I forgot to mention yesterday that the thing I liked most about Twice Sold Tales was the fact that there were cats everywhere! I spent as much time petting cats as I did looking at books. My brother has told me that he has just acquired two kittens, which will be very cool to see. I'm really in the mood to have cats of my own again. I can't have them where I'm living now (not here in Seattle, I mean in Missisippi), but--on that note--I'm thinking more and more about getting a place of my own anyway. Not immediately; I still enjoy the cheap rent and I need to pay off many bills first. But maybe after the first of the year. It was vital for me to have other people around me after I moved out of the house that my ex and I had shared, but I'm ready to have some solitude. Yes, I know that much of that is backlash from living in such close quarters with so many other people, but I also think it is indicative of the progress I've made in my emotional well-being. So, probably after the first of the year I'll get a place of my own.

* * * * *

Well, I wrote eight stories while I was here. It took me about four days to write this last one, and it was only 1600 words! Sheesh. Burn-out factor, I guess. Finishing it was a pleasure though, and it was a relief to know that I did not have to immediately begin scrambling for an idea for the next one. But we're still not done. There are seven stories to read tonight (about 25K words total), and I think six people are signed up to turn in stories tomorrow. Dave Myers counted the stories up for us, and as of today we've written 121 stories. Which means we've also read and critiqued 121 stories. And "critique" is not just saying whether you liked it or not. Pretty much everyone writes up fairly in-depth critiques of each story, and then hands it to the person after class. Amazing to think that anyone could keep this sort of pace up for so long. Small wonder I'm tired.

But at least I don't feel like I never want to write again. I think I'm more motivated now than ever. I have a handful of stories that were fairly well-received, and got generally positive comments from various instructors. Those I look forward to rewriting and getting on the market. Others need more work, but I don't know that I wrote anything that I think is unsalvageable. And I must admit, I do get a bit of a charge out of the fact that--even though I still have no publication credits to put in a cover letter--I can at least say "Graduate of Clarion West 1998."