The Marshmallow Ranch Gazette (Patreon)

Volume 2, Issue 12 -- Tuesday, June 27th, 2017

Howdy, patrons!

Summer is in full swing here at the Jackalope Serial Company! The weather has turned bright and sunny (and occasionally murderously hot); 101 has gotten to be a lot more passable without so many commuter students on it; and the Clarion Write-A-Thon is in full swing! After a sabbatical for a couple of years, I'm joining the fundraiser again for a nice shot in the old writing arm. 

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Clarion Write-A-Thon is a fundraiser for the Clarion Workshop, one of the pre-eminent workshops for budding writers of science fiction and fantasy. There are two versions of the workshop in San Diego and Seattle, both taking place RIGHT NOW! In previous years, George RR Martin, Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow, NK Jemisin and Jeff Vandermeer were teachers; Ted Chiang, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnedi Okorafor, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kyell Gold and Ryan Campbell have all been students in previous years as well! One of these days, I hope to join their ranks. For now, I'll hone my craft with them in spirit.

In the Write-A-Thon, authors pledge a specific goal to work towards from June 26th - August 5th (a word count, a number of short stories or essays, a novel) in order to raise money for the Workshop. My writing goal is 50,000 words; my fundraising goal is $500, or 1 cent per word. Only blog entries for The Writing Desk and short stories or serials for the Patreon or submission to pro or semi-pro publications go towards my word count, so I need to be focused on the writing that really matters!

My very first project is "Demolition", a short story prize given to a very, very patient donor for the 2014 Clarion Write-A-Thon. The outline has been written and ready to go; hopefully the first draft will be finished at the end of this week or the beginning of next. From there, the plan is to write the first episode of three different serials and have you lovely folks vote on which one I should move forward with. To be honest, my blog and Patreon will be my top focus for this endeavor, so I want to make sure all of you get the full benefit of this burst of writing.

If you're interested in making a pledge (promising to donate a certain amount per word) or a straightforward donation, here is my author's page: 

http://clarionwriteathon.org/members/profile.php?writerid=599479

Of course, since you're ALREADY contributing to my Patreon (have I thanked you recently, by the way?) there is absolutely no pressure! Simply give what you want, if you want! Feel free to spread the word about the fundraiser regardless -- and check out my beautiful husband's author page here:

http://clarionwriteathon.org/members/profile.php?writerid=266641

Next month, a quick two-part serial lands here. It's called "Too Much Universe", and as I mentioned before it was a bit of a test flight for a shared universe thing I was going for. It's a little rough, but hopefully enjoyable. Part one will go up on July 6th, with the conclusion following on July 20th. 

That's it for now, patrons. Thanks again for your support, and I'll see you next week!