Odette Auger’s Writing Space
For me, it’s not the space. It’s the time of day.
Both me and our 18 year old cat have been getting up earlier and earlier the older we get.
So when he meows to be let out around 5:00, I stay up.
I don’t turn on the coffee maker, to avoid waking up partner and son. I do brush my teeth though, and that works to freshen me.
At that time of day, the couch is perfect. A woven throw given to me by friends to warm my legs, and I can dive in. I wrote all 80,000 words of my current novel in progress at that time and place, mostly through the darkest days of winter.
Part of it is no distractions, but it’s mostly still being halfway in the world of dreams. I’ve been taught there are liminal spaces of bus stops, benches, airports, but for me the time between sleeping and daily life is where it’s at.
My novel began when I was waiting for whales to rub themselves on the beach at Bere Point, Sointula. The campsite was right on the edge of the beach, and the waves were strong enough to push mounds of rocks around, changing the beachscape by morning.
I lay in the dark, unable to sleep, itching to be painting. Nothing to draw with, no pens, no paper, but I had my laptop with me, to do some interviews/reporting on the trip.
I sat up, and started writing.
The first 3 chapters rolled out that night, and I sent them along to an Indigenous Writers’ Circle mentorship, and was accepted. A year later, the full manuscript was accepted for a Writer’s Trust mentorship.
Today I started editing at dawn, pausing only when my guy woke up and made us coffee. With my household waking up, I shifted to an empty cabin nearby, and worked nonstop for 14 hours.
So, I guess the place does matter– inspiring wild waves and silent forested cabins do sound pretty good, but the key for me is a safe space, and I’ve waited awhile for that.
Centring and amplifying Indigenous voices in her award-winning journalism led her to finding her own voice – strengthened through generous mentorships via The Writer’s Trust (2024, Joseph Kakwinokanasum) and the Audible Indigenous Writer’s Circle (2022, Angela Sterritt, Richard Van Camp).
Her first creative nonfiction piece, Waiting, was published by The Malahat Review (Issue 224, fall 2023). Underpaint (TNQ Issue 175) is an excerpt from her novel in progress. Odette is represented by literary agent Cody Caetano, CookeMcDermid.
She lives in the forest of the Salish Sea, and is a member of Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation.
Photo courtesy of Matt Hardy.