Jacie Anderson: the gift of uninterruptedness.

Jacie Anderson stayed at KSP Writers' Centre in May 2022 as a Writer-in-Residence.

Being selected for a Fellowship at KSP on the strength of work I have done on the manuscript following my First Edition Fellowship was a wonderful feeling. I have repeatedly mentioned my 2 weeks gave me the gift of uninterruptedness. That enabled me to gather a clearer picture of where I am at and what needs to be done. Also the gift of not having to carry the mental load that mother's so often do, was a nice break in my routine.

Knowing what to expect this time around, enabled me to hit the ground running, I was already prepared with both the work and my creature comforts. And I handled the transition from real life to writer in residence with greater ease than in 2020.

I had moments of self doubt, as all writers do. I was thankful to be able to wander up and find the KSP Staff willing to chat about nothing in particular, to clear my head. Or take a drive through the hills.

The great value of being in residence, for me, is to be able to have the time to sit with the work, think through an issue or a block, to maintain your train of thought and work through to the conclusion. To be able to dig deeper in to the WHY, WHAT, HOW of any character and narrative thread, without someone coming and asking me what's for dinner.

TOP FIVE TIPS

· The residency is yours, do it your way.

· It's okay to take time out and refresh your eyes, brain, and soul.

· Writing IS hard, working through a story to a level to be published is not easy. Especially as you begin.

· Anyone can write, but to be published you have to work through the 'I want to quit' phase. Which happens more than once.

· You never stop learning.

~ Jacie Anderson 2022