WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

Hello folks! I need to write, and I never say no to external motivation! If you can spare some dollars for Clarion West, now's the time to do it! I was a Clarion West fundraising gala guest of honour a couple of years ago, and I know they are always in search of funds to do good work -- provide fair payments to instructors, scholarships to Clarion West attendees in need, and so on. Clarion West is an important part of the SFF writing community even for folks who never attend, and I hope people will donate generously!

WHAT AM I WRITING?

I have a lot of stuff on the go, but my goal for the Write-a-thon is to finish three things by August 5:

1. A short story for an anthology, due July 15

2. Another short story for a different anthology, also due July 15

3. A novel outline + 3 chapters, due July 31

I will probably also be working on the two novellas I have due to two different editors (August 31 and December 31) so... let's just say words will be going down on the page! My ADHD seems to enjoy it when I bounce around between projects, so I write the same way I read (17 things on the go with what appears to be zero progress for long periods of time, and then suddenly 11 things are done at once and people are very confused). 

UPDATE

So we are headed into the last week of the Write-a-Thon and I thought I'd update folks on whether I met my goals or not! The answer is... yes!

Anthology story 1: Complete, 5,635 words

Anthology story 2: Complete, 5,646 words

Outline for novel: Complete, 1,800 words

Chapters 1-3: Complete, 13,625 words

For a grand total of 26,706 words! If I did the math right (input it into the calculator app right). I'm pretty pleased to have completed the things I wanted to complete and handed them in on time, and also thank you to everyone who donated to my fundraising page! I know times are tough for everyone. This helps support the important work of the Clarion West workshop, and the attendees and instructors need every bit of support people can spare!

I also (sigh) had a story idea last night... not sure I'm going to add it to the 'things to write before end of the Write-a-Thon' or not but I think it's going to top out around 3500 words, sooooo... maybe I can get a first draft done before August 5?

Clarion West 2023 Write-a-thon

Amal El-Mohtar during the 2019 Summer Reading Series

The Write-a-thon supports Clarion West programs year-round. All donations support Clarion West classes, workshops, panels, and other programs for emerging writers, including our Six-Week Workshop. We also hold events, offer scholarships, raise awareness, and promote diverse speculative fiction in Seattle and all over the world. 

Clarion West

Our mission is to support emerging and underrepresented voices by providing writers with world-class instruction to empower their creation of wild and amazing worlds. Through conversation and public engagement, we bring those voices to an ever-expanding community.

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