Clarion Submissions

They're done!

Oh, wait, I should probably explain a bit.

Okay, here's how it is:

I've reached the point where I need help if I'm going to get my writing to the next level. I've come a long way in the last three years. What I'm producing is light-years beyond what I started with. My language is tighter, my grammar has improved, and I'm starting to tell really compelling stories. I'm on the cusp of producing publishable material. But I'm not quite there.

I've learned that I make bigger leaps forward if I have some guidance. While the quality of my writing has improved steadily, the biggest jumps where when I had something read by someone else who provided me laser-guided criticism on what wasn't working or what needed to be improved. It's hard to see your own bad habits. At least it can be for me.

So that's why I decided this year I was going to submit an application to the Clarion and Clarion West writing workshops. Both are focused on fantasy and sci-fi, the exact genres I want to work in. Both are six weeks long, and both have different instructors each week. I'll learn a lot if I can get into either of them.

I don't know for sure that I'll get in. Each workshop only takes in eighteen students, and I'm they get hundreds if not thousands of applications. Both have a great line-up of instructors this year, including George R.R. Martin and Chuck Palahniuk for Clarion West.

Now I just need to play the waiting game. The waiting game sucks.