A Quick Word... On Clarion (In Which I Prostitute Myself For A Good Cause)

A few years ago I found out about Clarion. One of the problems with wanting to write fantasy fiction is that often no-one really reaches out to hold your hand. Some forms of writing are quite collaborative, or at least have large communities, but writing of the fantastic kind seems to be crafted by a large group of terrified loners working very hard to avoid each other.

For that reason, finding Clarion was like finding the holy grail of genre fiction nerds. The folks at Clarion take up-and-coming sci-fi and fantasy writers, and they throw them all together for a few weeks at a university in the U.S, where = they are taught and encouraged by the genre's greats. Two of my absolute favourites, George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman, have both been Clarion tutors in their time and it is one of my major writing ambitions to one day gain acceptance into the program.

The folk at Clarion are fully aware that one of the barriers towards entering the program is financial. It's a funny thing, but struggling authors looking to get started in the publishing world often don't have enough money to make it to the other side of the world, even for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Who would've thought it? Although their sponsors in the field are numerous and generous, they still struggle, and seek new and more ambitious ways to fundraise.

And I'm helping. Because I love what Clarion do, and for my own future I'm relying on the fact that they continue doing it. From now until August 6th I will be writing for a minimum of 1 hour a day (and even more to catch up on the period I missed while away on holiday). Every few days I will pick something I'm reasonably happy with to put up on this blog.

Oh I see, you're wondering exactly how that helps Clarion are you? Well, it doesn't. But it could! Because here is a donation page:

http://www.theclarionfoundation.org/writeathon/wrtn-writerpage.php?writerID=6105

And you can support my project by making a small donation to Clarion. You're still doubting aren't you? Surely I'll write whether you donate or not? Well I'm one step ahead of you yet again Judas! Because if you donate $5, I'll write something (and post it here) dedicated to you. Within reason, you can request whatever you like, or let me go for it myself. Just tell me when you've made a donation, either to me personally, or through the shopping cart on the website above, and I'll make sure you get a story all of your very own.

And to top it off, Amazon will match your donation dollar for dollar.

There is no pressure here, but every tiny bit will make a massive difference to an organisation that means a great deal to me personally. So if you find it within your means to fling a few dollars it's way -

Thank you. And I look forward to writing for you soon.