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Clarion West Write-a-thon Progress: How Deep Is Red

Kittywampus
Kittywampus
As many know, I’m participating in this year’s Clarion West Write-a-thon. Last week I let people choose the title of the story I’d write for the write-a-thon’s first week, and the people’s choice was “How Deep Is Red”.

So here’s a chunk from this morning’s writing so far. The story will be the sequel to “Sugar”, which is available in Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight. If you’re interested in getting to see the whole story, then I invite you to support me in the Write-a-thon! I’ll be sending a weekly e-mail that will include the stories that I write for the Write-a-thon over its six-week course, so for a small donation, you’ll be getting what I’d like to think of as high quality fiction. 🙂

Laurana used a bowl of mercury to watch her lover’s battle. The thick, silvery liquid showed the ships from above, a fat-bellied Tabatian merchant, and the two pirate ships, lean-lined and fanged with cannon, converging on it from either side, the wind behind them making them race forward.

Tiny toy ships. The name of the merchant was Saffron Butterfly The pirate ships bore no names, only figureheads of women, one with a flaming skull for a head, the other with bracelets and necklaces of snakes. Flame’s Kiss and The Serpent.

The liquid didn’t transmit sound. For that Laurana relied on imagination: the deep-throated boom of the guns, the crash of cannon balls, the shouts of despair and defiance.

The Kiss neared the merchant. Laurana leaned forward, trying to find Cristina among the mass of pirates: some readying spidery hooks and ropes, others with hackbuts raised and aimed, all braced for collison, another sound dependent on Laurana, whose mind rendered it down to the taste of salt on one’s lips from the relentless wind, the crash louder than anything one had ever heard. There. A purple bandana tied across orange curls. Cristina, swinging herself aboard the pirates’ prey.

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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson

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Frivolous Friday: Miscellaneous Links for 3/22/2013

Links of interest from this week that aren’t related to social media or writing/publishing.

Keffy S. Kehrli provided me with this distracting tale of a man, his cat, and text messages.

If you’re writing steampunk, this resource might prove useful when looking for Victorian slang.

Breaking Free of the Gender Binary is an interesting talk from Laura Lubin about changing gender identity from female to gender neutral.

I don’t know why I want to make a rainbow rose, and the process looks laborious, but the result sure is pretty.

Gauchopunk, from the Multiculturalism for Steampunk blog.

A couple of interesting pages from Scott Berkun’s site. A piece on why even wrong schedules are helpful and a review of a recent book, Why We Love Sociopaths, talking about sociopaths in recent television.

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The Wayward Wormhole - Barbados February 2026 / The Art of the Novella

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Novellas are growing in popularity, and we want to help yours stand out.

Structurally, they can get tricky—they’re not mini-novels anymore than children are mini-adults—while still demanding full, fleshy, character arcs and immersive descriptions.

What if you could learn from professionals, while editing YOUR novella with a real-time feedback during a workshop?

 Applications for this Science-fiction/Fantasy/Horror Novella Workshop

OPEN: March 21, 2024          CLOSE: MAY 15, 2024, AT 11:59:59 EST 

SUBMIT: One page, single spaced, novella synopsis and the first ten pages by April 30, 2025

(The full novella is due October 15, 2025)

  1. E-mail your name and the file to: applywaywardwormhole@gmail.com
  2. Pay the application fee through PayPal to catrambo@gmail.com
  3. or Venmo to cat-rambo-1

If you can’t use these options or need help with the application/payment process, please contact us using the “apply” address above.

Join us and work closely with:

Premee Mohamed  https://premeemohamed.com/

Karen Lord  https://karenlord.wordpress.com/

Tobias Buckell  https://tobiasbuckell.com/

Cat Rambo  https://www.catrambo.com/

Hone YOUR novella during the workshop, and leave knowing you’ve effectively incorporated new tools into your work. Selected students will be randomly sorted into cohorts of six. Each cohort will spend three days with each instructor.

  • Day One will include a morning and afternoon workshop that includes specific exercises that focus on the day’s topic.
  • Day Two is your chance to apply one or both exercises to any scene from YOUR novella. You’ll send both the original scene and the edited version to the people in your cohort and the professional for critique and discussion.
  • Day Three is for critique circles. Your scene will be critiqued by each member of your cohort and the professional.

PLUS: A full novella, One on One discussion with a professional

WHEN: February 7 to 21, 2026

WHERE: Oistins area, Christ Church, Barbados

Why Barbados? Karen Lord invited us, and we couldn’t say no to Barbados.

FEE:  $2,500.00 US

(travel, accommodations, and food NOT included)

The Wayward Wormhole is working to secure group rates at selected hotels.

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