Support Sex-Ed: Sensowrimo
Support Quebec sex-ed: SensoWriMo! (photo: New York Daily News)
Hugo Vaillancourt is a man on a mission. A volunteer for Montreal’s Head & Hands group since 2006, he had recently been wondering how he could personally help raise more money for their sex-ed campaign, the Sense Project. Vaillancourt also had about 15,000 words of a queer sex novel sitting around on his hard drive, and it suddenly occurred to him: SensoWriMo!
Much like NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month), Vaillancourt is attempting to reach his goal of 50,000 words written during the month of April. The difference here is that he’s seeking pledges for donations if he reaches his goal, as well as bonus donations for each full 10,000 words he write above the 50,000-word mark.
Want to learn more? We’ve got a Q&A with Hugo himself that should shed some light on the crazy, sexy world of SensoWriMo.
Q: What’s the connection between Head & Hands and the SensoWriMo writing project?
A: This is a fundraiser for the Sense Project, a grassroots sex-ed program run by Head & Hands, a community organization based in NDG that’s committed to youth empowerment. To make a long story short, when the Quebec government implemented the education reform, it decided that sex-ed wasn’t important enough to deserve it’s own space in the high school curriculum, so a bunch of dedicated youth workers and volunteers decided to come up with something much cooler to fill in that important gap. That’s the Sense Project. I’ve been volunteering for Sense since 2006, and I’m also one of the new Head & Hands board members.
The reason I decided to do a writing marathon to fundraise is that I started writing a novel draft last July during JulNoWriMo, a spin-off of NaNoWriMo. The Novel Writing Months are writing marathons where the goal is to come up with a 50,000-word novel in one month, the emphasis being strictly on quantity rather than quality. Although I wrote 50,000 words back then (15,000 words on a first idea I put on hold, then the rest on my current project), my novel draft was only halfway complete, and it had been sitting on my hard drive ever since. I needed some structure to get me to sit down and finish writing it, so I decided to do a similar writing marathon to fundraise for Head & Hands’ Sense Project. Although this is my personal initiative, the folks at H&H have been really enthusiastic about the idea and have been very supportive of it.
Q: Is there a sex-related theme to the book you’re working on? What’s the book about?
A: The book is about queer stuff; that’s a strong theme throughout the novel. It takes place in a fictional fascist state that’s two parts Starship Troopers and one part Mussolini’s Italy, and it’s the story of Elliott, a 15-year-old teenager, who finds out he’s a criminal against Nature and the Nation for being attracted to other young men. He discovers rumours on the Network that there might be other people like him living as gangs in the City, so he runs away from his hometown in hopes of discovering others of his kind. To quote my JulNoWriMo pitch: “It’s a dark and scary, warm and smutty tale of rebellion of those who lust for freedom and each other, pitted against those whose only high is to reduce others to powerlessness.” There are definitely sex scenes in the book, and I try to describe them from a realistic angle. Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren is a strong inspiration for that; he’s one of the only writers I’ve read who could weave sex scenes that felt real and that were strongly relevant to the book he was writing.
Q: How far are you in your writing progress?
A: At this point, I’ve almost written 37,000 words this month, and I’m on track in terms of reaching 50,000 words by April 30th. The actual novel stands at over 70,000 words right now, roughly a 200-page book (if you don’t print too small), but I’m far from being finished.
Q: Will donors to your cause get to read your book? How can we follow your progress?
A: You can follow my progress on a blog I set up (the blog is in French) at: http://sensowrimo.wordpress.com
If people want to check the manuscript to make sure I’m actually writing something, I’m fine with that, but I usually have a policy not to show it to anyone until the first draft has been thoroughly reworked and edited. It’d do the book little justice if it was judged while it’s still a work-in-progress, since my approach to this is to write the first draft as quickly as possible to get all the story out, and then rework the whole thing to make it readable.
Once I’m done doing that, I’ll definitely ask for feedback, if people don’t feel too squeamish about the explicit queer sex.
Q: Do you write in French or English (or both)?
A: I write in French. I’m a native French-speaker, so it’s a lot easier for me to write in my own language to reach a level of quality that could hopefully be considered literature. Also, the body of queer literature is much smaller in the French language than in the English language, and I want to contribute to changing that.
Q: How much money have you raised for the project thus far?
A: As of today, I’ve raised $330 if I write 50,000 words, and an extra $60 for each 10,000 words I write above 50,000 words. If readers believe sex-ed is important, I strongly encourage them to make a donation online to Head & Hands through the CanadaHelps page I set up at: http://www.canadahelps.org/gp.aspx?id=3901
People can also contact me through my blog to arrange a pledge if they can’t donate online for some reason.
Q: What happens if you don’t make it to 50,000 words by the end of April? Will you continue the campaign?
A: I’m not concerned about reaching 50,000 words; in fact, I want to try and push for 60,000 words. I might need to continue writing though, because I feel I’m only halfway through the novel, and I doubt the draft will be completed at the end of the month.
Q: How long have you been writing, in general?
A: I’ve been writing since I was a kid, with more or less assiduity. I’ve had texts and letters to the editor that I’ve written pop up in newspapers once in a while, but I don’t consider myself a professional writer. I have my own zine, Queer Tribes, that has two issues so far, but I only come up with a new issue about once every three years. I love writing, though, and I really get a high out of writing everyday. If I could get into the habit of writing every day, my life would definitely improve for the best. I have fantasies about making a living as a novelist, but it takes work, talent, and luck to get there. Right now, if I can whip this book into something I feel I can pitch to editors, I’ll be happy with what I did whether it gets published or not.
Q: What’s your day job?
A: I’m finishing a contract as a community organizer at Project 10, a community organization that supports queer youth. My job was to organize a four-day leadership retreat for queer youth all over Quebec, and it’s been lots of fun. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had. That being said, I need to find a new job, so if anyone wants to help a bilingual sex-ed workshop facilitator with strong communication skills pay his bills, drop me a line!
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: I’ll hop on my soapbox for a moment: happy teenage sex is good. Choosing who can touch you for pleasure, wherever you want on your body, in a consensual manner, is a basic human right, no matter your age. As a society, we have to stop seeing teenage sex as a potential pitfall where STIs, unplanned pregnancy, and sexual assault loom menacingly around the corner, and see it for what it is for the majority of people: healthy, dirty fun between people who are glad they met each other. Everyone’s entitled to good, happy sex, teenagers included. For that to happen, you need comprehensive, sex-positive education that doesn’t make judgments about who youth desire and what youth want to do in bed, even if the things for which they may lust are different from what most people want. Good sex education gives information about preventing all those negative things I’ve listed before, but its essence lies not in keeping bad things from occurring; its true essence lies in empowering youth to have happy sex happen when they feel ready for it. Youth are not malleable creatures that we should try to shape into whatever doesn’t shock our values too much; they are decision-makers who make judgment calls about their lives and relationships each and every day. The Sense Project is built around these principles, and if you agree with these, please support it.
Also, writing rocks!
Comments
Trackbacks