The Clothesline is written by a real person: Me! I’m Vanessa Chiasson, a writer and business coach based in Ottawa, Canada. I write travel and human interest narratives primarily for North American print and online outlets and I love reading, birds, beach glass, lattes, and nachos. I’m scared of roosters, dislike olives, and I cannot wink. You can check out my coaching services here and follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Get’ Em While You Can!
Do you have your ticket to my mid-year planning workshop on the morning of June 28th? I can’t wait to see you there! We’re going to take a deep dive into our business and creative goals. Are we writing what we want? Are we getting paid for it? Is it bringing us joy? How can we write more and worry less? What are we prioritizing that we shouldn’t? And how can we move forward into Q3 with a sense of agency and purpose?
Ink & Income Registration is OPEN
I’m thrilled to announce that you can now register for Ink & Income, my monthly membership program. If you know your writing would benefit from a sense of external accountability and community support, this is the group for you. Members enjoy three virtual co-working sessions a month, a monthly group coaching call, quarterly planning days, and more. Join now and pay just $49 a month AND enjoy an extra 25% off as one of the founding members. (And it’s even cheaper if you pay annually!)
Food For Thought
Hello from St. John’s!
I’m in town for several days to attend the Travel Media Association of Canada conference. I’m fortunate to have snuck in some extra time to enjoy some urban hiking before settling down to business. Yesterday’s keynote speaker shared some words that I think will resonate with all writers, regardless of their subject matter.
Lori McCarthy, a cultural food ambassador, storyteller, and educator, had some thoughts to share with us on the idea of what makes a sense of place. Throughout her narrative, she spoke of what each of us takes from a destination after we visit, what we leave behind, and how the destination becomes a part of our story, and we, in turn, become a part of it. Along the way, she shared many pearls of wisdom, one of which was a saying from her grandfather, referencing how so much of life came down to time, chance, and circumstance.
Time, chance, and circumstance. Have there ever been better words to describe what it takes to write? What does it take to make it as a writer? We can always take the time and shape our circumstances to write more, but what happens when chance intervenes and throws our plans to the wind? What happens when the circumstances are right, and we have an opportunity to take our shot, but the timing seems all wrong? How can we feel motivated when we’re on a parallel track to another writer, and their opportunities seem to soar while ours stay stagnant?
Her words comforted me because they made me realize that when a story I want to tell doesn’t work out, it is not necessarily a reflection on me. Sometimes, the timing doesn’t work out, sometimes the circumstances are not in your favour, and sometimes, chance itself is not on your side. The word “chance” is a tricky one, isn’t it? It implies something elusive, something we have to grasp, something we have to bet on when it’s controlled by magical forces far beyond our reach.
And then, sometimes, it is. They all are. How often have I dismissed my work, that quick and easy acceptance from an editor as a ‘lucky break’ when it was time, chance, and circumstance lining up in my favour?
I suspect Lori’s grandfather would probably have some profound insights into what it takes to live a life of ups and downs, a career where you must constantly embrace the wheel of fortune and the sting of rejection at the same time. Lori probably does as well! But for now, it’s enough for me to remember that success as a writer might largely be due to angles, hooks, and compelling ledes, but time, chance, and circumstance will always be in the mix, working their wonders.
Happy writing and happy travels friends,
Vanessa
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