Albany Artist-in-Residence | Wrap-Up

How me and my novel fared after two weeks in Albany

My two week residency at the Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany might have been ten months in the making, but it came at the perfect time. I had - as usual - been stressing with work, extra-curriculars, and personal projects. I burnt myself out. Taking two weeks leave from everything was well overdue, but taking two weeks leave to work on a novel in Albany… well, that was bliss.

I was there between July 7 - 21 after my successful online application. It’s open to any artistic discipline.

When I last wrote about the residency on this blog, I said I’d planned to work on developing The Inventor and the Comet into two books. But I was still so stuck on it and my mental state was so bad that I threw every plan out the window and started something brand new. So… introducing the Everwolf Chronicles!

But more on that in a moment.

I stayed in the Mary Thomson House Cottage, which was a tiny apartment attached to the wider building, which housed several studios and communal areas. The cottage itself was made up of one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen and a lounge area, so it was very cosy. Most importantly, it was about a 200m walk to a wonderful little cafe (yes, I was there every. single. day.)

My project for the residency was the first novel in a middle-grade fantasy series I’ve called the Everwolf Chronicles, which follows the adventures of a twelve-year-old boy called Callum, and his supernatural wolf - known as an everwolf - Thistlepaw. I’ve planned around five books, with several short stories in between that I might publish online. I’m not sure on the reality of the project, all I know is that I’ve built a universe I’m having a lot of creative fun in, and that’s what matters.

I set a tentative goal of 15,000 words on the first draft. I did end up writing 15,000 words, but they were spread around this novel, another novel, and a short story or two. I only half-planned the first Everwolf book, which meant I kept getting stuck at a certain point because something in the worldbuilding wasn’t working, or something with Callum’s character arc wasn’t working. I rewrote the beginning of the novel two or three times over the two weeks before finally - frustrated - I threw that entire plan out the window and started again. It looked like all I had to show for those two weeks was an outline, but friends, let me tell you - it’s a bloody good outline. The story now resembles one I can actually imagine on a shelf one day, and it fills me with excitement.

The time not spent writing was used to explore and go on many, many walks. Residencies give you the gift of time, and I found that while this was true for working on a novel, it was also true for resting, and I loved having an entire afternoon to go on a big long walk and not have to worry about how long it was going to take or when I had to get back to the cottage, because I just had nothing on for the day.

It was one thing to hear people say Albany was beautiful and know I’d be near the ocean and all that, but to actually be in it was another thing entirely. I hadn’t realised gorgeous forest and national parks surrounded Albany (and the trees are my happy place). I’ve never considered myself a beach person but I found myself loving being around the ocean and listening to the waves (and watching for whales!)

Being able to take this break was really healing and helped put things into perspective. I shifted some priorities in my life. But you don’t need to hear all that!

Back in Perth, I set myself a goal of 500 words a day to finish at 20,000 words zero/first draft by September 1. I’ve dropped the ball on it a bit (ugh, real life) but I’m looking to prioritise my writing going into this second half of the year. Hopefully, I’ll be looking to query the first book of the Everwolf Chronicles early next year, but before the end of this year, I’d love to publish some of the short stories on this blog and introduce you to Callum, Thistlepaw, and their world.

I can’t thank the Vancouver Arts Centre enough for such a nourishing two weeks!

Also - applications for the next round are now open! I highly encourage you to apply, and if you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them. Good luck!