Thursday, October 14, 2004

Post-Clarion Pre-Employment Blues

Finally reality has set in. Clarion (regrettably) is over, our family emergency (thankfully) is over, and the job hunt has begun. The real world is not very nice sometimes. I prefer the Clarion world.

Since Clarion, I've revised and sent out three stories, which may not seem like many, but with all the family stuff going on, it's quite a lot. I always looked with skepticism at the websites of Clarion graduates who wrote that it took them months/years to write again. Now I understand. Any workshop like Clarion dumps so much information into your skull that you can't process it all when you get home. As soon as you start to write a new story, you start remembering something you've learned (but haven't mastered) that's getting in the way of your story. It just takes time.

I've also been working on my copywriting, which right now is moving slower than my sleeping greyhound. I went to a freelance Q & A panel in Baltimore and listened to three people who just sort of fell into it. I suppose like anything, it just takes time.

So in the meantime, the job search continues. I got back from a local job fair about an hour ago. I talked with a few people. Didn't seem too promising, but you never know.

In the meantime, I'm studying copywriting (Bly, Ogilvy) and short stories (Karen Joy Fowler, Lucius Shepard, and my newest obsession Flannery O'Connor) to see what makes them tick.

At least I'm losing weight. (Last week = 183; Today = 178) And the World Fantasy Convention is just around the corner.

Today's Weight: 178
Now Playing: Exile on Main Street - Stones

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