Open Read and Critique, aka ORC. I didn't realize how much I'd enjoy it until I'd been in one. OryCon is a long way away, but I'm already looking forward to the ORCs--wondering what I'll bring to read, who will be there, what I'll hear, the dialogue that'll sprout up. Good times. Writing can be very isolating at times and I hunger for interaction with other writers. INK is great for that, and ORCs are like a mini-convention within OryCon just for those of us who are willing to sacrifice schmoozing time to hone the craft that informs so much of our lives. At our hearts we love to create whole worlds from nothingness and the critique sessions teach us how to create better, more badass worlds.In contrast to today, which was satisfying in its own way but the reverse of a writing event that helps grow and create art. In anticipation of the equinox (which, as far as the Earth's position around the sun, has will happen within minutes of my posting this, at 22:48 (10:48pm)) I did some spring cleaning today. Not as much as I'd like, but still, there's less mess and best of all, we got to burn a bunch of stuff. Two items in particular that went up in flames were the original print out and the agent-intended copy of Beggar Smith, the version that I definitely should not have sent to Donald Maass agency because it was so not ready. Now that particular albatross, though still dead, no longer hangs around my neck. It's all ashes, a unique something that has been reduced to its original form--a thought in my brain. Well, not entirely. I'm not that brave. There's still a virtual copy, which I'll reference for the rewrite. Some of the scenes I plan to steal whole cloth because they're memorable enough that I can almost recite the dialogue from memory. I'll dye the cloth with some editing to hide the stain of my more primitive prose from that era. The rest will be blue-screened. Then again, I may read those old scenes and realize that they're better in my memory than on the page, in which case it'll all get blue-screened. I'm game.
Much as I look forward to working on Beggar Smith again, though, I need to play some more with Masks. Must ... reach ... end ... on this last (ha ha) edit. It's polished, but there are some plot and characterization improvements that can be made. I'm trying not to muck with it too much because I don't want mud, but at the same time I think if I'm careful I won't screw it up too badly.
Oh, and yay! I can participate in the writer's workshop this year! Woot!
Creation, destruction. It's been a very ORC-y day. Happy vernal equinox! Blessed be.
2 comments:
I was wondering if you were going to participate in the workshop. Yay. That means I have two writers already.
And congrats for burning the old ms! That took a lot of courage. I'm still not ready to completely delete the old, horrid copy of the short story I'm rewriting, but as soon as I finish the last scene, I'm going to. Because I don't need reminding of that old piece. And I think I have hard copies buried in a file somewhere that will jump out and bite me when I least expect it. Don't need that on the computer, too.
Happy Equinox! To celebrate, I'm washing curtains and I bought some plants!
After all these years of standing by the sidelines, I would hate to miss the workshop. And unlike in years past when I was eligible, I know exactly when to send in my ms. Those deadlines from the prior years had a way of appearing after they were gone ...
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