Progress

I went to Boskone in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit. I was a finalist in their annual beginning-writer story contest, aimed at not-yet-pro writers. During the group reading of our work, the first time I had heard the other finalists' stories, I listened to one of them and thought "I am not going to win this. She is going to win this." As indeed she did. But I found I liked being at the front of the room, and decided that I wanted to be at the front of the room more, therefore it was time to make a serious play for this whole writing career thing.

A bit more than a year later, I've just signed the paperwork for my second pro sale. My writing has improved dramatically, as has my steadiness, output, and ability to self-edit.

I've never attended a workshop. The last creative writing class I took was in high school. I haven't actually read the majority of my shelf of "how to write" books. The closest I come to a critique group is Mathfriend reads all my stories and sometimes makes helpful comments. All of this has been "learn to write by writing."

I said when I began, after that Boskone, that I was going to consider myself a Real Writer when I had ten things (I was counting poetry, not just short stories) sold to places that paid me some amount of money. And then, as an afterthought, "Or if I qualify for the SFWA," with an air of "That will never happen first but I'll mention it just to cover all my bases."

Now it looks like that may well happen first.

And I've also got a podcast.

It's been an interesting year.

I wonder where I'll be by next Boskone?