Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Life after Clarion

There has been a succession of family crises since I came home. It's as if the Universe saved everything up to throw at me as soon as I got off the plane. I'm spending so much time ducking and weaving it's a wonder I even get near the computer let alone write. So now you know why the blogging has been sparse.
I am starting to make some progress with the goals I set myself - much more slowly than I'd like but something is better than nothing in the circumstances. So here's some of what I have achieved on the writing front. Another Clarionite and I gave a talk about the experience to our local speculative fiction writing group. I also gave a talk on the Clarion experience to my local writing group. I have edited four of my Clarion stories and I think they are ready to go out. I ran a workshop at a writers' group on critiquing techniques and conducted a follow up workshop where those techniques were applied. I have several stories underway and am working on them whenever I can grab a moment. Finally I have been asked to be a guest speaker at a meeting of State branch of a nationwide writing organisation.
Well, that's not as bad as I thought it was. I think I'll mark my report card "Making progress but could do better."

4 comments:

Laura E. Goodin said...

Yeah, you just yearn for the monastic solitude and simplicity of that cell sometimes, don't you? (I know I do.)

Satima Flavell said...

Hey Helen, you've done heaps since Clarion from the sound of it, and I'm pleased to hear it. I always feel a bit disorientated after such intensive experiences and I know it takes a while to get back into the normal world. And family crises always come at such times, I reckon:-(

Good to see you blogging again. Hope to see you next month.

Helen V. said...

I certainly miss a lot of the Clarion experience. Sometimes I want to just go and rent myself a room somewhere so I can work uninterrupted.

Helen V. said...

Thanks, Satima. At the moment it's just struggling on from one day to the next but it must get better eventually.