it's getting better all the time

[albionidaho]

raven_radiation, one of my Clarion West '08 classmates, crashed here last night with one of her housemates. It was great to see her, if only for a short time. It was hard to say see you later, but easier than it was to say goodbye to chris_reynaga Saturday morning. This was one of the hardest things I've ever done -- he was the last to say goodbye to, and he became a very dear friend during our six weeks in Seattle. In any event, things are getting easier, and I think this means I'm settling in.

I still miss my classmates and the sorority house and all the lovely people involved with my Clarion West experience, but I'm ready to move forward with my writing career. I'm ready for the adventure and the hard work. And I will see them again.

Today I wrote, and am working on critting a story, spent a lot of time with my kids wrestling and playing, slept, and spent a lot of time with Rice, talking and bonding. Oodles and gobs. Which is what one should do when one comes home from Clarion.

This doesn't mean the tears are over, or the sad times, or that my heart misses them any less, but life goes on if we're ready to accept the challenge.

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Congrats on surviving the workshop! It's rough being separated from everyone after those intense six weeks, but you'll be able to look forward to reuniting with them if you make it to some conventions! And e-mail and LJ are really helpful to staying in touch. It's even better if you can phone or IM. My class tried working out a weekly group chat for a while, and it still goes on though not everyone can make it all the time.

[albionidaho.livejournal.com]

What a great idea! Thanks :).

I'm so glad to hear your class stays in touch. When did you graduate?

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

2005. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of local classmates (we're in a writing group here) and others close enough to see with some regularity. The first year out, 12 of us managed to meet at Wiscon, which is central enough to be convenient to most locations. We also kept up an online critique group for a couple of years before we all got too busy, but it helped with the separation anxiety a bit.

[albionidaho.livejournal.com]

Thank you. All of this helps so much.

[aimeempayne.livejournal.com]

Post-Clarion can be rough. Hang in there.

[albionidaho.livejournal.com]

Thanks Aimee :). If you have any counsel or advice I'd love to hear it.

[aimeempayne.livejournal.com]

My best advice is to let yourself grieve for that wonderful, maddening, amazing, and frustrating experience you just had. Keep in touch with classmates and instructors the best you can. They'll be going through the same things you are.

My experience with writing after Clarion was rocky, to put it mildly. The most important thing I learned was that if I kept at it, even though I thought I was writing crap, I would get better. Because of how it's set up, Clarion focuses on really rough drafts. It's easy to forget that it's okay to write bad first drafts and be brilliant in the revision process. That was one of my many epiphanies.

I also had a really difficult life-changing experience after Clarion. Try to avoid that if you can. ;)

[chris-reynaga.livejournal.com]

It was hard saying goodbye to you, and to everyone. Who knew that we could all get so close in such an intensely short time. These bonds will last. =)

[albionidaho.livejournal.com]

It was absolutely mind-blowing. I never imagined such a thing could happen.

Keep telling me they'll last -- so many other things seem so transitory.

[albionidaho.livejournal.com]

Um... forgot this: :)