Comments from an 09 grad
Last year Caren gave some very helpful advice to potential applicants.
I don't have much more to add on the advice front, but I have gained a little more insight into the CW admission process & figured I'd share.
1) Selection is first and foremost done on the basis of your story submission. The judges I talked to said that, unlike some slush readers, they read each story completely (i.e. they'll give you more than the first page to make a good impression.)
2) The judges rate each story from 1-5. Those scores are then averaged, giving the story a final "grade" which is then used to rank applications.
3) *Then* judges look over your essay. Applicants with very strong stories will probably be shoo-ins. But if there are a bunch of stories that all scored 3.7, for example, the essay may well be the tiebreaker.
I'm not sure how scholarships etc. are assigned, & imagine that the whole application package is considered when distributing funds.
So: that line about sending in your best work? They mean it. Publication credits, photos of cute puppies, & scented stationary are all very well, but at the end of the day you're going to be admitted on the basis of your sample story.
Hope that helps a little. Good luck everyone!
-Siobhan
Comments
Submitted by Rachel S. on January 10, 2010 - 6:52pm.
It can help to have other people -- preferably, IMO, writers who are a few steps up the "ladder" -- look over your stories if you have 3 or 4 contenders and aren't sure which 2 to send. A lot of writers have trouble looking at their own work with a critical eye.
Submitted by Katrina S. Forest on January 11, 2010 - 3:45pm.
I'm going to chime in with my classmate and add that you should take your time in considering which story is your best work *right now.*
When I applied last year, I came very close to sending in an old piece that I liked. I changed my mind and sent in something that I had completed and polished only a week or so prior. As attached as I was to the old piece, the new one showed my current ability so much better.
I'm not saying send in a rough draft that you've gotten zero feedback on, but do give your new stuff a chance.
Best of luck to everyone!
Submitted by Randy_Henderson on January 13, 2010 - 7:57pm.
The REAL deal revealed here!
Oh Siobhan, you big kidder.
As another '09 grad, I can tell you all the REAL deal.
You will be admitted based on your biological compatibility with Our alien symbiotic brethren. Those who would be the best hosts shall be accepted.
So here's a tip that's actually useful -- If you don't lick the glue strip on your submission envelope, then the Alien Overlords -- er, I mean workshop administrators -- cannot test your DNA for compatibility. So don't use one of those spongey thingys to seal the envelope if you want to get accepted.
Best of luck,
Randy
Submitted by icemaker on January 13, 2010 - 10:25pm.
Just wanted to join a fellow CW09'er in wishing good luck to the 2010 applicants and let you guys know that if you have any questions/concenrs/worries, we (people who have been through Clarion West, had an awesome time, and came out rearing to write yet more and yet better) are invisibly present here in the virtual space and will gladly provide you with answers.
Julia
Submitted by akashiver on January 14, 2010 - 10:42am.
What they said. Particularly the bit about the alien hosts.
Submitted by Waz on January 14, 2010 - 10:44am.
Don't be afraid to use a story that you've already sold for your CW app. Obviously, those have merit.
At least Randy didn't mention the nocturnal aural exams and the Thursday puncture wound tests.
I'm so stoked for all of you applying this year. Good luck!
Beth
Submitted by Randy_Henderson on January 14, 2010 - 11:22am.
Beth is the Thing!
Submitted by wtvand on January 24, 2010 - 6:51am.
dumbass!
Submitted by Luc on January 14, 2010 - 4:58pm.
If you have to cut a story to get it under the word count, you might try taking out all the adjectives and adverbs! I got that idea from Ursula K. Le Guin, so what the hey, right!
Also, before submitting your stories, you might consider saturating them with concentrated BEAMS of energy. It's worth a shot!
Lucas
Submitted by icemaker on January 14, 2010 - 12:37pm.
Ah, I get it now! THAT's why we were so compatible and started, by week two, to spontaneously self-organize into bizarre superorganismal forms like circles and clumps, and exhibit novel behavioral phenomena such as chanting!
j.
Submitted by wtvand on January 24, 2010 - 7:00am.
ahhhh good times
-Todd