Walks at Clarion West

Unless you bring a car to Clarion West, you'll probably do a lot of walking. Walk to buy groceries, go out to eat, go to the Tuesday readings, and just to get out of the house and mull over story ideas. 

The weather in Seattle in the summer is wonderful. Perfect for long walks. And there are sidewalks everywhere. Not the kind of sidewalks where a tiny bit of paved walkway is so close to the busy street that it isn't safe. Big sidewalks. And if you take the residential route down to the shopping areas, it's peppered with sculptural trees, 

bordered by beautiful houses, 

garnished with lovely bits of strangeness. 

I always took the residential route when going down to eat at Wayward Vegan Cafe. The roads were quieter (except for the one frat house that had a pool and basketball court in the front yard) and the walking helped me decompress after the morning crit sessions.

Walking every day became part of my writing routine, and when I came home from Clarion West I threaded it into my life. The workshop had an overwhelmingly positive impact on my writing, but it also yielded some unexpected benefits, like a healthy walking habit.  

The deadline to apply to the 2013 Clarion West Writers Workshop is March 1st. If you're thinking of applying, I'd like to give you a friendly nudge. (Do it! Apply!! APPLY!!)

This workshop is amazing. You'll come out the other side with so many writing friends, at least 5 new stories, a better understanding of your style, a good idea of your weaknesses and how to work on them, and the drive to keep on writing. Or at least, that's a few of the things Clarion West gave to me.

The deadline is this Friday - go here and submit your best writing. Good luck!