Clarion questions...

[readingredhead]

Revised answers to the questions for the Clarion application.  Do these sound like me?  And do they make me sound good?

1. Describe your writing habits.

            When things like work and school don’t interfere, and sometimes even when they do, I write every day. Not always consistently on one project—I usually have several brewing in my head at a time—but always I write. When I fall in love with an idea, it consumes my fiction for a while and I pursue it intensely. 

            Stories usually come to me as characters, and I think that character is the most important element of everything I write. If I know who I’m writing about, I know what they’re likely to do, and when and where they need to live, and what has to happen to them. I like to spend a lot of time planning stories before I have to write them, but once I start actually writing a story, I tend to finish it within the week or else abandon it.

            I work best when I’ve got a deadline in sight and a group of supportive friends and fellow writers around me. I don’t need deadlines to write, but there’s something about the figure of a deadline—especially one shared by other friends and writers—that entices my ideas to coalesce in ways I never would have thought possible. I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month for the past three years and my experiences have taught me that deadlines are important not just for motivational purposes, but also because they allow me to pace myself.

2. What do you hope to accomplish through Clarion?

            I hope to become more conscious of my own writing style in order to pinpoint specific weaknesses and develop methods of combating them. I also hope to come to a better understanding of my comfort zone within writing, so that I can try to expand beyond it. One of my specific goals is to work on telling more compact stories; at present, even my short stories tend to be long and rambling. I’m also looking forward to getting a new vantage point on the genres of fantasy and science fiction, as well as the opportunity to see what writing within these genres means to other writers. And of course, I’m looking forward to completing a short story or two over the course of the summer and having the chance to revise them with the assistance of feedback from other writers.

Any feedback appreciated.  These are the only things they hear about me on the application aside from my two short stories.  Thanks, everyone.

Comments

[pippins-smile.livejournal.com]

I think you did a terrific job with #1, because I have nooooo idea what I'd write with so vague a prompt. You did a fantastic job addressing it, but keeping it to what seems like the right amount; you described it enough to stand out, but you didn't fill in every detail. That seems perfect. And now I'm going to be wondering how I'd ever answer that prompt, if it ever happens to come up... Hmm...

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you think I did well with it! I, too, was annoyed by how vague the prompt is, but at the same time I kind of like it. The answer you give is important for what you say, but then also for what you choose not to say. If someone answers this with "I write every morning from 7am-9am," they think about writing in a completely different manner. And maybe that makes them less likely to get picked? I tried to realize what my answer meant in terms of how I see the writing process -- what's quirky about my own style of writing and approaching the writer's life?

I'd be interested to see what you have to say! It's a good exercise even if you're not applying to Clarion (which by the way you should). :)

[pippins-smile.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... How do I get details on this Clarion? And I was thinking the same thing... A good writing exercise is right.

[readingredhead.livejournal.com]

http://clarion.ucsd.edu

Application is due on March 1 by like 5pm I think...