Nancy and I are thrilled that accomplished writer and geneticist Margaret Nowaczyk will be joining us for our second Writing Wild in Costa Rica Retreat. Margaret graciously agreed to chat with me about the March, 2020 gathering, the writing life, and more.
Hi Margaret! What are you most looking forward to at Writing Wild in Costa Rica?
Learning how to craft flash fiction. In my writing, it seems that it takes me three quarters of the story to get to the beginning and another half to find the ending. Yes, I know it doesn’t add up—hence my problem. I adore pithy, punch-you-in-the-gut flash fiction yet writing that seems to be completely beyond my reach. And comprehension as to how it’s done. So far, I have written one short-short story (400 words) but nobody likes it enough to publish it. I have bought several books on writing flash and short fiction I had hoped would help, but no such luck. I wonder if I ever get the gist of things.
And, of course, I am looking forward to seeing the jungles of Costa Rica and swimming in the Pacific. But, wait! Are there snakes there?!
Flash fiction is definitely challenging to write well. Nancy and I feel really good about the program we’ve developed for our retreats. I’m confident you’ll come away from the retreat armed with some great new skills. And oh, I think there might be snakes but I never saw any. I did see a beautiful, shy, slow-moving green iguana though. : ) Margaret, could you tell us a little about your writing life?
Not sure that I have a writing life. I have a full-time job so my writing takes a back seat to that. I am also a mother to two almost grown sons (18 and 22). I write whenever I can: early mornings, evenings, weekends but there are days when I can’t seem to be able to pull myself together to put anything on paper. I have published several short stories and essays in literary magazines and, last year, defended my MFA thesis. Right now I am trying to finish and publish a memoir and oscillate between nice productivity and sheer, paralyzing terror. I am a sucker for writing retreats and how-to-write manuals: between the trips I have taken and the volumes on my shelf, my last name should be Atwood by now!
Ha! Well, I have to admit I’m a sucker for these things too. Favorite book or story?
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is my life-long favourite.
Oh I love that book. I read it in French in high school and was so moved. Is there something funny, unusual, interesting whatever about yourself that you’d like to share?
Nah. I’m just a little bit crazy, ehem, colourful.
Aw, I love that! Can’t wait to retreat with you in Costa Rica, Margaret. Thanks for chatting!
Margaret Nowaczyk MD, received her MFA from University of British Columbia in 2018. Her short stories have been published Numero Cinq, Broken Pencil, The New Quarterly, and Prairie Fire who nominated her short story “Cassandra” for the 2017 Journey Prize. Her non-fiction has appeared in Geist, The Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine and Pismo and, in translation, has twice won a national contest in Poland. She is a clinical geneticist and a professor of pediatrics and pathology at McMaster University. She is currently completing a collection of short stories and a memoir about her work as a pediatric geneticist. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her husband and two sons.
Note: Spaces remain for Writing Wild in Costa Rica! (See the glowing praise for our past retreats.) Nancy and I are excited to return to lovely and exotic Peace Retreat in March and hope you can join us!
Open Your Art Flash Fiction Retreats 