Month: June 2023

The Clarion West Write-a-Thon Fundraiser!
Staring June 26th, I’ll be writing my fingers raw as I try to raise some money to support a super worthy cause. I’m taking part in Clarion West’s 2023 Write-a-thon fundraiser, a six-week-long writing adventure. I hope you’ll consider supporting my efforts, but first, let me tell you a bit about Clarion West.

What Is Clarion West?

Clarion West is a nonprofit literary organization that runs an acclaimed six-week residential workshop every summer, online classes and workshops, one-day and weekend workshops, a reading series every summer, and other events throughout the year.

An offshoot of the original Clarion, which was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College, Clarion West got its start in 1972 and has been running strong ever since. In 1987, it became a fully independent nonprofit organization. Its mission? To support emerging and underrepresented voices and foster greater equity and inclusion in the world of speculative fiction. That’s a mission I can get behind, because let’s face it. The speculative fiction world has been pretty white and male for a very long time, especially in the United States. As such, the culture surrounding the writing and publishing of speculative fiction has reflected some pretty unflattering and limiting prejudices about folks who weren’t/aren’t hetero white dudes. Things have been getting better, but there’s a lot of work left to do. Clarion West is committed to doing the work.

What Clarion West Does

Every summer, Clarion West hosts a six-week long residential writing workshop in Seattle, Washington. It’s a highly competitive program designed to offer participants a chance to make important industry connections while building a support network of community peers. Each week during the program, participants are joined by a respected author and/or editor who shares their experience and perspectives on the field of speculative fiction. Check out the lineup of folks who will be teaching seminars at this year’s workshop:
Clarion West also offers online workshops which is nice. Not everyone can put their jobs and families on pause for six-weeks to attend the in-person summer workshop (much as we might desperately want to).

Regardless of whether a writer takes part in the in-person or online workshops, though, the cost of running the workshops is not insignificant. Nonprofit thought it might be, Clarion West is expensive. Hey, no shade from me on that point, though. It costs a lot to do what they do. Hence their fundraising efforts, which brings me back to…

My Write-a-Thon Fundraising Adventures

This is my first time participating in the Write-a-thon. I have no idea what I’m doing. What goal should I set regarding how much money to raise? I don’t know. How does $1000 sound? Sure, why not?

But how to actually raise that money? Well, now I’m in foreign territory. What do I know about getting folks to open their hearts and wallets? To the internet, Batman! Time to do some research.

Turns out, folks are more likely to give up their hard-earned dough and make a donation when they know what they’re supporting. Details count. Clarion West does an amazing job of explaining their mission, but what about me? What am I doing during these next six weeks? Well, I’m writing of course. It’s called a “Write-a-thon” after all. But maybe people would like a few more specifics than just, “Er, uh, I’m gonna write some stuff and things.”

With that in mind, I created a fundraising page and got busy promoting the event. I announced my participation to my coworkers, sent a follow-up email asking for their support, and started pushing out announcements via my Instagram account.

I also set some measurable weekly writing goals, which I already shared in a previous post. If you want to know what my other very impressive and ambitious Write-a-thon goals are (and you totally do!) you’ll need to hop over to my fundraising page to read about them.

And yes, I’ve shared that link multiple times, because, duh, I’m trying to get folks to chip in and help me raise $1000 for an amazing organization with a amazing mission. To do that, I’ve got to get you over to where the “Donate” button lives. A bunch of excellent humans have already helped me get ⅓ of the way there, by the way. Don’t you want to help me get the rest of the way there? Of course you do!

Time to Shake the Moths Out of Your Wallet!

What are you waiting for? Show your support for Clarion West’s mission to strengthen the world of speculative fiction by nurturing emerging writers and underrepresented voices. CLICK HERE to make a donation of any amount during their fundraising event. Every dollar counts. Together, we can help bring new and diverse voices and perspectives to the speculative fiction world. Huzzah!!

As always, thanks for stopping by and happy writing to you.
June 23, 2023
The SFWA Mentoring Initiative 2023

Since its inception in 2018, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) Mentoring Initiative has been connecting experienced authors and editors with writers who are new to the industry. The program offers new(er) writers a chance to benefit from the wisdom and guidance of someone more familiar with the ins and outs of the genre fiction world. It’s an incredibly popular program, and after two years of trying, I finally made it into the program!

What is the SFWA?

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (formerly known as the Science Fiction Writers of America) dates all the way back to 1965. It was founded by Damon Knight and some other writers connected with the Milford Writers Workshop. Their mission? To quote the SFWA website directly, “The purpose of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association is to promote, advance, and support science fiction and fantasy writing in the United States and elsewhere, by educating and informing the general public and supporting and empowering science fiction and fantasy writers.”

