On the Virtues of Not Sticking to Your Lane, and Other Good Things.
Hi friends,
What with the economy, the pressure from AI, the contraction of the screen industry, and other market forces from elsewhere (maybe even south of the border), the current climate is not an easy one for creative folk—but we steadfastly work on the projects that matter to us, and move things forward inch by inch.
Speaking of AI, I saw this online recently. Yes indeed.
All those market factors got me thinking again about what it means to be a multi-hyphenate—and then coincidentally, I was listening to a good writing podcast, “Wish I’d Known Then,” and the guest, mystery/paranormal/non-fiction author T. Thorn Coyle, talked about the most unhelpful writing advice they’d ever been given, and it was ‘to stay in your lane.’
You can listen to the episode here – it’s #267. Thorn talks about this just before the 23-minute mark.
It got me thinking about the first book I published which I co-wrote with Elfi Schlegel: The Gymnastics Book: The Young Performer’s Guide to Gymnastics. It was published first by Key Porter, then by Firefly Books. It’s funny how this book got written.
Elfi is my wonderful sister-in-law—and yes, she is that Elfi Schlegel of gymnastics fame.
She competed in four NCAA women's gymnastics tournaments for the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team, won gold medals at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and 1979 Pan American Games, was chosen to represent Canada at the 1980 Summer Olympics but didn’t compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, and went on to cover the sport as a commentator for CTV, CBC, and NBC.
Elfi was approached by Key Porter to write a guidebook on gymnastics for young people, part of a series they had on sports for young athletes, and I was (thankfully) her first phone call after getting the offer. She said Claire, I’ve never written a book! Will you write it with me?
Anyone who knows me knows that I do not do gymnastics. I could do a cartwheel back in the day (see 1992 evidence, below)…
… but Lord knows if I could pull one off now. In fact, I’m happiest sitting at a desk, running marathons of the words-on-the-screen kind. But this was the best kind of phone call to get, because although I had never written a book either, of course I loved the idea of writing and publishing one (what writer doesn’t?).
And saying yes to Elfi did a whole bunch of wonderful things.
One: it got me published. I rode Elfi’s spiffy coattails into publishing without having to write a complete book first, get a literary agent, write a query letter, or wait months for responses—all the classic shenanigans writers usually have to do.
Two: we made a very good team, hanging out in her dining room, table and chairs pushed back, with Elfi demonstrating gymnastic poses and me on the computer writing down what I saw, then working together to revise what I’d written.
Three: we were paid a healthy advance to write book. Given the usual kind of advances most writers receive now, I am shocked and impressed at what we were offered back then.
Four: after Key Porter shut down, Firefly Books picked up the book and we had a new publishing contract to negotiate. That enabled me to sign with a literary agent—a huge bonus.
Five: it’s a book that, over the last 25 years, has been published in a second and third edition, and one that continues to generate royalties annually.
Six: becoming published enabled me to apply for grants in the ‘experienced’ instead of the ‘emerging’ category. I did that not long thereafter, and managed to get not one but two literature grants (the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council) to support my writing of At Last Count, my first novel published in 2022 through the ever-wonderful Invisible Publishing.
Had I followed somebody’s advice about sticking to my lane, none of that goodness would have happened.
I continue to be a very don’t-stick-to-your-lane writer. There’s a new term for it, ‘multi-hyphenate,’ that helps capture the spirit of people like me. Don’t get me started about the people in TV who used to only be able to see me as one kind of writer. I got my start in kids’ tv, and for the longest time, could not break into screenwriting for older audiences. It took a lot of spec work, and creating and producing my own work, for people to believe that I could write other things.
Here's what I think: we should write what we want, when we want, where we want. The truth is, nothing happens in a straight line. Not our careers, not our lives. You can clean up the clutter both physical and metaphorical, but messy humanity is what keeps this journey interesting.
Other more practical news:
- Books: Something very exciting is happening in my book life that I cannot talk about just yet. Stay tuned.
- Stage: Kirk and I are in massive pre-production mode on our new play, the world premiere of Spycraft, about a female spy who knits in code for the SOE, Churchill’s spy agency. It’s a thriller… think The Imitation Game meets knitting. The play will tour Ontario Oct 30-Nov 30, 2025. We’ve finished auditions with the director, Richard Greenblatt, and our cast will be announced soon. The ticket websites for most of the theatres on the tour are live, and can be found on my website on the theatre page here. If you want to attend a show near you, and there is no ‘BOOK HERE’ button yet, know that it’s coming very soon.
Talk soon,
Claire.