It’s been a good, productive summer for writing. I credit Cat Rambo, the Nebula Awards, and Clarion West for a dramatic leap in my craft this year (well, I suppose I had a little to do with it too). I’ve been taking several of Cat’s classes – everything they teach has been useful and many of the courses have produced either fully-completed stories or ideas that I stash in a hidden document for later contemplation.
The Nebulas were also really fruitful in that my mentor talks and personal sessions with writers and editors led me to more great resources, including joining both an online forum for neo-pro writers and becoming a founding member of the Nautilus critique group. The other writers in Nautilus are amazing and I learn so much from reading their work, though sometimes I admit, I have to struggle to stop reading it for pleasure and actually get the purple pen out to give more constructive feedback than “This is awesome.”
Currently, I have three stories in the second round at professional-level markets. Typing this will undoubtedly summon a rejection, but I love all three magazines so much that it’s an honor to have even gotten to that level. Will they make it any further? I’m not sure, but I imagine that I’ll know something about at least one of them by the end of this month.
I do have one story coming out – “Chocolate,” a post-apocalyptic tale in Daily Science Fiction. No publication date has been scheduled but I’ll keep this space updated.
Gwen Whiting 