Neile's Clarion West Week 6 Write-a-thon Report
This went out today to those who either emotionally or financially sponsor my Clarion West write-a-thon commitment. If you want to see the full poem, please send me a message here or through facebook or my email to let me know, or you can sponsor my efforts financially through my write-a-thon page by donating to Clarion West there.
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Hey, all--
Thank you so much for your support during the Clarion West Write-a-thon.
Ellen Datlow, famed editor of horror, SF, and fantasy was the instructor for our final week. The students were exhausted, but she helped inspire them and gave them even more to think about when they're working on their stories. The flow of the instructors worked really well, even if it changed from our original line-up. The students seem really happy with their time here.
It was very sad to pack up everything and watch the house empty of students, one by one. That is the hardest thing: since they come from so many different places--São Paulo, Singapore, Mumbai, Oxford, Halifax, Orlando--it's very unlikely that all 18 students will be in the same place again at the same time. But it can get close--11 of last year's 18 students attended this year's final party so I'm going to focus on the possibilities of seeing them all again. This is one reason to be grateful for social media. I miss them all, but that helps.
Myself, I'm poised to launch into novel revision frenzy, with a goal of completing a new draft in September before work gets too busy with orientation. I hope to make it because I have other projects I want to get to.
I'm embarrassed to say that I wrote this week's poem in class while the students were having their final critique session. This poem is for them.
Thank you once again for your support. I wouldn't have done any of this work without knowing I was accountable to you.
Love,
--Neile
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The Sense of Beginning
We swallow our secrets, choke down
longing's endless summer distances.
It's the season of everything fruiting
the amplitude of apricots, pulchritude of plums
of peaches, cherries-oh, the ambition
of the season...
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If you want to see the rest of the poem, please let me know by email, messaging, or Write-a-thon sponsorship (see link at the top of this message).
----------
Hey, all--
Thank you so much for your support during the Clarion West Write-a-thon.
Ellen Datlow, famed editor of horror, SF, and fantasy was the instructor for our final week. The students were exhausted, but she helped inspire them and gave them even more to think about when they're working on their stories. The flow of the instructors worked really well, even if it changed from our original line-up. The students seem really happy with their time here.
It was very sad to pack up everything and watch the house empty of students, one by one. That is the hardest thing: since they come from so many different places--São Paulo, Singapore, Mumbai, Oxford, Halifax, Orlando--it's very unlikely that all 18 students will be in the same place again at the same time. But it can get close--11 of last year's 18 students attended this year's final party so I'm going to focus on the possibilities of seeing them all again. This is one reason to be grateful for social media. I miss them all, but that helps.
Myself, I'm poised to launch into novel revision frenzy, with a goal of completing a new draft in September before work gets too busy with orientation. I hope to make it because I have other projects I want to get to.
I'm embarrassed to say that I wrote this week's poem in class while the students were having their final critique session. This poem is for them.
Thank you once again for your support. I wouldn't have done any of this work without knowing I was accountable to you.
Love,
--Neile
-----------
The Sense of Beginning
We swallow our secrets, choke down
longing's endless summer distances.
It's the season of everything fruiting
the amplitude of apricots, pulchritude of plums
of peaches, cherries-oh, the ambition
of the season...
-----
If you want to see the rest of the poem, please let me know by email, messaging, or Write-a-thon sponsorship (see link at the top of this message).