Sunday, June 24th. It's been a busy day.

Woke up. Read some short stories by famous published folks (looking to see what works and what doesn't, and further researching our own instructor for the week, Bradley Denton). Ended up declining an invitation to stroll around the neighborhood with some of our group because I was trying to get a few stories completed before I did anything else... and, besides, for the first time since Clarion West started, it was actually *precipitating* in Seattle (a light drizzle).

However, I later accepted an invitation to play ultimate Frisbee once I'd read "enough". I am, as I've mentioned before in this Clarion West journal, a fat old man. I haven't played Ultimate since college. And, even though I'm in a little better shape now than I was a week ago (thanks to rigorous walks every day), I'm not yet quite up to maintaining the pace of my more athletic comrades. So, we ran up and down a drizzly field in slippery grass, throwing and trying to catch a slick flying disc while slipping and sliding on the ground. In short, I had a great work out.

But, oy! Me feets is killing me!

While the six of us were playing in the rain, a few others were beginning the preparations for a grand meal. One of our Canadian compatriots was spearheading an effort to build a Thai cuisine ensemble that would work for both the vegans and the meat-eaters among us.
She had been planning this for a few days, and eventually *all* of us opted in for the meal, including our instructor for the week.

Those of us who were playing Frisbee returned with enough time to shower before the Sunday kick-off meeting. As it so happens, there is no sound-proofing between the women's and the men's showers; as a couple of us began our showers on the men's side, a couple of our female colleagues engaged us in conversation that led to the two of us in the men's showers singing poorly harmonized tunes from the 40s and 50s as we washed away the grime from our Frisbee match. When we came out of the showers, we were greeted by mock applause from others in the lounge who could apparently hear our concert even out there.

At five, we assembled as a group and met Bradley Denton. He told us that this week, he wanted us to build upon what we had been working on last week (character, conflict, and conclusion... he also added "complications" to the conflict part) and pay particular attention to the opening of the story. He read us a few examples, and then asked us to write a paragraph justifying (my word; not his) the opening to our story. We need to explain how the opening relates to and sets up all that is to follow in the rest of the story. This sounds like a very useful exercise; I'm looking forward to it.

He also told us that he particularly encourages his students to use standard English. This makes good business sense, as editors are not likely to read more than a paragraph of your submission if the proper mechanics of language aren't there. He also noted that readers respond better to standard English (and, who wants to bump out the reader), and that there is something to be said for showing respect for your language.

Agree or disagree (I happen to agree) with this philosophy, the fact is that for at least the next week, our grammar is going to be under closer scrutiny than many of us typically experience.

After the group pow-wow, we settled in for our large group meal, which was absolutely fantastic and filling. There was enough tasty food for everyone (it can't be easy to cook for eighteen people when you're used to cooking for a more manageable group. My hat goes off to Karen, our ring-leader and head chef for this endeavor), a delicious fruit salad for dessert, and fun conversation. A few of us set up tables in the big room where we have our weekly kick-off meeting; a few others of us broke the arrangement down afterward and washed the dishes.

After an abortive attempt at organizing a movie screening (the Clarion West administrators were kind enough to arrange that we have a wide-screen TV in our lounge, plus VCR), most of us headed off to work on our respective projects for the coming week. I began reading a long-ish Greg Egan story that was recommended by our Australian comrade, and talked over my story idea for this week with both Paulette and a member of this year's class, both of whom gave me some good things to think about.

I'm quite optimistic about Bradley Denton working with us this week; he's clearly going to help us build on what we've already begun with Octavia Butler, and I think I can learn a lot from him as far as style goes. I've enjoyed each of the stories of his that I've read so far, and particularly enjoy the style with which he writes. (Of course, I can say the same for all of the other instructors for this year's Clarion West, even though they all have a different style. :) It doesn't hurt that the guy has had experience teaching. Here's to another excellent week at Clarion West!