As I mentioned before, my Clarion Write-a-thon will have a prize for one sponsor, drawn at random.  I will be doing a Cheshire Cat string art for the lucky donor.  For over a week it was looking like it would be an easy drawing with a 100% chance of victory for my one lone donor.  But, low, behold, a second sponsor has emerged.  Their chances of victory, a comfortable 50%.

Today, at much personal risk to myself, I ventured forth into the plague-ridden wastes of suburban Cleveland, Ohio, and returned with the raw material for my weapon of mass fundraising.

Yes, a board, nails, strings of many colors, and a string of LED lights.  Want to see the progress of my terrible, not so skilled craft in support of the craft of writing?  Sponsor me here: https://clarionwriteathon.org/members/profile.php?writerid=761322

Last night, at a free, on-line, Clarion panel, Kim Stanley Robinson mused if Clarion had done a disservice to writers by focusing on the component parts of writing in an effort to improve prose.  Readers rarely notice the technical details of prose. Mostly, writers are writing to please other writers and editors.

I would argue that readers feel when component parts are missing:, when the plotting is off or a story feels empty because it lacks a theme. But if a writer really nails an aspect of a story so well the reader is sucked into the dreamlike state, the reader will forgive nearly anything as Stephen King and Dan Brown can tell you.  A strong grasp of what really scares people (generally other people) and masterful pacing makes up for a lot of sins of craft.

Plot, character, voice, theme–these are to writing what a wooden base, string, color choice, and nails are to string art.  Alone, they aren’t very entertaining.  Together, laid down with time, hard work, and a little knowledge, they make something that is pleasing.  If you are thinking ahead, you give an extra twist on each nail so the piece doesn’t relax and sag over time.

Did you make it this far into my post?  You must be very interested in writing or really into string art.  Either way, go to my Clarion Write-a-thon site and support writers in getting scholarships to this 6-week workshop.  Really into string art?  Well, you can’t win what you don’t enter.  Donate.

Can’t donate because of the above mentioned plague-ridden world?  Share this post.  Share all the posts of authors you know or like who are doing a Clarion write-a-thon this year.  Signal boost the hell out of it.  Your voice can be as important as your cash.