Three Sparks to Light My Process by Dorothy Bentley

Three Sparks to Light My Process

by Dorothy Bentley

I’ve always been a creative person, but it didn’t take long to realize that having creative sparks does not automatically make one a successful writer. It takes time and focus to develop. My writing process involved developing three main sparks: the spark of inspiration, spark of knowledge, and the spark of skill.

While I have written in one form or another for many years, there were times of focus where I predominately wrote in one form which provided extended practice. For example, during a period of ten years, I wrote non-fiction articles and columns for periodicals with a weekly deadline. Looking for sparks of inspiration became a habit I developed during that adventure. I didn’t have time for writer’s block; I had to force the process and I always hit my deadlines. The steady process of looking for story ideas for short articles was great training for moving into the world of novel-writing. Even though I currently have just one novel published, I have written ten first drafts that came from sparks of inspiration as I shifted that skill to more complex works. And I wasn’t in a rush to publish in novel form.

I wanted to develop enough that someone other than me liked and appreciated my work. I saw it as a vetting process, (realizing that there are worthy novels which publishers may never want to publish due to their business demands). Now, I am always on the lookout for inspiration. Sparks may come from anywhere: information in expository journalism, personal reading and interests, or online videos and documentaries on a specific topic. In my experience, there needs to be several big ideas combined to sustain the spark of inspiration to produce a novel.

The spark of knowledge is when I rely on information gained through life experiences. They come from various jobs I’ve held, volunteer roles, living as a woman in a complicated and changing world, interacting with people from all walks of life, and from being a wife and mother. Particularly, I can relate to children of all ages since I am a mother and have taught children, teens, and young adults. Furthermore, I can add to my knowledge by interviewing experts and researching a topic.

For instance, my new YA novel, Escape from the Wildfire, combines both my personal experience running from a wildfire as well as interviews with scientists and locals so that I could write about a wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton, British Columbia, in 2021. The wildfire I experienced was in 2016 in Wood Buffalo, and I was just one of 80,000 people who evacuated. By having that physical experience, I was able to tap into how my body felt, the senses, and resulting trauma which I transferred to the survivors of the Lytton fire. It was challenging to recall past trauma, but by doing so, I was able to give my characters’ experiences authenticity which otherwise may not have rung true.

As for my interviews with scientists, one holds a doctorate and the other is a forestry expert. Through their interviews, I dispelled falsehoods I believed previously about trees and forestry, as well as garnered heaps of information which I was able to weave into my story, including characters’ occupations and facts they communicate to each other. Initially, I thought my favourite tree, the tamarack, was in danger of becoming extinct since logging companies typically only reforest with evergreens. I was happy to find out that the tamarack only grows in wet areas, like bogs and low-lying well-watered ground near streams and other bodies of water—places that are not usually logged. Other than the knowledge sparked by these interviews, I first began to write about trees and forestry issues out of my personal interest. I’ve always enjoyed being outside in the woods, hiking, camping, and enjoying wildlife. This led to nature studies with my children: pressing wildflowers, learning the names of plants and trees, gardening, and planting trees on our country acreage. My real-life knowledge was transmuted into the lives of my characters.

The third spark I mentioned early, was the spark of skill. When I first began to write, there was so much to learn. I am currently mentoring a young writer, and I’m determined to accelerate her learning curve. I cover everything that took me years to learn; manuscript format, grammar, dialogue tags, variety of sentences, developing big story ideas, and much more. My own journey included taking guild workshops and courses, distance courses, and finally realizing that I very much wanted a degree in English Literature. None of this was a waste of time since it all added to my skill. I’m at the point now that if I need help, I rely only on direct one-on-one feedback from experienced writers and editors.

It is in combining all these sparks that make up my creative process: inspiration, knowledge, and skill. Nevertheless, I don’t think a writer ever stops developing. And since I put an incredible amount of time and energy into learning and practice, I decided to drop all other hobbies and time wasters so I can focus on my true passion: novel writing. I should add here that I write poetry for fun, but nothing makes me happier than finishing a novel. Whether or not it finds a publisher is another story.

Dorothy grew-up in Southern Ontario where she discovered a love of nature, books, and scribbling words. Transplanted to Alberta, she is a previous freelance writer of articles, cartoons, and columns and has recently shifted to writing poetry and novels. Her writings regularly appear in literary journals and her picture book, Summer North Coming was released in 2019 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Her YA novel, Escape from the Wildfire, was released by Lorimer Kids & Teens September 2022 in Canada, and January 2023 in the United States. She loves trees, travel, pets, and sharing peanut M&Ms.

Website: https://dorothybentley.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005668126761
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorothydbentley/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DorothyDBentley

ESCAPE FROM THE WILDFIRE

Jack loves mountain biking, and when his dad forbids him to ride in the forest surrounding Lytton because of the risk of wildfire, the reality of the region’s heat dome sets in. Days later, the village of Lytton burns down, forcing Jack to evacuate to Merritt.

Escape from the Wildfire offers a fictional account based on the real-life facts of the disastrous wildfire of 2021 that destroyed the town of Lytton after days of scorching heat. Dorothy Bentley’s own experiences of living through a wildfire led her to research the experience of Lytton residents, so she could write the story of a resilient teen surviving an environmental catastrophe.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers