A Novelist's Alter Ego

Robertson Davies, a key figure in Canadian literature, was known for novels like 'Fifth Business.' Less known is his work's connection to Jungian psychology, exploring archetypes & the subconscious. His famous public persona, with its flowing beard and grand style, was said to mirror the wise 'magus' characters found in his fiction, blurring the line between the author & his creation. #Canada #RobertsonDavies #CanLit #Jung

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies

Pluralistic: Lee Lai's "Cannon" (08 May 2026)

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/08/gung-gung/

I’m home recovering after a bug, post-finishing my doctorate, post-finishing-school-vacation-trip, and in that in‑between space where I’m figuring out how to bring my doctoral thesis into the world as a book while preparing to release the third ecofiction novel in my trilogy.

I’ll share the trilogy more on Instagram soon; but of course I’ll talk about it here too.

While I’m resting, I’ve been thinking about two things:

1. How to share what I’ve learned from writing visionary ecofiction; not as formal tutorials, but as small, generous micro‑snippets of thought.
2. How much I enjoy posting Three Good Things here on Mastodon.

This led me to realize that the micro‑tutorials can become Three Good Things. A small, informal, unstructured series about what I’ve learned so far.

Here we go.

---

Three Good Things I’ve Learned About Writing Visionary Ecofiction

1. It brings community together; even when people disagree.
Across all three novels, I learned so much from people with different perspectives:
• fracking / hydraulic fracturing (Book 1)
• medical marijuana (Book 2)
• high‑speed rail (Book 3).
Ecofiction is a meeting place; not a consensus.

2. Writing is solitary; but you don’t have to be lonely in it.
Anything that helps you contextualize yourself in your larger community is healthy;
walks, cafés, writing groups, reading groups, sharing drafts.
People’s commentary is subjective but sharing your work is grounding.
Place yourself in your wider spheres; it helps.

3. Take joy in the finishing and sharing stages.
There’s real pleasure in thinking about the special parts of your process and how you want to share them.
I love outlining, first drafting, sculpting, revising, hearing the text read back to me, and working with an editor and designer, but also, imagining the visual vignettes that accompany the trilogy. I’m figuring out a visual narrative to share the trilogy on Instagram.
Finishing is its own creative act.

Working in a genre that’s still emerging (visionary ecology or visionary ecofiction) gives me freedom to genre‑bend fearlessly.
Book 1 is a love story (but not a romance).
Book 2 is a mystery (but not a cozy).
Book 3 is an adventure (but not Indiana Jones).
The elasticity is part of the joy.

These are my three good things today, the first in what I hope will become an informal series of micro‑tutorials on writing visionary ecofiction.

What lights are you up? When you write, how do you define yourself within your genre?

Keep writing and share!

PS, the photo was taken at Giverny, Monet’s Garden in France, on my recent trip.

#VisionaryFiction #VisionaryEcoFiction #VancouverAuthor #TransportationFiction #ThreeGoodThings #NewYorkAuthor #NewJerseyAuthor #MetaphysicalFiction #MedicalMarijuanaFiction #LiteraryFiction #IndiePublisher #IndieAuthor #FrackingFiction #EcoFiction #CreativeWriting #CanadianAuthor #CanLit #BritishColumbiaAuthor #Bookstodon #AmericanAuthor

"TOMORROW is the LAST DAY to sign up for #CanadaFictionFest! Join our awesome mix of indie and tradpub authors and let's shine a light on Canadian fiction! Want to be part of a unique virtual event that has Canadian indie, hybrid, & tradpub authors all working together to shine a light on the #CanLit scene? Sign up for Fiction Fest today! We're hoping to have authors participating from every province and territory in the country."

#PSA #Canada @bookstodon

Sign up:
https://fictionfest.ca/

My spoken lyric video Poor Man’# Opera is now up on YouTube.

© Poor Man’s Opera by Steven Mayoff 2026

Steven Mayoff is a Canadian novelist, poet and lyricist. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca

#fiction #novel #canlit #poormansopera #galleionbooks #shakespeare #measureformeasure #slang #rhymingslang #lyrical #speculativefiction #futuristic #tarot #genrebending #satire

https://youtu.be/iciqbW3Dhg4?si=k-kJEbuNfvmMat9q

ICYMI, our third book for 2026 is now available for pre-order! Check out this amazing technicolor cover from designer Juliane Van Huizen! THE HUNGER OF THOSE WHO BUILT IT by Wendy Waring is a literary solarpunk debut. Pre-order here: https://www.stelliform.press/index.php/product/the-hunger-of-those-who-built-it-by-wendy-waring/

#TheHungerOfThoseWhoBuiltIt #WendyWaring #Solarpunk #ClimateFiction #EcoFiction #SpeculativeFiction #LiteraryFiction #CanLit #CanadianBooks #IndiePress #SmallPressPublishing #DebutAuthor #BookCommunity #CoverArt #JulianeVanHuizen

Posting this here in the hope we can reach a few #authors on #bookstodon ... We now have authors participating in Fiction Fest from every part of Canada except Newfoundland & Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. We're still accepting sign ups from all provinces/territories, but If you are a Canadian author living in any of those 3 places, we would especially love to have you join us in our summer showcase.

This is a completely online/virtual event and it already has a really good mix of tradpub, indie and hybrid authors signed up. It comprises of a book showcase and author gallery, plus a roster of live author readings and discussion panels.

It's free to join, you don't need to provide copies of your books, and this is a grassroots cooperative effort that has all of us working together to shout out each other's books and #CanLit in general.

We are also accepting #Canadian illustrators of graphic novels and picture books (even if the text of the book they illustrated is not written by a Canadian).

Check out our Author FAQ for more details! ** Submissions close on May 1st. **

➡️ https://FictionFest.ca

#author #Newfoundland #NL #Labrador #NWT #NorthwestTerritories #NU #Nunavut #CanLit #CanKidLit #CanCon #Canada #WritingCommunity #writing #FictionFest

Catch the news of who's ended up on the Aurora Awards ballot this year!

#speculativefiction #books #CanSFF #sciencefiction #fantasy #canlit #canbooks #goodnews

https://www.csffa.ca/awards-information/current-ballot/

A Novelist's Alter Ego

Robertson Davies, a key figure in Canadian literature, was known for novels like 'Fifth Business.' Less known is his work's connection to Jungian psychology, exploring archetypes & the subconscious. His famous public persona, with its flowing beard and grand style, was said to mirror the wise 'magus' characters found in his fiction, blurring the line between the author & his creation. #Canada #RobertsonDavies #CanLit #Jung

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies

I wrote a book review of a not new but always timely Canadian classic.

#bookstodon #bookreview #literature #canlit

https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2026/05/better-call-saul/