Ragdale Journal: Day…

Ragdale Journal: Day Five, the Summation

Four days at Ragdale (arriving midday on Monday, leaving midday on Friday).

A dozen or so photos taken, and two sketches drawn.

One new short story, drafted, and it�s good! One more pass and it�ll be ready to submit to lit mags.

One entire YA novel, read aloud and retyped, 73,000 words. It�s clean now, and I think it�s really good. I�d be comfortable self-publishing it as is, and I will, if I can�t find a publisher. I�m going to give it a year � if it doesn�t find a publisher by the end of summer 2014, expect to see a Kickstarter for it next fall. But as of right now, I�ve submitted it to an editor; cross your fingers for me.

No knitting done � I took two projects with me, in case I got stuck on the writing, but that didn�t happen. That�s okay.

One volume of Ploughshares read (really good overall, edited by Peter Ho Davies; glad I subscribed), and half of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (judgement held in abeyance until I�m done with it)

One walk on the prairie (need to remember insect repellent next year), two swims at the beach (chilly, but awesome).

Three dinners with other artists, and some new Facebook friends made. (Hello, Fern! Hello, Marie!)

Four nights of solid sleep.

One writer, ready to finalize her syllabi over the weekend, answer a pile of e-mails, delete whatever e-mails remain on Monday (eep), declaring e-mail bankruptcy, and dive into the new semester with a inbox zero and a clear head.

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