08/08/00 -- Focus, Grasshopper

*sproing* But I don't wanna focusaaiiieeeeeeeeee *splut*

So Trey was talking about the focus of Clarion over in his journal the other day... (Yep, I'm still peeking, Trey!)  I think he pretty much got it right: the focus of Clarion depends entirely on what the students want from it and what the instructors bring to it.

And I've been asked similar questions by my coworkers: So you have a bunch of publishable stories now, right?  Nope.  I have 8 stories written.  Six of those are pretty strong first drafts (all things considered).   Four of those six may be publishable at some point after rewriting and revising and tweaking.  And one of those four may wind up as part of a novel.

Am I going to sell one of my Clarion stories?  Who knows.   Are any of them really publishable?  As they stand?  No.  After editing and revising?  Again, who knows.  I'll find out when I sell one and see it in print.  (I'm having a really hard time judging my work right now.)

I don't know why everyone assumes that Clarion creates publishable stories, that the stories everyone writes while they're there are going to be the NextBigThing(tm).  Clarion gives you tools to improve your writing, or makes you aware of the tools you're using in your own writing.  You also get six weeks where you've got nothing to do but read and write and critique.  You're bound to learn something in that time.  And, if you're lucky, you'll write something that's more than competent, and fits an existing market, and bingo.

But it doesn't happen to everyone with every single story.   I think the focus for Clarion is the tools.  What you do with the tools (there or afterwards) is entirely up to you.

 

And speaking of focus.  I'm totally lacking it.  Which is why I didn't get the three journal entries waiting around uploaded last night.  I got home and wound up going grocery shopping then out to dinner (ugh, Red Robin at 9:30pm is not a good idea), then crashed when I got home.  I'll upload tonight.  I promise!

Okay, maybe I'm not lacking it as much as I like to think.   I did manage to get another 700 or so words written on the start of Gabriel.   But that was while I was waiting at work for traffic to die down.  And focusing on that is a heck of a lot nicer than focusing on work was.  Or on the bumper of the car in front of me would have been had I left the office at 5.