Hello fellow applicants!

I've been waiting for this forum to go up! The wait for results have been killing me! It definitely has been a source of procrastination for my studies, searching the net for news/hints about response times, checking out various interviews of the different instructors, and reading Clash of Kings ;). In other words, I hope I get in! I'm 24, from DC but reside in Oakland, and primarily write horror, but have many fantasy and science fiction stories under my belt (and swimming around in my head) as well. I've only gotten one short story accepted (will be up on Fiction365.com next week) but am diligently trying for more, and have also completed drafts of a few novels. I wrote a post-apocalyptic horror/science fiction short story about an infected finger gaining a mind of its own for the contest. Enough about me. What are you alls' backgrounds?
‹ Any applicants to C-SD here? Pass the time...Introduce yourself! ›

Comments

UCSD said up front that they

Submitted by JCKey618 on March 22, 2012 - 6:48am.

UCSD said up front that they would hear by the 20th (it got pushed back to today, the 22nd). Also, I think George R.R. Martin being one of the instructors this year probably upped the applicants. I imagine he attracted both serious writers and people who just want to try to meet him. Either way, more applicants means more time, as I assume with the $40 reading fee they have some obligation to read through all the writings (unlike magazines with slush piles ad first-page only readings.

That all said, I still hope we hear this week!

And, oh yeah, line spaces!

The end of your last comment

Submitted by naicirk on March 22, 2012 - 11:40am.

The end of your last comment made my day, JCKey618.

Gotta

love

those

line

spaces!

By the way, I have to thank

Submitted by naicirk on March 22, 2012 - 12:43pm.

By the way, I have to thank PussInBoots for introducing us to the magical world of line spaces.

I'm glad I could help. The

Submitted by PussInBoots on March 22, 2012 - 9:21pm.

I'm glad I could help. The #clarionwest hashtag on Twitter is depressing me, so thanks for giving me a smile. <3

I didn't even think about

Submitted by cnickolascarlson on March 22, 2012 - 9:23pm.

I didn't even think about Twitter! Now I'm gonna have to follow that, too. Oh man.

It's interesting that USCD

Submitted by JessN on March 22, 2012 - 6:37am.

It's interesting that USCD people are starting to hear replies but still nothing from CW. I wonder if they have more man-power (to read applications faster) or if they have less applicants o.O I wonder which workshop is more popular application-wise? I would have assumed the original Clarion!

I haven't heard from them,

Submitted by SerDeklayn on March 22, 2012 - 12:21am.

I haven't heard from them, I'm not a great self editor either ilorien.

I didn't apply to CSD as

Submitted by SerDeklayn on March 22, 2012 - 12:20am.

I didn't apply to CSD as well; because that would be the logical thing to do. I've been hitting my head while reading all these posts of people who applied to both. I have heard from CW yet either. Its driving me crazy!

I received word from another

Submitted by teemtwo on March 22, 2012 - 12:12am.

I received word from another applicant to Clarion SD that he was not accepted into that program & is waiting on CW's answer so apparently CSD is already giving responses but I didn't apply to that one so I'm waiting for CW patiently *fingers crossed* Has anyone that applied to both been accepted to CSD?

I've been debating on whether

Submitted by cnickolascarlson on March 21, 2012 - 10:44pm.

I've been debating on whether to post something to this topic since I'm so bad about talking about myself, but it beats the heck out of waiting for my phone to ring or for the rejection email to come. I have been sending out stories and writing new ones in the weeks since the app deadline in order to pass the time, but my mind works too fast and somehow I can still worry about not getting called while drafting new stories and cover letters. (And poems. I write poems, too.)

BTW, has anyone else had a number you didn't know pop up on your phone and had that heart-in-throat panic set in only to have it be some telemarketer or credit card scammer? That happened to me today and it's terrible. Grr. 

