Novelist Stella Harvey on How She Deals with Matters that Interfere With Her Writing
On Writer’s Block
I experience writer’s block when I’m away from my writing for any extended period. When this happens, around the holidays for example or when travelling, I give myself a date I plan to get back to my project. I also set a timer on that first day for 10 minutes. This gives me a timeline and permission to be at my desk, rather than clean the house or do laundry or check my email. At times I use a timer for a week or so, increasing the time daily by five minutes. Again, this sets a timeframe for me and allows me to focus on what I must do, namely, write. This helps me get back into my practice and my project, to the point, I no longer need a timer. Now, in other cases where I have been working consistently on a project and come to a dead end, unsure how to proceed with my draft, I print what I have, reread it once as a reader, then a second time as a writer, outlining what I’ve created. The outline then helps me identify what is missing and typically helps me see a way forward. I also try to remember, the late, great Richard Wagamese’s words, re: writer’s block. He attended the Whistler Writers Festival, in 2012, I believe. During his reading, he was asked about writer’s block. He said he didn’t believe in writer’s block because if he sat down in front of his work, he knew, “one word would lead to another, and another and another.” I keep Richard as well as his words close to my heart.
On Perfectionism
I tend to fix and refix sentences and word choices while I’m writing a first draft. This is something I’ve stopped and have advised my students in the creative writing studio at Simon Fraser University to also stop. The most important job is to get the first draft completed and on the page. There will be lots of time to edit and redraft once you have the first draft done. Having the first draft done allows the writer to see what they have, what they are trying to say and the changes that need to be made. I had the best advice given to me during the completion of my first book. I was fortunate to take a creative writing program through the Banff Center. My mentor was the awesome author, Lawrence Hill. I remember our first meeting in Banff. I’d submitted the first six chapters of what would become my novel, Nicolai’s Daughters. Lawrence’s first question to me was: “how many more chapters do you have?” I replied that this was it. “How long have you been working on this project?” This was the next question. “Um, a few years. I’ve been working so hard to get the first chapters right.” At this point, I seem to recall he shook his head and said, “You know when you keep fixing things, and not complete a draft, you’ll never get it done.” Those words were freeing to me. I never saw it that way before. So, I went back to my draft and completed it by the end of that year. Sure, there were lots of revisions to follow, some of which came in those first “perfect” six chapters. This made me also realize there is no such thing as perfection. There is getting the narrative down to the best of your ability, revising as you see fit, then letting it go, and letting it be.
On Isolation
Balance, I think is the most important aspect of any life and even more so in a writer’s life. I like, rather, I love people. Plus, I like organizing things or as my husband calls it, “pushing everything around.” I have a busy mind and prefer organizing and being around people. So, it is difficult for me to be quiet, and I know I need to be quiet to write. To balance both sides of my life and personality, I wake up early. I’m talking 4 to 4:30 in the morning. After meditating, I go to my desk and work on whatever writing project I’m working on. I do this for three, sometimes four hours taking a break for breakfast around 6 a.m. or so. After 9:30 or 10 a.m., I can do everything else that helps me keep balance in my life, i.e., organize events, get ready for my workshops at Simon Fraser University, hang out with friends, exercise, etc. I get the most important thing done early, which then frees up the rest of the day to ensure I’m not completely isolated or cut off from the other things that are also important to me and make life worth living. So, in a nutshell I think writers must think about their day and how they can fit their writing into their day leaving room for the other things that are essential for them to do to get the job done and at the same time avoid isolation.
On Loss of Passion
My mother died in 2011 and the grief was overwhelming. It made me question everything I was doing and as a result my writing came to a complete standstill. At the time, I was organizing both the Whistler Writers Festival and the Whistler Writer in Residence Program. That year, we had invited author, Sarah Selecky to be our community’s Writer in Residence. As I got to know her and she asked me about my own writing, I told her that I hadn’t been able to write since my mother’s death. Writing just didn’t feel important anymore. Nothing did except taking care of my dad, who was also deep in grief. At the time I’d even stopped reading which was something I loved and did since I was a child. Sarah listened carefully and one day recommended two books that would help me find my way back to my craft. Those books were: Olive Kitteridge by Elisabeth Strout and Here Comes the Goon Squad by Jennifer Eagan. These books made me feel something besides the grief I was experiencing and showed me the power of the written word. They helped me find my passion again, both for reading and writing. A year after, my mother’s death, I published my first novel, Nicolai’s Daughters.
On Impact of Current Events
am a news junkie. I often read two or three different newspapers and am always concerned about world events. Writing helps me make sense of what is happening in the world. I create characters and see what they will do in the situations they are placed in. If I can’t figure out what is going on in the world, myself, I hope my characters will find a way to do so. My second novel, The Brink of Freedom explored the impact of the refugee crisis from the perspective of those refugees who are not protected by international law. These are typically economic refugees trying to find a better life for themselves and their families. International law protects those who are fleeing war and persecution but not those who want a better life. While I lived in Italy for two years the news about refugees made the headlines every night. I wondered about who these people were, what their lives were like, and what would happen to them. The Brink of Freedom found its genesis in those various newsreels.
My third novel, Finding Callidora, found its beginnings in the sacrifices Greeks made during the two major world wars, fighting alongside allied forces.
And I’m currently editing my fourth novel, Disruption (working title) which is the story of walls, the ones society builds to protect themselves and the ones individuals build within themselves.
Disruption moves around, over, and through walls—the walls between countries and the ones inside the protagonists—exploring notions of freedom and security. What would we give up to be safe? What would we be willing to disrupt for a better life? Again, the subject matter of this manuscript was seized from the latest headlines and my worries over the state of the world.
On Ageing and Career
Well, it’s going to happen to all of us. For me I’ve done a couple of things to ensure if anyone ever wants to find my notes or manuscripts, they are archived in the Whistler Museum. Secondly, I’ve appointed a Literary Executive to handle my literary estate when I’m gone. I also focus my writing on the stories that interest me and will bring me as well as my readers a better understanding of the world we live in and the issues we face. I make time for my writing, and I get it on the page in the hopes that it will be published and will touch another human being. I had the privilege of attending many books clubs with my novels. Such a wonderful experience to meet readers. One book club I attended had a number of young mothers who had read my novel, The Brink of Freedom. At the end of our discussion and following all their questions, one participant said, “You made me feel for people I don’t even see.” Very kind words and really the reason I write. I write to make people feel the plight of others. Fiction does this in a way, news reports and the like simply can’t. So yes, I’m ageing, but in the meantime, my concerns are with writing what interests me and in the process helping readers feel something they may not have felt or really seen before.
About The Author
Stella Leventoyannis Harvey is a fiction writer whose short stories have appeared in The Literary Leanings Anthology, The New Orphic Review, Emerge Magazine and The Dalhousie Review. Her non-fiction has appeared in Pique Newsmagazine, The Question and the Globe and Mail. Signature Editions published her first novel, Nicolai’s Daughters, in 2012 and Psichogios Publications of Athens published the Greek translation in 2014. The Brink of Freedom was published by Signature Editions in 2015. Finding Callidora is Stella’s third novel and was recently shortlisted in the 2023 Book Club Award for fiction. Stella was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved with her family to Calgary as a child. These days she makes her home in Whistler, BC. Stella founded the Whistler Writing Society, which each year produces the Whistler Writers Festival and other literary programming under her direction. She also mentors students in The Writers’ Studio at Simon Fraser University.