Shortly after attending Clarion, I was bragging about it to a colleague. “All the teachers are published authors,” I said. “Like who?” she asked. I listed my instructors. She stared blankly. “What would they have written that I would have read?” she asked. I’d mentioned award winners, a genuine New Read more
Once again, I’ll be taking part in the Clarion Write-a-Thon to raise money for scholarships to the Clarion Science Fiction Writing Workshop. Clarion was one of the best experiences of my life and I want to make it possible for other people to attend! What is a write-a-thon? Well, I Read more
I was hosting my monthly writer’s workshop, The Cajun Sushi Hamsters, in my first “real” post-college apartment. I was in the tiny kitchen, and so was Hugo-winner Maureen McHugh. Geoff Landis, who also has won Hugos, joined us. As always happens, once you get a few people in the kitchen, Read more
To do lists are the most important tool I use to treat writing like a job. I keep two to-do lists. The first is in my writing journal. When I think of an idea to fix a story, I draw a box and write it in the journal. Then, Read more
Working on the write-a-thon I find myself approaching my laptop with much the same dread as a dentist’s drill. Do I gotta? Yes, young lady. You made a commitment. Now write! What happened? When I was a kid, you couldn’t stop me from writing! I filled entire spiral notebooks while Read more
For the 2015 Clarion Write-a-Thon I have pledged to write 50 stories by August 1. I’ve written 17 short story drafts so far. Here they are, in order: 1. The 7th Street Matriarchy – 1,700 words – a group of women trying to save their public housing project with distributed Read more
So, this really happened. I was helping my friend Mike move, and I had stacked the dresser drawers in opposite order so I could put them back in easily. The three drawers were all different sizes. I took the bottom drawer, which was largest, out last, so it was on Read more