About me. I'm 27, I'm queer, and I have an MA in English, which turns out to be a great way to keep people from hiring you for jobs. I'm a writer of many things, poems and stories, but in terms of genre stories I tend toward fantasy and contemporary weird stuff over science fiction. And when I do delve into the sci-fi side, there's a distinct lack of technical details and such, which would put my work more in the space fantasy camp than the science fiction camp. I'm currently single, have no pets, and spend most of my free time reading and writing. I enjoy hanging out with friends, talking about pop culture, and watching videos, particularly horror movies, though usually I end up watching those alone as my friends don't much care for horror. I have a few publication credits in poetry and an interview I conducted with a Pushcart Prize-winning poet, but nothing in genre magazines (yet). But I persevere and keep sending my darling stories out to be rejected (and someday accepted). 

Here's wishing everyone the best in being considered for the workshop. Hopefully there will be some good news for a few of us here on the forums. For the rest of us, we should remember that the attempt is the thing, that in striving for something, we've already succeeded. 

My "OMG PHONE!!!1 IT'S

Submitted by PussInBoots on March 22, 2012 - 10:40am.

My "OMG PHONE!!!1 IT'S RINGING!" moment turned out to be a woman looking for a dogsitter named Sarah. >:(

Yea, I got a call from an

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 22, 2012 - 4:42am.

Yea, I got a call from an unknown number while writing at a coffee shop with fairly loud music. I grabbed the phone and ran to the entry area brtween the two sets of glass doors. Heart thumping wildly, I plugged one ear and answered with as much calm as I could manage...only to hear someone from the relo company ask for my husband. :/. Sigh And inreply to that last bit: if we DON'T get in this year, I hope to see you all here NEXT year...which means you're still writing, still improving, still giving it your best! Good luck, everyone! (AAARGH, my cyborg parts are controlling me--stupid CAPTCHA!)

I put the Clarion contact

Submitted by JCKey618 on March 22, 2012 - 5:27am.

I put the Clarion contact number in my phone and listed it as OMG WTF IT'S CLARION!!! That should get my attention... I'm also kicking myself over not applying to UCSD. I didn't really know about it until after the deadline.... I'm starting to wonder if the mid-April thing is true. I was hoping it was just a wiggle room thing put on the site and that this year would follow a similar timing as years in the past. The gag-order makes sense but kind of sucks because we have no way of knowing when people start getting in. But I haven't seen any West rejections floating around on the web yet. So, I'll continue to see if any of you all randomly disappear ;)

Hmmm, putting the number in

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 22, 2012 - 12:02pm.

Hmmm, putting the number in my phone...will wonders never cease? What a great idea! But did I think of it......NOOOOO!
( insert dope-slap noises here)

Funny that you should mention

Submitted by naicirk on March 22, 2012 - 6:01am.

Funny that you should mention people randomly disappearing. It seems like there are new people logging on and more of us. :)

In regard to the phone

Submitted by ilorien on March 21, 2012 - 11:21pm.

In regard to the phone numbers, if and when the call comes, it'll probably be from a 206 area coded number. Given that I live in Seattle, I get a lot of calls from 206 area coded number. A lot of heart-in-throat panic moments.

Yep, I had a heart attack 2

Submitted by Eppie Morrie on March 22, 2012 - 10:34am.

Yep, I had a heart attack 2 weeks ago when I got a call from a 360 number. Just not tracking, I knew Seattle was 206. Turned out I could enter to win a vacation in the Bahamas :)

Uh... "numbers," not number.

Submitted by ilorien on March 21, 2012 - 11:22pm.

Uh... "numbers," not number. Not a great proof-reader / self-editor, I guess.

Hey fellow applicants, I'm

Submitted by SerDeklayn on March 21, 2012 - 2:15pm.

Hey fellow applicants, I'm Jack. I'm also slipping off the rocker waiting, checking my email and phone every ten minutes. I just noticed the mid-April bit, I shed a single tear.

Captcha is there to be sure

Submitted by ilorien on March 21, 2012 - 12:08am.

Captcha is there to be sure we're all human... or rather, to be sure that we're all *still* human! 'Cause it really sucks for the CW folks when one of their approved users suddenly goes all cylon and leaves malicious comments on the forums. Fortunately, however, cylons can't handle the captcha challenge... right?

Ah, I wasn't accounting for

Submitted by PussInBoots on March 21, 2012 - 1:28am.

