Reinventing Character

I met Heather on twitter in September 2009 while we were both participating in the 3 day Novel contest. Unfortunately, neither of us won the contest this year. Not only is Heather a great girl and a knitter extraordinaire, she's also a published author (unlike me).

Most recently, her work is included in a collection of vampire short fiction called Evolve. That's the great thing about the 3 Day Novel contest, anyone can participate.  Even an unpublished writer (am I a writer if I'm not published?) can participate.

I mention Heather, not just because I find her success inspiring, but because she has been at the Banff Centre this week on a writing residency.  I've been living vicariously through her blog posts this week wishing I were there too.  She's managed to get quite alot done in the past week, including finishing her collection of short stories which she hopes to submit to the Hudson Prize.

Her stay at The Banff Centre has inspired me to set a goal to go there.  I'd like to participate in a self-directed writing residency similar to what Heather is doing this week, but even more so, I'd like apply for the Leighton Artists' Colony for Independent Residencies (some of the studios are pictured in this post).  That's a pretty big goal considering that I haven't even managed to publish a short story up to this point.  Having published your work and being able to provide references is one of the criteria for being able to apply for a residency in these studios. It's a worthy goal that I can work towards.

Man, I feel like a bit of an idiot talking about my goals considering that I haven't published anything. Is that doubt that I hear creeping up behind me??