud enough for the neighbours to hear). Our kitchen table is covered in plants and I like them where they are, so the desk was my only option. I was unsure at first, as my last foray into desks involved a deep alcove that made me feel like a bat with bad spatial orientation.

There's something romantic about a wooden desk, though, especially a second-hand one. This one has been pretty bumped about for such a little desk and most of the drawers won't fit a regulation printer page, which suits me fine. The drawer handles are bronze-coloured metal and they are so small they will only fit one finger. I picked it up at a second-hand shop in the East Village for $35 and I like to think it's the veteran of the two of us in a writing game.

Then again, if I found an Ikea sticker on the back, I wouldn't be heart-broken. If I can't have a tree branch, I'll swing on this. It's sturdy and most of my printer fits on it.

Upcoming: back on (the) track for derby practice!

Readings, House of Anansi, Roller Derby, and Government Funding

It's been an eventful week.

On Monday, I read at the end of year shindig for the graduates of U of T's Master's in English and Creative Writing. It went splendidly and someone mistook Jane Urquhart for my aunt. I think that's an excellent sign of a first-rate mentor. My fellows were smart, engaging, and talented. I will want their books signed someday.

More recently, I went to House of Anansi Press' launch of three poetry titles. Standing with some friends and avoiding the occasional broken glass, I heard Ken Babstock read from Methodist Hatchet, Sharon Thesen read from Oyama Pink Shale, and Matt Rader from A Doctor Pedalled Her Bicycle Over the River Arno. I also had some really excellent macaroni and cheese at the Victory Cafe, but the poetry was equally surprising, especially when Ken Babstock used the phrase "chicken-rapist" and made the room titter.

In derby news, I've ordered new skates and I've started to learn how to do cross-overs. Having a partner who played a lot of hockey has definite advantages.

LOCO London, my league, is having their first bout this Sunday. Check the site here. Working together with the Sexual Assault Center of London, LOCO has opened up last-minute tickets for both self-defense classes and a rocking bout. I've seen these women skate and it's going to be  gorgeous.

Finally, I finally checked my mail and I have a SSHRC CGS for the next three years of my PhD. I couldn't be more delighted to go to school this autumn with such great financial support.

In the mean-time, I'll be working on my cross-overs.

Reading in Toronto and on the Web

This Monday, April 25th, my fellow graduates of the University of Toronto's M.A. in English and Creative Writing and I will be reading at the Supermarket restaurant and bar in Kensington. The readers are seven young writers, all with gumption and talent.

Event Details: End of Year Reading - Creative Writing M.A. 2011
Supermarket Restaurant and Bar
268 Augusta Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Readings by Meghan Adams, Brendan Bowles, Elin Hellmark-Kristofferson, Kasia Juno, George Pakozdi, Annie Russell and Andrew Sullivan. Intermission performance by Kasia Juno.

The restaurant's event page is here.
The Facebook group is here.

Best of all? Watch it online here at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday night! You will need a Facebook account. Otherwise, you'll need to drive to Toronto.

It's my first public reading. I plan on wearing sturdy shoes.

Thesis Defended!

My thesis defense for the Master's in English and Creative Writing at the University of Toronto has concluded successfully! Dr Marlene Goldman as the departmental representative, my mentor Jane Urquhart and Michael Winter (acting as the committee head) all gave great feedback on the collection of short stories I did. Hopefully, I'll get more feedback from Jeff Parker and Rosemary Sullivan when they are available/in the country.

I am very excited and celebrating with chocolate and the prospect of video games once I'm home.

Next up: meetings with Jane and Michael to discuss how one courts an agent.

Huzzah!

For Crying Out Loud 2

This is long overdue, but I'm happy to mention that I've been published in For Crying Out Loud 2, the third release from Ferno House, a Toronto-based micropress publishing house. For Crying Out Loud 2, like its predecessor is a collection of fiction and poetry by current and former students of the University of Toronto's Master's in English and Creative Writing. This includes fine friends like Andrew Sullivan, Annie Russell, Brendan Bowles and Andrew MacDonald, who blogs here. And my contribution was poetry, rather unusually for me.

The launch was on March 24th. Copies are still available, I believe. Contact the fine folks of Ferno House if you want a limited edition featuring writers, several of whom are either up, coming, or both.

Thesis is in!

Officially, my creative writing thesis for the University of Toronto's Master's in English and Creative Writing has been submitted to the department! Written under Jane Urquhart's excellent supervision, it's a collection of twelve stories. We'll see yet what the department, including Michael Winter, Rosemary Sullivan and Jeff Parker, makes of it. The rest of my cohort have submitted their own monsters and made merry. Huzzahs all around.

This nascent blog, of course, is the next part.

Fresh From the CBC Literary Awards

On March 24th, the CBC Literary Awards were announced and I won first prize for the Bob Weaver Fiction Prize! I won for a story entitled "Snapshots from my Father's Euthanasia Road Trip, or, Esau" which be appear in AirCanada's in-flight magazine, EnRoute. Clearly, I'm as excited as at least two pigs in muck.

My profile on the CBC Literary Awards (along with an excerpt of the story) can be found here: CBC Literary Awards 2010: Meghan Adams