Ah, I wasn't accounting for humans that can turn into robots ;) I guess you can never be too careful.

The cyborgs, really. Their

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 21, 2012 - 5:00am.

The cyborgs, really. Their computer parts take on an AI, overwhelm the humanity...and start sending spam to force evolution on their computer-brethren. Welcome to the Waiting, Cory. (And I appreciate your comments over on my blog)

Hey everyone. I'm Cory. I

Submitted by PussInBoots on March 20, 2012 - 8:32pm.

Hey everyone. I'm Cory. I kept the fact that I applied secret from pretty much everyone I know but my boyfriend. I am still stupidly, face-palmingly afraid of my friends finding out I applied and making me more anxious with their well-meaning questions.

I started writing toward publication in 2005, and I've been published a handful of times, but I can tell there's some crucial skills I still need before I can play with the big dogs. I'm not going to take that metaphor any further, because I think it ends up with something about peeing on the fire hydrants of rejection letters and chasing the mailmen of award nominations, and I don't want to get kicked out before I even get in.

I particularly love the

Submitted by alychelms on March 20, 2012 - 10:14pm.

I particularly love the ongoing dog metaphor given your username :)

Stupid Captcha

Submitted by alychelms on March 20, 2012 - 10:14pm.

Stupid Captcha

inorite? The weird thing is,

Submitted by PussInBoots on March 20, 2012 - 10:18pm.

inorite? The weird thing is, I think we have to be logged in to comment, and all accounts are approved by administrators. So why is the captcha there?

I particularly love the

Submitted by alychelms on March 20, 2012 - 10:13pm.

I particularly love the ongoing dog metaphor given your username :)

I'll go on a limb and say

Submitted by JCKey618 on March 20, 2012 - 8:16am.

I'll go on a limb and say that since just about all the people who started posting here are still posting, acceptances haven't gone out yet, as chances have it that SOME percentage of us would get it. Then again, you could all be double-agents.

*snickering*. How did you

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 20, 2012 - 8:37am.

*snickering*. How did you know?!? Was my lurking on the forums, darting behind a posting when someone else entered? :-)

Does anyone know how they

Submitted by crysaleflar on March 20, 2012 - 12:00am.

Does anyone know how they notify you? Email? Phone? Clarion Blog?

CW prefers phone for

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 20, 2012 - 5:15am.

CW prefers phone for acceptances, I think. C-SD I don't know but I'd guess acceptances are phone. Rejections go out by postal or email usually.

Oh, so they notify you by

Submitted by naicirk on March 20, 2012 - 8:36am.

Oh, so they notify you by phone if you get accepted? Didn't know that. I thought it was going to be a formal email or something of the like, similar to the rejections. I guess now I'm going to have an intense relationship with both my email and my phone.

Previous years had a rush of

Submitted by JessN on March 19, 2012 - 10:06pm.

Previous years had a rush of activity this week. It's oddly quiet. Maybe they're on a gag order? Or perhaps acceptances/rejections will all happen at once this year.

I've been wondering this too

Submitted by candy_luminous on March 19, 2012 - 11:39pm.

I've been wondering this too - there's been such complete silence that I'm wondering whether acceptances and rejections are ALL going out on March 20 (for UCSD) and soon afterwards (for West). Maybe everything has just taken a bit longer this year, or they've had a huge number of applicants? I guess we'll find out soon, one way or another - if there's a very successful gag order, there'll presumably be a heap of "I've had to keep it so secret but now I can announce it!" blog posts.

The CW site now says

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 20, 2012 - 5:13am.

The CW site now says applicants will hear by mid-April, and I know it's a change 'cause another place still has the "end of March" verbiage. C-SD should be getting to the end today...but I'm pretty sure ther both keep gag orders on until later.... Keep breathing, keep breathing!

Yeah, I saw the mid-April bit

Submitted by JessN on March 20, 2012 - 6:40am.

Yeah, I saw the mid-April bit before I applied, but the e-mail acknowledging the applications still says to contact them if you haven't heard anything by March 30th. If they really are pushing up the notification period to mid-April, they're going to get a slew of e-mails at the end of this month! Yikes!

