Thanks to everyone who took a moment to nominate me for the Aurora Award — I have been short listed in the Short Fiction category for my short story in Analog last June, entitled “Back.” Doubly good news, I am in competition with my good friend, Randy, who wrote a humorous novella, “Ringing the Changes in Okotoks, Alberta,” which appeared in Tesseracts 12 by Edge Press last November. Randy was also nominated in the category, Fan Achievement – Organizational for running the World Fantasy Convention in Calgary last fall, which was a great convention.
Had a Great Meeting Monday
I belong to 3 writers’ groups and one of them, Kensington, meets on an as-needed basis. Last Monday we got together to crit a novel just completed by one of our members. Francis wrote a historical YA that is excellent. We had a few suggestions for her, but it’s pretty much ready to be sent out. Then we had a discussion about the business, again, trading information that can be helpful to all. Got a couple of websites to check out and more inspiration! Only 2 days now to the Rainforest Writers’ Retreat west of Seattle, run by Patrick Swensen of Fairwood Press. Can hardly wait!
An Unexpected Writing Day
So my husband, Don, is off to visit his 300-ton steam locomotive, “Bullet-Nosed Betty” for the weekend and we’re not skiing tomorrow, so I have a day to write! I didn’t think that would happen this weekend because today is a very special day: my son’s baby’s shower. So what with the need to get a few things done around the house, today is not a writing day. However, I have tomorrow’s scenes all planned out in my head. Yay!
Susan
Banff Retreat
Got tons done during my 2-day retreat in Banff with my SAW writing group. I had some old material to revise — quite a bit — and then I got a new scene done as well, which I wasn’t expecting. There were 9 of us sharing a 10-person loft condo in the mountains with a hot-tub. Various people volunteered to make breakfasts and lunches, and we went out to local restaurants for dinner. People wrote from after breakfast well into the evening hours, although after that we did play “Mexican Train” one evening. It was dead quiet, with only the sounds of keys tapping (we didn’t even look up when the maid came in to change the towels). Randy outlined a novella and wrote 13,000 words — our biggest word count for the weekend. We read aloud Sunday evening and the quality of the work read aloud was awesome — makes me feel very lucky to be a part of this group!
Exhilarating to draft
Sometimes first draft writing can be scary and depressing and confusing. But today I am writing stuff I have thought about, taken notes on and planned for weeks. What a ride!