[Jeorardy theme song plays endlessly in background]
All applications are in, the vault is closed, readers are busy...reading, I guess. Decisions are being made. The powers that be Clarion West are busy, busy, busy. And we, the applicants, have nothing to do but wait.
From last year's experience, I can tell you that the next three to four weeks will be the longest of some of our lives. It's like waiting for Christmas when you're not 100% sure Christmas is coming at all.
So what are we to do? It was at this time last year (actually two weeks later) that I was moping around about the wait and my daughter (then two) was watching a kids' show where the characters were whining about having to wait. The lesson was "When waiting is hard for you, just do something you like to do!"
Go write. If you don't like writing, you'll hate CW anyway. I guess you could go play video games or eat tapioca or take a bubble bath or shave the cat, but writing seems the productive thing to do. Get stories out into circulation so you have something else to wait for. If you send stuff to Clarkesworld or Lightspeed you won't have to wait too long. I think Lightspeed actually rejected one of my stories before I send it. (It's a relativity thing.)
This advice has been shared before. I'm telling myself as much as I'm telling anyone. More, probably. By sharing the advice with others I am shaming myself into doing it. Here goes. On my way. Halfway there. One, two, three...four, five...
LIGHTSPEED is taking a
LIGHTSPEED is taking a lesson from FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION. They have an entire editorial department dedicated to searching through the slush for my submissions and returning them ASAP. I'm sure of it.
Still writing, still submitting. It is the best way to pass the time...certainly better than changing diapers or loading the dishwasher. I received a rejection from FLASH FICTION ONLINE in the wee of this AM, a story that made it through their first round but not their second. Time to send it out again.
C'mon, Oso. I'll buy you a soda and we can slap out a few hundred words together.
Sandra
Soda? You mean a rum and
Soda? You mean a rum and Coke? I'm in.
Had yet another snow day today and I tried so hard to get some writing done. I'm just distracted. Having my daughter here didn't help, but she was a sweetheart (mostly) today. I really wanted to get two stories ready to submit for tomorrow, but I didn't make enough headway. I may get one there before bed.
-Oso
(http://osomuerte.wordpress.com)
PS-It feels weird posting under the name "Oso" after I just sanblasted it
from my blog. I probably need to fix my signature to reflect the new
domain name, too, though the old link still gets you there.
Some of the most interesting
Some of the most interesting advice I've received concerning CW is that they want writers who aren't afraid to try new things, forge new pathes with their writing. Take chances.
I'm hip deep in a science-fiction story at the moment, not my usual fare. It's an interesting, daunting experience. The story I want to tell is as important as the format and style of presentation. I find myself beating back the internal editor to get the words on the page.
Never write to be comfortable. Grab the internal editor by his/her scrawny neck and shake the bejeebus out of him/her until you manage the final word.
Sandra
Well, I'm making decent
Well, I'm making decent headway on this novel thing I officially started yesterday :D
And I'm also bouncing since I just got the heads-up that the audio version of a short story of mine I sold a while ago went live today. I shaved 1000 words from that one for my Clarion app, so it's weird to listen to the longer version now *g*
That means this'll be a week for good writing-related news, right? Right? Or does it mean I used up all my good news? Eep.
And I've only got one short story on submission now. I ought to work on that...
Definitely need to get more
Definitely need to get more work out there!
And where can we get our ears on your story?
I've got a few partials out
I've got a few partials out with agents too, if that counts?
I've just been so caught up with the noveling lately that I haven't really been able to figure out the few WIP shorts I still have scattered on my HD.
And you can find the short here - http://www.sniplits.com/storiesforauthor.jsp?a=77
It's very weird to listen to it now, both because I'm acutely aware of all the fat now (like I said, it's 1k longer than the Clarion version), and because - as I'm sure it's inevitable with audio readings - it's very, very different from what's in my head. It's hard to be objective!
Nice to know I'm not the
Nice to know I'm not the only one who suffers from "I-wrote-that-tripe-itis". You write, it you're proud of the piece, time passes, and...um...eep?