Bets on this week? I wonder

Submitted by JCKey618 on March 19, 2012 - 10:05pm.

Bets on this week? I wonder if anyone has gotten calls yet...

I've been passing the time by

Submitted by JCKey618 on March 18, 2012 - 7:37pm.

I've been passing the time by distributing the story I applied with (and others) to various magazines and racking up the rejections! I guess it's kind of like taking your mind off one pain by pinching yourself somewhere else. I'm trying to finish a short story I started a while ago, though. It has great potential, I just have to get around to writing the ending.

Yeah, I know that pain; ouch

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 19, 2012 - 4:51am.

Yeah, I know that pain; ouch on all sides. Good luck with finishing this 'new'/old one. For me at least, endings can be tough (I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer, so I don't know where I'm going 'til I'm halfway there. It makes for an interesting ride, but isn't always the fastest route...).

Wow. You guys are ahead of

Submitted by naicirk on March 19, 2012 - 6:51am.

Wow. You guys are ahead of me. I have several short stories and a novella written, but haven't sent anything out yet for publication. My novella still needs a lot of work, but I should think about sending the short stories to see if a publication will accept them. I still need to go through the rejection rites of passage.

Definitely! Send them out.

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 19, 2012 - 9:56am.

Definitely! Send them out. The wait (like with CW) is killer, and the rejection doesn't feel great ... but you'll never be published if you don't send them out. Also, the occasional "personal note" is awesome! "Almost" as good as an acceptance. My first submission was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I'd found a market that closed for submissions at the end of the day, and a story I'd written sounded like a possible fit -- so I jumped in and just did it. I had to hurry, so it was easy! Only afterward did I get the nervous willies and wonder "What did I just DO?" But I don't regret it at all, and in hindsight I can see it was the best way for me to get over the hurdle of myself in submitting. And chances are, if you start submitting soon, you can 'catch up' to us in the rejection races ;-)

Earlier years' forums gave

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 18, 2012 - 7:13pm.

Earlier years' forums gave the advice to pass the time by writing a new short story while you wait for your Clarion response. I'm thinking this is great advice, and I'm putting it into practice tomorrow. Anyone else?

I'm following that wise

Submitted by JessN on March 19, 2012 - 12:41pm.

I'm following that wise advice as well! Nothing gets your mind off this world like creating a different one.

Hi all! I have been waiting

Submitted by teemtwo on March 16, 2012 - 6:10pm.

Hi all! I have been waiting for this too and if allowed on this site I was planning to start such a discussion. I'm a southerner - born & raised in Atlanta,Ga and writing my first sci-fi/fantasy series, The Elements. I'm an editorial writer for an online periodical and looking forward to a response either way. I have completed a mainstream literary fiction novel, a few short stories and the 1st book in my series. I am currently writing books II & III. I want to attend Clarion west so I can perfect my craft by writing new short stories & I'm up for the intense challenges. Good luck to all!

Howdy, folks. I'm a Seattle

Submitted by ilorien on March 16, 2012 - 10:02am.

Howdy, folks. I'm a Seattle native. I think of myself as a science fiction writer, but a lot of what ends up on the page is fantasy. No publications to date and only a few submissions, but I've got a growing stack of short story and novelette drafts awaiting revision. As for the status of my CW application... I'm trying not to think about it more than three times per hour. Good luck, all!

Howdy! and good luck with

Submitted by teemtwo on March 16, 2012 - 6:11pm.

Howdy! and good luck with your writing endeavors!

Wow, Micaiah, three times an

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 16, 2012 - 2:15pm.

Wow, Micaiah, three times an hour is all? I'm impressed! Well, hubby says I'm obsessed; I just think we're all very, very interested...

Hi! I'm now living in

Submitted by Mary Garber on March 16, 2012 - 8:00am.

Hi! I'm now living in Cleveland, just moved here 3 weeks ago from Columbus, and am an Ohio native. I'm mainly a fantasy writer, but the occasional SF sneaks out now and again. Congrats JC on your recent sale!

Hi & good luck on your

Submitted by teemtwo on March 16, 2012 - 6:12pm.

Hi & good luck on your writing endeavors!