Susan Forest

Yes, I think the universe conspired to ensure that I would NEVER want to go back on my decision to retire from the day job. So, as much as I enjoyed it, leaving it behind feels very much like Heaven, right now. I revised a flash fiction this week and am getting it critted right now for submission to an anthology next week, and have just come up with an idea for a short story, which is a good thing, because I have a deadline for a short story workshop coming up in 3 weeks. Also, I was asked to judge the Robin Herrington Memorial Short Story Contest again this year, so got a start on reading stories for that. Then, there is the novella revision and submission, and the novel to have done by the end of summer . . . September? Lots to do!

The two days critiquing novel excerpts with Rob was, as always, fantastic. We had some really good writers with projects that I am sure will develop into fascinating books. We all got together for a barbecue at Robin Herrington’s parents’ house on the Wednesday evening and chatted until well into dark. Here’s a photo of Rob working with Val and Randy at the workshop.

My nephew’s wedding was wonderful and it was great to visit relatives out east. Finished the eleven critiques for the workshop tomorrow, and 5 critiques for the short story contest. And, I jotted notes for a science fiction short story and began a fantasy short story. So, got lots done, too!

My family has about 120 acres a couple of hours out of the city, and I managed to get up there for 5 days once school was out, and I got a ton of writing done. Yes, my daughter was there, but she had her friends and so there were almost no interruptions. While eating, I critiqued submissions for the summer workshop, and the rest of the time I wrote, taking a couple of hours to stretch my legs by trimming the hedge and mowing the lawn. Got all the revisions for one novel done, and began reviewing one I finished six months ago. The six month break was good: found some places to cut, so the other novel is tighter now.

Several years ago, I took a workshop session about brain development and there was a ton of good stuff in it, but one of the concepts had to do with stress: we all know that stress causes a bodily response (eg: increased levels of certain hormones) and excess stress can cause you not to think as clearly as you might otherwise because you are vigilantly scanning your environment. The joke goes, “If you thought you had a good idea at work you didn’t.” Because, of course, you are stressed just by being at work. Your best thinking is in the shower, on your bicycle, etc.

So I am going to Rob Sawyer’s writing workshop this summer and we are studying long-form works. For that, I need to have chapter 1 and an outline. I wasn’t able to attend the whole write-off (from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM on Saturday I was at the Young Writers’ Conference, which was a lot of fun) but I went Friday night, Saturday after the conference and all day Sunday, and I pretty much have the first draft of the package. As it’s not due for a month, I should have time to revise it by then. Felt very productive.

And — Rob’s book launch for “Wake” is in Calgary on Tuesday, so a bunch of us will be there to listen to him read. Will be great!

Susan

Tomorrow I meet David Morrell! How awesome is that? Kim Greyson, Guest Liaison for World Fantasy is taking David out to dinner when he arrives in Calgary, and as his host, I am invited as well. That kicks off the week. Then I will host (and attend) David’s full day session on writing on Wednesday, followed by Edge Press’s social. Thursday, I’m sitting on a panel on the use of appendices in novels, and my reading is at 8 PM in the evening. Those are highlights for me, along with all the sessions I will be able to attend and touching base with so many people I have met from around the world at other conventions. I’ll try to post more often (daily?) about the convention — I know it will be awesome!

Every year, my main writers’ group, IFWA (Imaginative Fiction Writer’s Association) runs a Clarion-style writing workshop for two days in conjunction with the local convention, often sharing a guest author with the con. In the past, we have had Edo Von Belkom, Mike Resnick, Joe Haldeman, Patrick and Honna Swensen, Rob Sawyer, James Allan Gardener, Dave Wolverton and Rebecca Bradley. Having the chance to work for two days in a small group (maximum twelve participants) with such stellar authors had been invaluable–not to mention the information about the business of writing that we have been able to pick up over lunch.

This year, our guest was Randy Schroeder who writes under a number of pen names (I have a collection of short stories, “Crooked Timber,” under the name, A. M. Arruin) as well as teaching Science Fiction at Mount Royal College. The two days were awesome. Each participant had a short story or novel submission (3 chapters and an outline) critiqued by the group. Randy grouped our stories to illustrate writing points and followed each story up with an exercise to practice the points covered. It was great. I got a real “aha” moment for my specific story, as well as picking up a number of points that I will want to mull over as I consider my writing.

We spent some time contrasting the processes of right and left brain writing, affirming the need for both and looking at ways of developing both craft and “godfire.” Of course, each writer has to develop her own self-awareness of what types of craft she needs to work on, and that self-understanding needs to change as her writing improves. One note I wrote from this workshop was, “once you reach a certain level of craft, the challenge you have to overcome is your own patterns and internal barriers.” To me, that said a lot. Craft can be developed systematically, and I feel my craft level has developed well. But godfire? How do you stimulate that? More difficult, but one way that Randy suggested (and on reflection I realized it is something I have found successful in the past–though I was never conscious of using it) is to set barriers for yourself. One he gave us, was “brainstorm how you might write a time travel story in which no one actually travels through time.” You get the idea.

At L.A. Con IV, I participated in the Worldcon writer’s workshop with Adam Troy-Castro, Charlene Brusso, and Barry Longyear.