Corrine Clyne, 17, is one of those lovely, soft-spoken girls. You know the kind: sweet smile, dark, sensitive eyes and a heart that listens—intently—before it speaks.
“I write poetry,” she says quietly when asked what’s brought her to the conference, “because when I write poetry, I can express my feelings.”
Corrine has traveled long and far to get to this, her first writers’ conference. She lives in Norway House, Manitoba, a First Nations community, where she attends a creative writing after school club led by author Dorene Meyer.
“I really enjoy mentoring authors,” says Dorene simply, almost apologetically, as though encouraging and developing talent in others is really their gift to her and not the other way around. “I’m impressed with Corrine. She’s a beautiful girl inside and out. This is a Christian conference, and I wanted to see her develop more in that area, so I encouraged her to come.”
Dorene knows the difference that coming to a conference like this can make in the life of a writer. She came to her first Write! Canada conference in 2005. An unpublished writer, she had sent an entry in to the God Uses Ink novice award. And she won. The prize? Free registration to the conference in Guelph, Ontario.
“My husband and I motorcycled down from Northern Ontario and camped along the way to get here,” she remembers.“I’d never met an author before. I thought I knew nothing. But once here, I realized I knew a lot. And I thought, ‘I can do this for people!’”
And so she does. In addition to writing four books (published under the name M.D. Meyer), she's a part-time instructor at University College of the North. She was a mentor in the 2008 Sheldon Oberman Emerging Writers Mentor Program, and she's the editor of six anthologies featuring the work of those she instructs, including the work of Brenda Fontaine.
At 61, Brenda joined Corrine and Dorene on the long trek to the conference. “I’ve been writing throughout my life,” says Brenda, “but I’d never shared my work with anyone.” Until she received encouragement from Dorene to do so. Now, she’s prolific, regularly writing articles on assignment for Northroots Magazine. Her book,
Babs’ Adventures, is based on stories her mother told her about growing up in the north in the 1950’s.
“I feel like she’s been waiting her whole life [for the opportunity to express her voice],” says Dorene. “She just needed someone to cut her loose and set her free.”
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NOTABLE QUOTES:
“I think the prime value of the conference is releasing people to write the words and messages God has given them; this is done by honing their skills, igniting their motivation and helping them realize that it’s okay to have this passion to write.”
- Les Lindquist, Chairman of the Board, Christian Info Canada, Conference Treasurer
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This page written and compiled by Patricia Paddey
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