I suppose that's how I know the mark of a good story, that it stands the test of time in my own mind.
Sandra
I was just sitting here
I was just sitting here subbing a story to Lightspeed magazine (named for the speed of their rejections; I bet I've already got the rejection email...it has been seven minutes) when I realized my new laptop has a built-in webcam! Sweet! I knew I would need a webcam this summer if I was going to a workshop (for communicating with my wife and daughter) and now I have one. (I had one before, but I don't like that one much.) (Am I using too many parentheses?) The best part is that this laptop wa free through a math education grant from the local University (my alma mater...I know, more parentheses).
Anyway, that's something else that got me obsessing bout Clarion.
I got an "Unavailable" id on an incoming call tonight. My heart skipped a few beats before the recorded voice of some health care reform propagandist came on. (I'm still not sure if he was for or against reform, but I suspect he was against overuse of parentheses.)
So I wait and flinch at the sound of bells. Call me Pavlov's writer.
-Oso/Scott
(http://scottwbaker.net)
Who's a good writer? Who's
Who's a good writer? Who's a good writer?
You are! Yes, you are! Good boy...
*tosses Oso a a nummy*
Go write, boy! Go on!
Sandra, I saw your name
Sandra, I saw your name today! Good job. Not the first time I've seen you there, either.
Anyone else here on that list? Or still in the WotF mix?
-Oso/Scott
(http://scottwbaker.net)
Thanks. This is the fourth
Thanks. This is the fourth HM, and someday, as Scarlett O'Hara is my witness, I'll crack the WoTF finalist ranks.
S.
Congrats, Sandra! I've
Congrats, Sandra!
I've never entered WotF, so only in a future dimension would I possibly qualify for an HM. But today I triumphed--in the mail there sat a thin rejection letter for me. I normally throw all my rejection letters into a big box and let them simmer, but not this one. I opened it up and my eyes nearly exploded. A handwritten rejection letter from "The New Yorker." This one goes on my wall for all eternity, I swear it.
I don't have a lot of hope I'll be accepted into CW, but I'm pulling for you guys! It's exciting to hear good news!
that is a rejection notice
that is a rejection notice of the finest sort! I appreciate a good rejection letter, admittedly not as much as a sale, but all the same...
A personalized or hand-written rejection is a sign that the story was actually read, and may even have left something of an impression on the reader. Unless, of course, you're referring to a rejection I received from Stanley Schmidt of ANALOG with a hand-written note on the importance of making certain all of the pages are in the correct order and facing the same direction. My cheeks burned for a week after that.
Glad to hear you're getting noticed. Don't sell your chances short of CW acceptance. You applied which afford you the same chance as everyone else.
Sandra
I'm not on the list, which
I'm not on the list, which means my rejection is yet to come. :D Last quarter was my first time entered, and my first HM.
Don't sell yourself short if
Don't sell yourself short if you haven't heard anything. You're still in the running, which is a good thing. Chin up!
What, no chatter? Has
What, no chatter? Has everyone chewed their fingernails to the quick leaving only bloody stubs too sore to type with? That's why I'm pushing the keys with a pencil eraser. -Oso/Scott(http://scottwbaker.net)
No chatter on my end because
No chatter on my end because I'm writing... In theory. Book is going slow, but I'm squeezing out anywhere from 500-2000 words a day. Which I guess is a win.
So, anyone else carrying their phone around 24/7? I actually find myself going to bed later and waking up earlier because that's when they'll be most likely to call, based on the time differences. It's not exactly doing wonders for my sleep schedule.
My dog actually got hold of
My dog actually got hold of my phone last night. I freaked. No real damage done, though. Unless that's the reason it's not ringing with good news. -Oso/Scott(http://scottwbaker.net)
My brain has been blanked
My brain has been blanked out by the overcast weather, which never fails to give me the blues. But yes, I jump every time the phone rings. So sad. And I sleep with the phone on the floor next to the bed, just in case.
Busy writing and tending to
Busy writing and tending to the kids here. The only calls so far have been telemarketers, frustrating at times, but words on the page keep me going.
S.
