Six Weeks In The Wild
Today, I’m starting something a little bit scary: I’m putting aside all my projects and sending myself on a six-week writing retreat.
Why would anyone do this? Well, I want to learn to write seriously, and for me, the swiftest improvements in skill have always come from periods of total devotion.
To keep myself accountable, I’ll be participating in Clarion West’s annual Write-a-thon to raise money for the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop. Some of the best in the business have been through it, including one of my favorite writers, Kelly Link, and my beloved mentor Kelley Eskridge.
Here is what I propose to do over the next six weeks:
1) Write 500 words of my new short story every day, no matter what.
2) Send a weekly email updating you on my progress and sharing my experiences. I hope my tribulations will help you along your own path toward art making, whatever that may be for you, or if nothing else, at least entertain.
3) Compile whatever I have at the end of six weeks into a complete story. Seth Godin challenged me to share my work with 50 people, so that is what I intend to do despite the nausea and sense of impending doom every time I think of it. If you’d like to be one of the 50, please let me know. I’d be delighted to have you.
If you’d like to support me as I strive to meet these goals, you can visit my write-a-thon page to donate (anything helps) or send me words of encouragement.
One day I hope to attend a Clarion Workshop, perhaps even with a seed from the work I do over the next six weeks. Your support will help ensure Clarion West’s continued existence. Also, it will make me feel like a million bucks.
