Got here at 9am because border traffic was exceptionally light. The house was locked so I had to call Neile after making a trip to the local Starbucks. I needed internet access to retrieve her number.
When I’d finally gotten in to the house and was halfway through unpacking, Cat Rambo showed up, and we had the greatest conversation. Cat is a hell of a writer. Don’t believe me? Go here.
We talked for about two hours about the Clarion Experience, which she went through in 2005. Her biggest piece of advice was to “experiment” and “take chances”. This is the place to take risks. I asked her what kinds of things to look out for in the class dynamics, and she graciously shared some wisdom.
I’ve been thinking that there is a real temptation to judge your peers by the writing you see at the workshop, but that’s just not the way to go. Because we’re all “experimenting” and most experiments fail. In fact, the writer who does the best in the workshop may not be pushing themselves enough, playing it too safe. I’m not going to judge anyone by what they put out here, but rather by the quality of the critiques they give (is that fair either?).
Picked up Tom Rodgers at the airport, which was a bit of an experience. Lucas and Miranda volunteered to come with me, and when we got to the carousel, we spotted someone matching Tom’s description. He was even wearing a NASA badge. Too embarrassed to ask him directly, we decided instead to shout out “Tom Rodgers” in his general vicinity. Did this save us from embarrassment? What do you think? In any case, he had a bad case of altitude deafness because he didn’t hear us. Nor did he spot my hand-crafted “T-Rod” signs. Finally, we connected over iPhone and found each other.
Had some lunch, and have retreated into my room to Skype Alicia. Just finished the 2nd draft of “The Naked Leading the Blind” and am ready to send it out. Wish me luck.
There’s a great bunch of people here, all of whom write very different fiction. I can’t wait to read their application stories, which will probably happen Monday.