Me cooking meat.
(Click on photos for a larger version.)
Erin washes bad stinky dog.
Clarion West Class of 08
Photo credit: Rose O'Keefe
My second momentous thing is: I attended the Clarion West workshop in Seattle
I did something I thought I'd never do again. I lived in a sorority house for six weeks.
This is the part of my year that I don't know how to write about. Mainly because most people reading this have already heard about it and are probably like, "Blah Clarion, talk about something else already." But also because I really hate making corny statements about how such-and-so changed my life but this summer changed my life.
Yum. Corn.
For the three people who don't know what I'm talking about: CW is an intensive speculative fiction workshop. Me and my seventeen new best friends spent six weeks reading, writing and speaking nerd and learning from fantastic writers. It was really amazing and wonderful and I'm still finding it hard to believe that I can be this far along in life and have such an incredible transformational experience.
Gag. Okay. I'll stop. I wrote more than you'd ever care to read about it here.
My total output for 2008 is about 14 short stories, a 44k word "novel" which was part of National Novel Writing Month and more of a writing exercise than something I intend to do something with. And a screenplay. That's more productivity than in the last 20 years.
So, when are you going to be seeing this stuff out in the world? Working on it. Believe me, you will be the first to know.
Here's my quick 2008 wrap-up:
My reading list for 2008 is here. It's sort of pitiful but then I did all that writing.
Some of my favorites were Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (wow, why haven't I read her before?), Pyongyang by Guy Delisle (comic about a guy in N. Korea. Really good), The Road by Cormac McCarthy (couldn't get it out of my head for days) and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (fantastic protagonist).
I didn't see very many movies, either but some of my picks: Burn After Reading (Coen brothers! Great performances), Vicki Christina Barcelona (more great performances, go Penelope Cruz), Charlie Wilson's War (one of those I didn't expect to like and got completely caught up in), Prince Caspian (Prince Hottie Leather Pants), and The Lookout (good under-appreciated heist movie). And my favorite of the year Slumdog Millionaire.
I don't think I added any new TV shows. I still like Doctor Who, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica and Lost. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but you'll live.
This year I am offering up a short story as part of the holiday letter. The Casino Gargoyle. A few people have already read it and if this is you and you feel like your entire holiday newsletter experience is ruined because you didn't get a fresh story, drop me a note and I'll see what I can find for you.
Originally I had this grand plan about how I was going to print it out and make little chapbooks and write on each one and mail them out. HA! HA!
If you want to leave a comment you can send an email to pam(at)pamrentz.com or, you can return to the blog and leave a comment.
Why don't I go ahead and wish you a happy holidays for 2009 in case I'm running behind again next year. But it's not to late to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
much love, Pamela
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