Clarion Journal

The following table provides links to each day's journal as well as a link to information about the instructors.

Week One: Suzy McKee Charnas

Week Two: Sean Stewart

Week Three: Tananarive Due

Week Four: Samuel Delany

Week Five Beth Meacham Gregory Frost and Maureen McHugh

Week Six: Gregory Frost and Maureen McHugh

Day One

Day Eight

Day Fifteen

Day Twenty-Two

Day Twenty-Nine

Day Thirty-Six

Day Two

Day Nine

Day Sixteen

Day Twenty-Three

Day Thirty

Day Thirty-Seven

Day Three

Day Ten

Day Seventeen

Day Twenty-Four

Day Thirty-One

Day Thirty-Eight

Day Four

Day Eleven

Day Eighteen

Day Twenty-Five

Day Thirty-Two

Day Thirty-Nine

Day Five

Day Twelve

Day Nineteen

Day Twenty-Six

Day Thirty-Three

Day Forty

Day Six

Day Thirteen

Day Twenty

Day Twenty-Seven

Day Thirty-Four

Day Forty-One

Day Seven

Day Fourteen

Day Twenty-One (accidently deleted)

Day Twenty-Eight

Day Thirty-Five

Day Forty-Two

Saturday, July 22, 2000

Day Forty-One -- The End

I arrived home late last night after reaching a point where I could simply no longer reamain at Clarion. My car window was shattered and so were my nerves. The workshop was over except for the barbecue so I bailed out.
Clarion began for me with the Headache From Hell wherein I spent most of the day vomitting and totally incoherent. It ended with a shattered car window as well as my hopes and the theft of my shoes, the loss of my dream.
In between, many good things happened and I can see some pockets of improvement in my writing. I didn't have the major breakthrough that I saw some other people make in their craft, but I do believe I moved forward.

Where I failed is as a person. I just never fit in. Even the Clarion toilet rejected me. [It's one without a handle and it would flush for other people... but never for me. I was a non-entity.]
This is not a great surprise. I was a social outcast in school and while I've had pockets of time where I was active members of social and volunteer organizations and had close friends, this hasn't been the case lately. I've gone back to my isolet roots and I seem to be stuck there. I am shy by nature and my hearing loss means I have trouble following conversations in groups. I grow uncomfortable and so does everyone around me. It frustrating for me and it's frustrating for everyone else. I back off and withdraw into my shell and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.
I did make a few friends at Clarion... but that was in one-on-one or small number situations. I'm just not cut out for group activities. I failed in that respect... but it's a failure I can recognize and work around. The real objective was to improve my writing. I had a break-in rather than a break through, but not everyone achieves a breakout story at Clarion and sometimes it takes time for things learned to start showing up in your writing.
I did discover I could crank out decent first drafts very fast. I would rather, however, write great stories slowly.
The Clarion journey is at an end. I will be moving the Clarion files to avoid accidently deleting them and will be putting up a main Clarion page that summarizes my Clarion experience and put pointers to all the dates. Additionally, I'm going to add a Next and Previous pointer on the pages.

Linda

Stories Written At Clarion

Start/Finish

Submitted

Critiqued

It's Christmas at Ground Zero

6-12/6-13

3,700

Thumbs Up/Sold to Analog

The Day Julianne Utterback Left Her Job At Aero-Tech

6-12/6-/14

3,800

Thumbs Down

My Father's Last Gift

6-14/6-15

3,100

Thumbs Down - revised & sold

The Willow Tree, The Pagoda, and The Bridge

6-12/6-18

1,600

No

Shanghai Sherri and the Navigator

6-12/6-19

No

No

Paraterraforming Mercury

6-18/6-18

1,600

Thumbs Down

Fifteen Minutes

6-20/6-21

4,000

Throwaway Children

6/22-24

2,800

Mixed, later sold

Your Daughter Grows Up

6/24-6/24

700 -No

Poisoning Bob

6/25-6/25

1,300 - No

Sold to Planet Relish

Dream The Moon

6/27-6/28

2,500

revised and sold to Strange Horizons

Naming Day

6/28-6/29

The Ungifted One

7/1-7/1

1,000

Sold to Fables

High Tech Toilets

6/29-7/1

1,000

The Confession of Ann Foster Melton

7/2-7/2

3,800

Mixed

The Simplest Invention

7/2-7/4

1,500

Populus Ambulatio

6/30-7/7

2,000

revised and later sold

Debts Owed, Payments Collected

7/3-7/9

5,600

Mostly up

Salamanders, Mushrooms, Black Cherry Twigs, and Feathers

7/12-7/14

4,200

Thumbs Down

One is False; Nothing is True

7/20-7/20

2,500

later sold

Week One: Suzy McKee Charnas	Week Two: Sean Stewart	Week Three: Tananarive Due	Week Four: Samuel Delany	Week Five Beth Meacham Gregory Frost and Maureen McHugh	Week Six: Gregory Frost and Maureen McHugh
Day One	Day Eight	Day Fifteen	Day Twenty-Two	Day Twenty-Nine	Day Thirty-Six
Day Two	Day Nine	Day Sixteen	Day Twenty-Three	Day Thirty	Day Thirty-Seven
Day Three	Day Ten	Day Seventeen	Day Twenty-Four	Day Thirty-One	Day Thirty-Eight
Day Four	Day Eleven	Day Eighteen	Day Twenty-Five	Day Thirty-Two	Day Thirty-Nine
Day Five	Day Twelve	Day Nineteen	Day Twenty-Six	Day Thirty-Three	Day Forty
Day Six	Day Thirteen	Day Twenty	Day Twenty-Seven	Day Thirty-Four	Day Forty-One
Day Seven	Day Fourteen	Day Twenty-One (accidently deleted)	Day Twenty-Eight	Day Thirty-Five	Day Forty-Two

Stories Written At Clarion	Start/Finish	Submitted	Critiqued
It's Christmas at Ground Zero	6-12/6-13	3,700	Thumbs Up/Sold to Analog
The Day Julianne Utterback Left Her Job At Aero-Tech	6-12/6-/14	3,800	Thumbs Down
My Father's Last Gift	6-14/6-15	3,100	Thumbs Down - revised & sold
The Willow Tree, The Pagoda, and The Bridge	6-12/6-18	1,600	No
Shanghai Sherri and the Navigator	6-12/6-19	No	No
Paraterraforming Mercury	6-18/6-18	1,600	Thumbs Down
Fifteen Minutes	6-20/6-21	4,000
Throwaway Children	6/22-24	2,800	Mixed, later sold
Your Daughter Grows Up	6/24-6/24	700 -No
Poisoning Bob	6/25-6/25	1,300 - No	Sold to Planet Relish
Dream The Moon	6/27-6/28	2,500	revised and sold to Strange Horizons
Naming Day	6/28-6/29
The Ungifted One	7/1-7/1	1,000	Sold to Fables
High Tech Toilets	6/29-7/1	1,000
The Confession of Ann Foster Melton	7/2-7/2	3,800	Mixed
The Simplest Invention	7/2-7/4	1,500
Populus Ambulatio	6/30-7/7	2,000	revised and later sold
Debts Owed, Payments Collected	7/3-7/9	5,600	Mostly up
Salamanders, Mushrooms, Black Cherry Twigs, and Feathers	7/12-7/14	4,200	Thumbs Down
One is False; Nothing is True	7/20-7/20	2,500	later sold