Last fall I had a very interesting consult with Springboard for the Arts, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help artists make a living at what they love. The consultant suggested several things I could do to promote my writing career. One suggestion was for me to write a Five Wings Art grant to help pay for a professional editor to polish my current project.
I’ve been working on a collection of linked short stories for the last decade, working on the stories between my other larger projects. Some have been published in anthologies and a few have won regional prizes. The short stories are about Minnesota dairy farmers set back at the close of World War 2. Each story is from a different point of view in a tight-knit Scandinavian township in Western Minnesota. They’ve been a lot of fun and I’m close to finishing the first draft.
I received the grant (yeah!) and will begin working with Patricia Francisco, an author and professor from Minneapolis. We begin working together in April. I’ll keep you posted on the project.
Why do I have such an interest in 1940s dairy farmers? My parents would have celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary today. They married in 1944 in the middle of the Second World War. Although I wasn’t born until 1953, I like to think of what the world was like when they started their life together. What a time of change and conflict! After the war ended farmers hurried to get electricity, modernize equipment and embrace new technology. Change and conflict are the blood and guts of good fiction. I look forward to finishing this project. Wish me luck!
2 Responses
I already love these stories and feel it’s your best work yet. These characters tugged on my heart as I followed them in and out of different POV chapters. I know this book will be a great success!
Congrats on getting the grant. I’m looking forward to reading your finished work. My parents married in 1948 and I was born in 1950, so I experienced early tech bytes while growing up.I agree, change and conflict abounded and will add juice to every story you write.Your post has given me a kick start to finish my own chapters growing up on the farm. Continued success to you, Candace!