I've been editing for the
I've been editing for the last week or two. I know, that's one of the worst writing-procrastinations ever. But now I have another two stories ready for market (one already out) and one to put through Codex now that I'm joining -- it needs another read through to make sure I didn't butcher it with my edits and my eyes aren't even seeing the page anymore.
Those are the shorts I recently declared I would prep before diving back into a novel poject full bore. *gulp* I guess it's big-story time.
-Oso/Scott
(http://scottwbaker.net)
Codex?
Codex?
Here's a bit of chatter on
Here's a bit of chatter on my end. I received word of a sale yesterday to SPACE & TIME, and one today to BRAIN HARVEST. they're not professional markets, but I still consider them feathers in my cap, particularly the sale to BH as the piece was one of the ones I used in my CW application. The sale doesn't give me any better chance of being accepted, but it's still nice.
Back to work on the SF piece. I'm at the library and determined to finish it one word at a time.
Sandra
Isn't Brain Harvest
Isn't Brain Harvest pro?
Anyway -- congratulations! That's awesome news. (And makes me feel bad for not having finished any short stories in ages. Eep!)
Brain Harvest has pro rates,
Brain Harvest has pro rates, but pays a max of $37.50, and the SFWA requires a minimum payment of $50.00 for a sale to count towards membership.
Still, it's a kick ass magazine and I'll confess I wrote the piece hoping they would pick it up. If only all sales were that easy, LoL.
And keep writing. Get pieces out there! Larry Niven was right when he said the best way to improve is to get your work out there for editors to review.
Sandra
Oh, I know - I've just been
Oh, I know - I've just been working on novels the past few months, editing, submitting, and writing alike. Damn things eat my brain to the point where it's hard to focus on anything else ;) I'll probably churn out some shorts once I get the rough draft of my current WIP done.
Brain Harvest is definitely awesome. And nice timing, too, considering the Clarion connection!
I've flirted with the idea
I've flirted with the idea of a novel, but...
I'm a terrible flirt.
I have an outline and the first NaNoWriMo inspired 50,000 words, 49,000 of which are probably crap, but that's as far as I've gotten. I may someday try my hand at a longer piece, but for now 11k is the longest I've managed.
Congrats, Sandra! That's
Congrats, Sandra! That's pretty awesome. Considering those sales, I think you have a great shot at being accepted. When will your stories appear?
I'm not certain about the
I'm not certain about the sale to SPACE & TIME, but the sale to BRAIN HARVEST should hit the web in early May.
Awesome! We'll get to read
Awesome! We'll get to read some of your stuff before the big CW.
Congrats, Sandra! Those
Congrats, Sandra! Those are great sales.
Also, hello to everyone! The waiting is painful, isn't it? I've been revising my YA novel to keep myself busy, and I'm a teacher so grading papers never stops until I record all the results at the end of the semester. I don't envy the readers for our applications because I know how long it takes me to get through a class of 40+ students. I've discovered another way to help as we wait: reading books or watching a movie. Has anyone seen Legion, yet? I saw it last night and laughed through some parts. Too bad, it could've been a better film; still it helps to immerse the mind in fantasy to escape reality for a couple hours.
Congrats, Sandra! Great
Congrats, Sandra! Great news!
Codex is a private writers
Codex is a private writers forum - http://www.codexwriters.com/ - which admits people who have attended one of the recognized workshops (e.g. bootcamp, cw, clarion sd, oddyssey, viable paradise) or who have a professional sale. In terms of content, it's sort of a bridge between the free-for-all "how do you format a manuscript?" concerns of something like absolute write or the late, lamented speculations, and the "alas, I seem to have sold another trilogy" malaise of SFWA. I'd say it has a similar intent to the journeywoman's writer meetings Vylar Kaftan has been setting up at some conventions--a way for writers who aren't quite raw beginners, but aren't fiction mavens yet, to convene, confer, critique and contest. A lot of ex-clarionites from recent years are on.
grumble. that was supposed
grumble. that was supposed to come out as a reply to sandra.
Hmmm...methinks I shall have
Hmmm...methinks I shall have to check them out.