I grew up reading science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazines filled with authors who listed SFWA membership in there credentials. So, of course, little ol’ me decided at a very early age that someday I would too. At the time of this post, I’ve sold enough stories to qualify for an associate membership, but I’m holding out hope that in the months between now and December 31st, I’ll sell enough to qualify for a full membership. Fingers crossed. For now, though, I’ve got my mentorship match to enjoy.

What is the SFWA Mentoring Initiative?

There are actually two different mentoring programs offered each year. There’s the Conference Mentorship Program and the Career Mentorship Program.

The Conference Mentorship Program

This program happens during the Nebula Conference. Basically, it’s a mentor and mentee sit down for an hour-long Q&A session and chat about the publication industry or the basics of conference attendance.

The Career Mentorship Program

This is the program I’m participating in this summer. It’s goal is to assist in the professional development of emerging or isolated writers of speculative fiction. They aim to foster success in emerging writers, educate new writers about predatory industry practices, and offer the collective experience and wisdom of the larger genre fiction community. Luckily for me, you don’t need to be a member of the SFWA apply for the program.

Meeting My Mentor

I can’t believe my good fortune in having been paired with Julia Rios. They’re a writer, an podcaster, a narrator, and the brainchild of Worlds of Possibility, and online speculative fiction magazine that specializes in hopeful, peaceful, and otherwise chill stories.

I sat down to zoom with them for the first time Friday morning for a “get to know you” chat, but our call was cut short when my power blipped off for absolutely no reason and my wifi couldn’t seem to figure out how to turn back on afterward. (Curse you, Loki!) Julia was very kind about the whole thing, and we ended up zooming on Saturday morning. Julia and I were matched because we’re in similar life stages (mid-40s) and we live relatively near each other. In fact, we’re both going to be attending ReaderCon in July. They’re attending as a participant. I’m attending as a volunteer. We’re hoping to some find time to connect in person and indulge in our mutual love of coffee together.

In the meantime, we’ve agreed to weekly check-in meetings to see how I do with all the goals I’ve set for myself this summer.

The Weeks Ahead

Me looking mildly impatient as I wait for eldest villain to finish up school stuff so we can go home.

This next week will be… interesting. My youngest villain won’t yet be in camp. My eldest villain hasn’t yet secured a summer job. Does it speak ill of me that I’m feeling a bit ugh about having to be a parent for a week? Don’t get me wrong. I love both my future Evil Overlords, but as a fully established Evil Overlord myself I very selfishly want to be left alone to do my things. This weird limbo week when the kids aren’t in school or camp (or working a job) is a problem. It means either intentionally neglecting my kids to pursue my own stuff or cramming my stuff into the margins of their lives and needs. I’ll likely do a bit of both, to be honest.

But then, as of June 26th my youngest will be in camp all day and my eldest will be faced with the decision to either get off their evil ass and find a job outside the house or else be put to work here at home sprucing up the Evil Lair. Then, I’ll be able to devote my full time and attention to writing for a good solid five hours/day.

June 19, 2023
Writing Goals for the 2023 Summer Season

Because I’m a teacher, summer has always been my chance to get some solid writing done. Every year, I set myself a bunch of writing goals. Last year was a wash, sadly, because I spent the summer recovering from a somewhat substantial surgery and lacked the energy to do much of anything. This summer, though. This summer I am healthy and ready to go. Also, I just found out that I’ve been accepted into the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Associations Mentoring Initiative Program for the June 10th–September 10th session.

So yeah, this summer is going to be all about writing, and identifying my writing goals is a way to help me stay on task and not waste time. Therefore, in the spirit of making the most of the next twelve weeks, here are my writing goals for this summer:

Goal #1: Short Story Revisions

I’ve got two short stories that I need to rework and revise. They’ve both been workshopped by my amazing writing group gals and have been sitting, waiting for my attention. I want to shape them into something good and get them out on submission (since I’ve been having some recent luck in that department). One is a fairytale style romance, very uncharacteristic for me. The other is a dystopian science fiction thriller in the same vein as The Manchurian Candidate. Currently, it’s a mess. It might not be sellable, but I need to at least try to turn it into something submittable.

Goal #2: Write a Bunch of New Flash Stories

I’m very new to writing flash fiction. Prior to this year I’d have laughed at anyone who suggested I try my hand at writing a complete story in under 1,000 words. Uh, do you know me? I’m normally the “why use one word when ten will do” kind of writer.

