I spent the last two weeks living in Lewis Hall at Kansas University, in Lawrence, Kansas, attending the CSSF Short Story Workshop run by SFWA Grand Master James Gunn and Chris McKitterick (mckitterick).

Each participant submits three stories to the group. Each story is read and critiqued during the first week, along with individual and group assignments. I rewrote the opening scene of "Recycled Dreams" and a new 800-word scene for "Wholesale Goods." That new scene earned me my first words of praise from Jim. Every year, one student really "gets" it, internalizes the lessons and puts them into action. This year, that student was me. Yay.

Over the weekend, each of us rewrote one of our stories (as much as could be done in a weekend). Those rewrites were critiqued during our last week. I rewrote "Wholesale Goods" and received my second compliment for being the most improved. I was a little embarrassed but it a good boost of confidence.

I learned many things during the workshop. I've summarized a few of them below. These are the things that I personally took away with me. If any of these things are wrong, it is solely due to my interpretation and no fault of anyone else.

• Ask the next question.
  
• Think of each scene as a story; it should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, but also move the story forward.
  
• The Science Fiction Sentence - start your story off with a sentence that clearly tells the reader they're reading Science Fiction
  
• Dramatize the story instead of just telling it
  
• Main characters should be at least as smart as your reader. Dumb protagonists are bad.
  
• There are more than five senses. Invoke at least three of them per scene.
• 'Defecate' describes it, but 'shit' lets you smell it.
  
• The most important thing to a story is an interesting character with a problem.
  

My writing skills have improved significantly thanks to the CSSF Workshop. Special thanks to Jim and Chris for running the workshop, again to Chris for offering to let us hang out at his house and watch old Science Fiction, and last but not least
kijjohnson, who took the short story workshop as well as taught the novel workshop, for the encouraging words and discussions on our individual problems and challenges. All of my fellow workshoppers were wonderful people and I enjoyed spending time with them.

The next thing that I need to fix my overuse of passive prose. I'm going through "Wholesale Goods" now, rewriting it to be active. As it do this, I've discovered something. Passive voice is telling. Active is showing. This draft is ending up to be a much more solid story. I'm hoping to have it finished and submitted somewhere (no idea where yet) in a couple weeks.

I'm itching to finish my revisions, submit, and get started on new stories. I have three bouncing around inside my skull right now. I outlined one of them during the workshop. I just need to do the same for the other two.  I also started putting together a set of writing exercises to work on the things I want to improve on.  I'll be posting these in the coming days/weeks.

If you're a new writer and thinking of attending a Science Fiction workshop, I can't recommend this one enough.  The teachers are passionate and knowledgeable about the subject.  As with any workshop, go in to it open-minded and willing to consider the feedback and advice offered.  You'll be a better writer for it.

The 2007 CSSF workshop ended today, and boy what a memorable ending it was.  Jim was making his final remarks when the tornado siren went off.  We ended up lounging in the basement until the threat had passed.

After dinner, we finished watching Flash Gordon (the original serial from the 1930's).  It's so campy that you can't help but watch and laugh. The friendships you build with your fellow workshop attendees and teachers is just as valuable as the lessons you learn during the workshop, I think.  Science Fiction is about people, after all.

I'm off to Kansas City tomorrow afternoon, where I'll be reunited with Dena.  We haven't been apart longer than a few days since we started dating over a decade ago. The workshop was worth every minute away, but it will be good to be back.

Much digesting of knowledge still to do.  I think I have a pretty solid handle on the things I need to focus on next (passive writing in particular).  I feel really good about the revisions I need to do and think I've got a decent shot at getting published once I finish.

Tonight a group of us went to see the new Transformers movie.  I have been apprehensive about seeing a remake of one of my favorite childhood cartoons, but my fears turned out to be unfounded.  Yes, Bumblebee will always and forever be a Volkswagen Beetle to me.  Besides the continuity issues, the movie was action-packed, campy fun.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is our last workshop day.  Thursday sometime I'll pack up and drive to Kansas City.  Dena flys in on a late flight, and we'll be staying at the Westin Hotel for the Heinlein Centennial.  The only people I know there will be the ones I've met at the workshop.  It should be a good opportunity to meet some new faces.

We'll be getting home sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday next week.  I'm not entirely sure which day yet.  We haven't decided which route we're going to take.  We may swing through St. Louis, or we might visit the Amana Colonies in Iowa.  Either way it will be an adventure.

It's going to take me a little time to digest everything I've learned here at the workshop.  I'll be posting my thoughts on the workshop experience, lessons learned, and some writing exercises I've assembled after I've had a chance to spend time with Dena, sleep and play with the dogs. 

The three workshop stories will go through one more round of rewrites before I start sending them out.  I'm aiming to have that done this month.  I've got a few other stories that I'd like to get working on soon, but my first priority needs to be finishing the ones I already have written.  They're mostly where they need to be, or I at least know what I need to do to get them there.

