Do it for the plot

“I did it all scared. It was the best decision I have ever made.”

Meet Danaë Webb. Creative. Engaging. Authentic.
Home: South Africa
Program: Bachelor of Arts — English (Honours)

Any reader can tell you how rewarding it is to watch their favourite character go through a major arc — trials and tribulations driving character growth and moving the plot forward. This book’s heroine is Mount Royal University English graduate Danaë Webb, and the story starts in 2009, when her parents packed up their South Africa home and relocated to Canada.

“The shortened version of the story is that we moved to Calgary for opportunity, whether that be better education or jobs. For all three of us,” Webb says. “The difference in opportunity between Canada and South Africa is obvious, and it is vast.”

One of those opportunities was the education at MRU. Webb had always loved English class, so pursuing it further was a no-brainer.

“What drew me to the program at MRU were the varied subjects being offered, from Indigenous literature to children’s stories to Shakespearean plays — each course was an untapped reservoir of knowledge that would broaden my literary world.”

After a couple of expositionary semesters, the then-18-year-old writer found herself longing for community.

“I took Intermediate Fiction Writing and overheard a few of my classmates talking about starting a club, a space for writers to share their work in a safe and welcoming environment. I attended that first meeting,” Webb shares.

“I attended almost every meeting for Write Club that year and became the vice-president of Publications in 2023. In April 2024, the Publishing Committee and I published the club’s first anthology. I am incredibly grateful for my time spent with the MRU Write Club.”

The main character had found her cohort. But there’s one thing still missing, something every protagonist needs: a mentor.

“Danaë's work on the page stood out right away,” recalls Dr. Natalie Meisner, PhD, author and English professor, who crossed paths with Webb in her Introduction to Poetry class.

“It was her very specific attention to word choice, poetic economy, emotional authenticity, and devastating line breaks that made the poems sing. With each technique that we studied, I could see how she immediately began to experiment, to play.”

Webb was “blown away” by just how invested Meisner was in each of her students’ success.

“She has truly opened my world to opportunities that I once deemed impossible and given me the confidence to truly believe in my writing. I do not know where I would be without her support.”

Meisner supervised Webb’s honours project, an epic fantasy poem titled, “The Womb of Ruin: Constructing Representations of Women in Fantasy.”

“As an avid reader and lover of fantasy novels, the main question I had was, how were women being depicted in the fantasy genre? I was curious about the archetypes present in these novels. I wanted to challenge myself to write a story that defied these traditional archetypes,” Webb explains.

“I wanted to create a female character that was human, flawed and complex, but wholly herself. I ended up creating two: Nightingale and Serafa, the main protagonists in my epic poem. I have never been more proud of a piece of writing before.”

Meisner says Webb’s project is “at the confluence of some super interesting movements in literature.

“Bringing together a very mainstream genre such as fantasy together with the epic poem the way she did shows a high degree of innovation and creativity.”

Another piece Webb is proud of is her Literary Kaleidoscope Society Award-winning personal essay about her grandfather.

“I wrote about my strained relationship with my late grandfather, using the essay as an outlet for my grief. I am most proud to have received this award, not only because of how personal it was, but because of the writing style. I saw a growth in my overall style in that essay.”

Speaking of growth, Webb says the biggest lesson she learned is don’t let your doubt be your downfall. Just “do it scared.

“I was thinking, ‘What if my writing isn’t as good as the other members'? What if my honours thesis is weak? And the big one: what if I fail?’ ” shares Webb.

“I went to that Write Club meeting. I found my people and became a VP. I applied for honours. I got accepted. Completed my epic poem. And I did it all scared. It was the best decision I had ever made.”

Webb now finds herself in the epilogue, walking the stage and turning the page on her time at MRU.

What’s expected in the second edition of this saga? Webb is heading to Edmonton to pursue a master’s, but the rest is yet to be written.