But in early January, the online writing community I’m a member of–The Codex Writers–announced that their annual winter flash fiction challenge would be starting soon. I hadn’t done much writing since early November and was both hating on myself for it and also unable to climb out of the pit of lassitude I’d fallen into, so I thought I’d give the flash fiction thing a try. Why not? It’d get me writing, and it’d push me outside my comfort zone and challenge my skills as a writer.

It was awesome.

Luckily for me, Codex runs a summer flash challenge as well. It’s a bit less intense in terms of pacing and word count limits (I can hardly believe I now think 1000 words is luxurious). It runs for three weeks, and we get seven whole days to write and submit each time! More time, more words, I’m 100% doing it.

I also recently found out about s second flash fiction challenge hosted by Clarion West that’s happening this summer. This one has a participation fee associated with it ($25). It’s actually a fundraiser that supports Clarion West’s programs for emerging and underrepresented writers. Registration opens on June 12th. Sounds awesome. I’m doing it.

So, between those two community hosted events, I should end up with a bunch of new flash stories.

Goal #3: Finish a Rough Draft of a Novel-in-Progress

Okay, I might be biting off more than I can chew here. Of course I am. I’m a Try Hard, YOLO, overachieving Extra by nature. Do all the things! All of them!! In that spirit, I’ve got a half-finished draft of a middle grade adventure story that I really want to finish writing, and I really want it to be good, not sucky. Rather than discovery write my way into 70,000 words of bloated rambling nothingness (which has been my failed strategy with my last two novels), I need a plan. I need to actually map out the story before I write it. Unfortunately, I suck at plot structure. Fortunately, I’ll have a SFWA mentor who will be able to help me out with tips and tricks and regular check-ins to keep me honest.

So those are my goals for this coming summer. Write, write, and write some more. I’m sure I’ll also want to spend time with the fam and do some gardening and hiking and beaching, etc. Are you a writer or creative artist? Do you have a “season of productivity” like I do? If so, how do you keep yourself on track and productive so you don’t lose time and opportunity?

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing!

June 12, 2023
Three Times the Publishing Charm!

I’ve been grinning a lot these days. It’s been hard not to. I had a big publishing milestone this past April when I received my first story acceptance at MetaStellar Magazine. For someone who has dreamed of being a published author since childhood, that first acceptance really is a very big deal. It comes with thoughts of, I did it! I finally did it! and a sense of unbridled joy and satisfaction that only comes when something you’ve been working at for ages finally happens.

I remember spending the summer of my 11th year trying to hit a baseball all the way across my yard from between the two peach trees to under the outer most bows of the white pine. In truth, it wasn’t a far distance, but to 11-year-old me it was grand slam material, and I wanted to be able to hit a ball that far so badly. So every day I went out and swung and hit and swung and hit until I was dripping sweat and had to stop. I remember the day the ball soared up in a high and perfect arc, came down within spitting distance of the target. I will never forget the feeling of victory, of bone deep pride and satisfaction that exploded inside of me when I saw that ball vanish into the bows of that pine tree. After weeks of swinging and coming up short over and over again I did it!

That’s how it felt when I got that email from MetaStellar. I f**king did it.

Once is a Fluke, Twice is a Stroke of Luck

Funny thing, though. A couple of weeks went by and I found myself mentally minimizing my publishing success, doubting it. Once is a fluke, I thought. Once doesn’t mean anything. But then it happened again. Another acceptance showed up in my inbox in early May, this time from Metaphorosis Magazine. It’s been an amazing spring season. I mean, to get even one story published was amazing, but two? And so close to one another. The acceptances at least; the first one’s coming out in mid-July. I don’t yet know when the second story will be published. Still, that little voice has been nagging at me. What if this second sale was just a stroke of dumb luck?

Three Times is the Charm!

Two weeks ago, my spouse and I went to an art opening at the Salem Art Association in Salem Massachusetts. He’s a member and had/still has art in the show. I was still glowing from news of my second story sale, but when Lover introduced me to someone and called me an “author,” I immediately felt compelled to clarify that I was a teacher, not an author. Calling myself an author felt hubristic. After all, I’d only had two stories accepted for publication, and neither of them have even come out yet.

But this past Tuesday I got a third acceptance email! A cozy sci-fi story I wrote back in February is going to be published in Uncharted Magazine!! I can’t believe it. Maybe the next time my spouse introduces me to someone as an “author” I won’t feel the need to demur.

In the meantime, I’ve got a story I need to get back to and do some work on, then send it out on submission, see if I can ride this recent wave of publishing success. But I had to take a quick moment and share the news.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing!

June 2, 2023