Author: Marsha

I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.

How do you get your ideas?

A reader emailed me today with a question that all writers get asked all the time, but this reader was so polite and thoughtful by the way he asked, that I’m sharing both Q and the A:

Q:

Dear Marsha,

I really enjoy your books. I’m currently reading “The War Below,” and I really admire your writing. You make your work come alive, and I can visualize every little bit in my head.

I have considered writing a novel of my own, and I’ve decided I am going to do it. But there is one problem, and that is that I cannot think of an idea.

Did you ever experience writer’s block? If you did, I was wondering how you thought of ideas. I would really love your help.

Thank you very much, and I love your work.

A:

Dear __,

A really good way of getting ideas is by talking to people about their lives. I asked a lot of questions of all of my grandparents, my parents and my husband’s parents. That kickstarted a lot of my stories. I also ask a lot of questions when I meet someone new. I want to know what it would be like to be them. To be a writer, you need to be able to step into another person’s (actually, many different people’s) shoes and figure out what it would be like to be them on a day to day basis.

You generally can’t just start asking a total stranger to tell you everything about them, but you’ll be amazed by what you learn by asking open ended questions and just listening. People who have lived through war or trauma often have a world of story bottled up inside but you can’t just come out and ask them. I like to get around it sideways. For example, if I’m talking to someone much older than myself or from a different cultural background, I ask them something about their past that will evoke a comfortable memory, like the first day of school, or a memorable celebration. Their anecdotes about that can give you ideas for other questions.

That’s not all there is to writing a book, but that’s a way to get some ideas. You may have noticed that a lot of writers are not big talkers, and that’s because they’re asking questions and listening.

I have other tips for writing on my website here:

Writing Tips

SOVAS nomination for Araya’s voice performance of The Rings

Very thrilled that Jennifer Jill Araya has been nominated for a SOVAS award for her voice performance of my Holodomor short story, The Rings, which is part of the Ukraine Relief Anthology, A Word is not a Sparrow. Congratulations to Jennifer Jill and all of the voice performers and authors who donated their time and expertise to this Ukraine relief project.

Sarah Smith’s reading guides for Bombs trilogy

A while ago an educator contacted me, letting me know that she was creating reading guides for my first WWII trilogy. Educators make reading guides of my books all the time, frequently getting basics wrong (even misspelling my name) so I was impressed that she approached me first. I asked if she’d show them to me when she was finished, and she kindly did just that. They’re excellent, and available via teacherspayteachers. Here are the links for each of them:

Stolen Girl guide

Making Bombs for Hitler guide

The War Below guide

Audible edition

Canadian taxpayers have funded a Russian propaganda film

Here is the core of the letter that I’ve sent to my MPP and MP. Please feel free to model your own letters from this.

There is a new pro-Russian documentary titled Russians at War currently being shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). This propaganda piece was partly funded by Canadian taxpayers. This is a worldwide humiliation for Canada, that we would allow public funding to normalize the genocidal acts of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

The filmmaker is Anastasia Trofimova, a Russian Canadian. She imbedded herself into a Russian unit as they invaded Ukraine. Is it not treasonous for a Canadian to accompany the invasion of one of our allies?

Ms. Trofimova claims that she embedded herself at great personal risk. Given that an American-Russian ballet dancer was jailed in Russia for merely donating $50 to a Ukrainian charity, this claim doesn’t hold water. This filmmaker has done many documentaries for Russia Today (RT), a Russian propaganda outlet banned in Canada. This film is propaganda, with the goal of “normalizing” Russian soldiers who volunteer to go to Ukraine to rape, steal and kill. It was produced in association with TVO and BC’s Knowledge Network, and partly funded through the Canada Media Fund (CMF), that gets its funding from the federal government and telecommunications companies.

In the short term, please demand that TIFF delist the film and post a public apology.

The larger question is how did we let this happen? Canadian taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund Russian propaganda.

Kidnapped from Ukraine: audiobook

Love having the opportunity to speak the backmatter and acknowledgements for the audio editions of my books. Today, I did that for Kidnapped from Ukraine: Under Attack, Scholastic. Thank you, Will Crann at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton! I have deep respect for professional narrators who do this all the time.