My Application Essay

Hey guys,

 

I posted my application essay on my blog http://www.jordanlapp.com/withoutreallytrying/my-clarion-west-applicatio...

 

Anyone else interested in doing the same?

‹ Class of 2009 Understanding ›

Comments

Submitted by Oso on March 5, 2009 - 3:36pm.

Despite not yet receiving my acceptance (I am next to my phone right now...), I have posted my essay on my blog.  It doesn't talk as much business as Jordan's, but I don't have his resume either.  It's mostly a snapshot of my personality and life trying to be a writer.  Check it out. 

http://osomuerte.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/my-clarion-west-application-essay/

Submitted by Jordan Lapp on March 5, 2009 - 3:57pm.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to comment on your blog, but I thought it was a great application essay. Mine was a little like a cover letter for a job application--yours was a little more like a story. I really enjoyed reading it, and hope you make it in!

Submitted by Oso on March 5, 2009 - 4:41pm.

Do you mean you couldn't figure out how to leave a comment on my blog?  Or you couldn't figure out what to say about it?

If the former, I think you need to click on the specific post then leave a comment (labeled "reply" instead of "comment"for whatever reason) in the box at the bottom of the page.  Some browsers might have trouble with it (my Safari at school gives me fits).

If you mean you couldn't figure out what to say about it, well, showing up was enough.  Cool  

Either way, thanks for dropping by and reading it and I hope I make it, too.

Submitted by clothingoptional on March 5, 2009 - 7:10pm.

"For that you get the head, the tail...  The whole damn thing."

 

Here's my essay *and* my stories (linked at the bottom of the post).

 

http://www.hownottowrite.com/writing-workshops/clarion-west-2009-what-is...

 

Jordan and Scott, loved your posts! :)

 

- Jamie

 

p.s. Posting Must Love Jaws for no other reason than I am tired and needed a laugh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92yHyxeju1U

Submitted by Oso on March 5, 2009 - 7:40pm.

I had stumbled on this post before, I think, nosing around blogs with "Clarion West" tags.  I hadn't realized what it was at the time.

I like the wheel metaphor.  Perfect.  

I think these essays are a neat look into the nature of the writers they belong to.  I don't remember seeing too many samples online from previous workshops.  I'm glad to get to know you a little more intimately...but the clothing is still a requirement, not an option.

Submitted by clothingoptional on March 6, 2009 - 6:55pm.

I remember last year when I went looking for people posting and found very few, maybe just one.  Going back further, I found almost nothing.

 

It's interesting, isn't it?  Such an opportunity to connect with folks out there.

 

Submitted by Jordan Lapp on March 6, 2009 - 9:23am.

Great metaphor, but does this mean you plan to scale the roof of the Clarion dorms and cut the head off the giant snake of cliches in order to steal the ruby of show don't tell? (ugh, that was lame. I feel dirty).

 

All kidding aside, great essay!

Submitted by clothingoptional on March 6, 2009 - 6:50pm.

"What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Look at the strength
in your body, the desire in your heart, I gave you this! Such a waste.
Contemplate this on the tree of woe. Crucify him!"

 

Submitted by Randy_Henderson on March 5, 2009 - 8:15pm.

Why would I post your application essay on my blog?

Oh! Wait!  I see.  Duh, sorry.  You meant did anyone else want to post your essay on your blog. 

Wait.  No, that doesn't make any sense either.

Huh.

Well, while I try to figure this out, I think I'll go and post my application essay on my blog.  http://quantumage.livejournal.com/7703.html

Submitted by Oso on March 5, 2009 - 8:25pm.

That was a nice mix of serious Randy and commander-of-robot-army Randy.  Good luck!

Submitted by clothingoptional on March 6, 2009 - 7:05am.

I'm collecting Randy's.  I have KungFu Randy, Robot Commander Randy, Sensitive Writer Randy (w/rare cardigan and ascot add-on pack).  I'll post pictures later, after I get my display case.

 

Submitted by Jordan Lapp on March 6, 2009 - 9:18am.

Your application essay was a great mix of the professional writer... and the weirdly funny human being.

 

And those are great markets to be published in. I've had a story over at Alienskin myself, and it was a great experience.

 

Submitted by Sandra M. Odell on March 5, 2009 - 11:17pm.

I'd love to if I had a blog or website.

I read the ones that were posted.  Definitely a treat!

 

Sandra 

 

I am wounded, but I am not slain.  I shall lay me down and rest awhile then rise and fight again. -- John Byrden

Submitted by Jordan Lapp on March 6, 2009 - 9:24pm.

No Facebook, no Myspace, nothing? What about posting it here? Or if you'd prefer neutral territory, the EDF Forums: http://www.everydayfiction.com/forums.

 

Jordan Lapp

http://www.withoutreallytrying.com

Submitted by Joel Walsh (not verified) on March 23, 2009 - 7:34am.

Such nice application essays...mine feels so inadequate now :(  Thank God I got accepted or I'd be kicking myself now.

Mine was just a simple business cover letter style "what I can bring to your company"-type thing.

Here is the section My Writing Interests:

 

My Writing and Science Fiction Interests

Aside from my staff work for SparkNotes and the Let’s Go guide, I have no publication history.  I have received Honorable Mention in the 2008 Writer’s of the Future Contest (third quarter)**.  I have participated in several online writing workshops, including several of the Gotham Writer’s Workshop class/workshops in science fiction, led by Clarion West graduate Daniel Marcus, who encouraged me to apply to Clarion West.  I make sure to read new science fiction and mainstream fiction everyday.  I write for about a half hour to an hour a day every day, mostly working on new short story drafts.

I love short stories, and a big reason I want to write in the science fiction field is that the short story is alive and well with an actual popular audience.  In both my reading and writing, I am mostly interested in near-future science fiction (well, within a few hundred years).  The Mundane philosophy of science fiction intrigues me, as it is similar to what I read, however, I do not agree that we need to limit ourselves only to examining near-term environmental and technological challenges.

I don’t generally like space opera or anything with aliens, but there are plenty of exceptions.  Some sci-fi concepts that really fascinate me are ecological collapse, dystopias and utopias, bio and nanotech, as well as stuff with sociological, anthropological and political themes.
What I Hope to Get Out of Clarion West

In addition to meeting and learning first-hand from authors I admire such as John Kessel, I hope to become a more disciplined writer.  The skill in writing in which I most hope to improve is in plotting. 

**This was before I found out that "Honorable Mention" was just the new name for quarter-finalist, which I've done a bazillion times.