The first week of the workshop is over. I'm tired and still processing everything, which I suspect will take weeks to fully seek in and be realized.

Yesterday was a more relaxed day. I went shopping in downtown Lawrence and bought a few t-shirts:


The Zelda shirt is for Dena; the rest are for me.

We all went out for dinner (I had Costa Rican Corn Tamales) and watched old Sci-Fi at mckitterick's house.  Johnny Quest, Flash Gordon (the serials from 1936) and some interviews with people about John W. Campbell.

Today's going to be a working day.  I need do some laundry and finish my rewrite of "Wholesale Goods" for group tomorrow.

The workshop has been busy-busy-busy so updates have been sparse.  I've mostly kept up on emails but that's been all.  Reading has occupied most of my time, followed by assignments and sleep.  There must be something with the water in Kansas; I've slept more than five hours every night I've been here.  Peculiar.

Critiques are going well.  The feedback has been invaluable and I'm looking forward to the weekend, when I'll be rewriting one of my stories (how to choose?!) for re-review next week and going through some writing exercises I've been thinking about.

We had a discussion about sensory detail today and the topic turned to the fact that there are actually twenty one (or more) recognized senses.

The classic five senses:

1. Sight
2. Hearing
3. Taste
4. Smell
5. Touch

The expanded list of 21:

1. Light
2. Color
3. Hearing
4. Smell
5. Sweet taste
6. Sour taste
7. Salty taste
8. Bitter taste
9. Umami taste (the meaty taste found in soy sauce)
10. Touch
11. Balance
12. Proprioception (joint position)
13. Kinaesthesis (movement)
14. Heat
15. Cold
16. Blood pressure
17. Blood oxygen content
18. Cerebrospinal fluid pH
19. Plasma osmotic potential (thirst)
20. Artery-vein glucose difference (hunger)
21. Lung inflation.

The trick, of course, is to work sensory details in to your story to give the world a richer feel.  An interesting challenge would be to write a short story that engages all twenty-one senses.

Today was the beginning of the CSSF Short Story Workshop and I'm pleased to announce that I have survived relatively unscathed.

My first story, "Recycled Dreams," was up for critique.  It is the most polished of the three stories being reviewed, so I was glad we covered it first.  We had a good discussion about the things I could have done differently, better ways I could have presented the idea and had a more dramatic impact.  It really sparked some ideas on where to go with the story, if I can work through one pesky logic problem.

I have my newest story, "Wholesale Goods," up on the block tomorrow.  I'm a bit more nervous about this story.  It's my newest piece, written specifically for the workshop.  Very first draft.  Dena is the only person I've let read it.  I tried to be a little looser in my prose, since I have the tendency to be sparse when I write.

We all went out to dinner at the Mad Greek.  I received some very nice encouragement from kijjohnson over some flaming cheese.  She compared my writing to her own when she was just starting out.  It's always good to get reassurances that you're on the right track.

I have three stories to critique tonight and one small assignment from Jim Gunn, to write a couple paragraphs of a new start to "Recycled Dreams."  I've got an idea where I want to start it but I need to noodle on it a bit more.

I'm all settled into the dorm, after a very long day.  The drive to Kansas was pretty boring.  Breakfast in the Amana Colonies was spectacular.  I don't think I've ever walked out of a restaurant so full before.  I didn't eat again until dinner.  Thanks, mckitterick!

I expect to be pretty busy with the workshop over the next couple weeks but I'll do my best to keep people updated on how things are progressing.  Everyone I've met has been great and I'm really looking forward to sitting down and getting to work.  I'm even going to sit in on some of the novel workshop run by kijjohnson.  I don't think I'm quite ready to tackle that first novel but I've got the itch.  I told myself that I won't start writing one until I've had at least a few short stories published but it won't hurt to be prepared.  Who knows, maybe I'll return again next year and take the novel workshop for real.

Off to bed for me.  I want to get up early and re-read all the short stories up for critique tomorrow.

Putting together everything I'll need to survive two and a half weeks away from home. I'm trying not to forget anything vital. It's been a very long time since I've been away from home for this long.

• My trusty Moleskin notebook
• Alarm Clock
• Blankets
• Pillows
• Clothes!
• Macbook Pro
• Laser Printer & paper
• Assorted toiletries
• Towels!
• Power cords
• iPod and headphones
• GPS
• Reading materials
• The Science of Science Fiction by James Gunn
• Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
• Glory Road by Robert Heinlein
• A Place So Foreign And 8 More by Corey Doctorow
• Subterranean Magazine #5, which has a great story by Orson Scott Card in it
• 15+ short stories being workshopped
  

I'm probably forgetting dozens of things I'll end up needing. I'm going to pack up the truck on Saturday evening and leave the house around 6AM on Sunday. I've got plenty of time to get down there so I'm going to fire up Google Earth and see what strange places I can visit on the way.

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