Just made a gift to Clarion West. There will be a scholarship next year.

#Clarion #ClarionWest #ClarionWorkshop

#writer #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon

About Jon Lasser's (@disappearinjon) memorial:

In lieu of a funeral, we will all be gathering for an informal memorial this Saturday from 1-5 at The Canning Line - Reuben’s Brews (it’s not at the main Ballard location, but is close: 800 NW 46th St, Seattle, WA 98107).

If you’re able to stop by, share a memory, have a bite to eat, and toast the departed we would welcome you with open arms… and kegs.

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Tags that might help his Masto community see this: #Seattle #ClarionWest

A class I taught for Clarion West last year is now available on-demand! I cover some of the overused tropes in cli-fi/ solarpunk and strategies for keeping your ideas fresh.

#solarpunk #WritingClass #ClimateFiction #hopepunk #ClarionWest

https://clarion-west-online.teachable.com/p/avoiding-common-pitfalls-in-climate-change-fiction

#ScribesAndMakers 2504.14 — Would you enjoy living in a creative village/house/shared accommodation? Or do you already?

The question did not ask if I had enjoyed living in a creative space (past tense).

I did.

I attended the Clarion Writers Workshop (Clarion West). It's for Speculative, SF, Fantasy, and (I think) Horror Genre writing. It's for professionals or professional wannabes. You have to submit work to qualify.

It was literally (pun intended) the best six weeks of my life as an author.

Don't get me wrong, selling is fabulous, but the feeling lasts only a moment (like sex). The sense of community and actually living the life of an author while attending the workshop cannot be beat.

We lived together (except for a few locals) in the dorms of a college in downtown Seattle, cooked together, used the showers together, had our own floor to ourselves. We spent many hours in the common areas gabbing and blue-skying. Mostly, however, we wrote.

Then read what others wrote.

Then critiqued. Learned how to do that well, learned how to anticipate certain critiques from specific authors and to fix our stuff (assuming we thought we need to), learned how to have a hard shell by accepting criticism that helped us, and rejecting what didn't. Largely, we also helped each other through our fears.

Week days we had a guest lecturer who was a professional writer or editor. One day a week, we attended readings, usually at Powell's, by a local writer, though once at an author's place (I think that was for Octavia Butler).

The feeling of community and support was amazing. One time I wrote a 15,000 word novella in 15 hours for critique the next day. That was my max output per hour or per day ever.

I never felt burnt out. Those six weeks seemed to compact six months of life into a short span. When I returned home, I barely recognized my surroundings or old life. Ask my spouse!

Highly Recommended

PS: After reading other responses I want to qualify that I am cripplingly shy, introverted, and write fiction that doesn't go much with my persona. Nobody knew my gender despite an enormous email thread until I arrived, and I got the nickname Ambiguous Spice (and Oblivious Spice) for a reason. I warmed quickly because these were people like me. Kinda weird, some introverted, some extroverted. All in love with words and stories. I warmed up quickly.

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion #Clarion #ClarionWest #critique #critiquegroupsforwriters #actuallyAutistic

Hey - the #ClarionWest fundraiser is underway. Lots of great perks for a great cause!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/clarion-west-fall-fundraiser#/

Obviously there are a lot of important causes soliciting for donations now, but art and writing are important as well. We have to imagine the world we want to live in.

Haven't yet posted here about the #ClarionWest #SteamyInSeattle benefit event, May 10th. #Romantasy authors #LPenelope and #MelissaMarr for tea and conversation. If #fantasy #romance is your jam, and you're in #Seattle, please consider attending!

https://www.clarionwest.org/2024/03/05/save-the-date-steamy-in-seattle-2024/

I'm teaching a seminar for Clarion West on April 4th! Drawing on my experience as an anthology editor for World Weaver Press and a story reviewer for Imagine 2200, I'll go over some of the most common issues that I see in climate fiction slush piles.

#solarpunk #lunarpunk #ClimateFiction #ClimateWriters #ScienceFiction #SciFiWriters #ClarionWest #WritingClass #Imagine2200

https://clarionwest.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/clarionwest/eventList.jsp