Orpheus Interval
And I'm in Philadelphia on 3/14!
I’ll be in Philadelphia on March 14 to speak at an 8pm meeting of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Association. After having to cancel on PhilCon last year due to pneumonia (don’t get pneumonia, y’all), I’m glad to make it to the city. I’m taking the Amtrak down and back, which I’m looking forward to—quality time with a book / my thoughts / my Steam Deck. Anyone in Philly or environs: drop by! I’ll be speaking at 8pm at St. Mary’s @ Penn, 3916 Locust Walk, at Parish Hall behind the Sanctuary, which is the coolest / most old-world address I’ve typed in a minute. I’m hoping to find a local bar or coffee shop near the venue beforehand for a less formal chat, to break the ice & get ready for the meeting. Any Philly or Penn folks care to suggest a venue for pre-event hangs? I’ll update you all with more details as I have them, and you can always keep your eyes on the website at https://psfs.org/.
Applications are open for this year’s Viable Paradise Writer’s Workshop. If you are a science fiction or fantasy writer looking to take you game to the next level, and would like to spend a week in the lonesome October on Martha’s Vineyard with a cohort of likeminded writers in a similar position—while learning from, and talking & becoming peers with, folks who’ve been around the block in this industry more times than I can count—strongly consider applying to VP.
I remember standing outside the high wall of Publishing with a handful of books under my belt, wondering how I could ever get through—how I could gain the skills to scale the wall or shatter it. When you’re just starting out, the advice is easy: develop your game. Get into the lab with a pen and a pad. But once you’ve put in that time, and then put in some more, you may find yourself good enough that you impress the hell out of every writer you personally know, and still not… quite… there. This is a dangerous zone, haunted by bitterness, conspiratorial thinking, and doubt. Call it the Orpheus Interval. Lord knows I’ve been there.
Once you find yourself in the Orpheus Interval, workshops have a lot to offer. They provide access to a community of instructors who may be able to help you see your work in a new light—or set your sights higher than you thought possible—or give you permission to try something you’ve always wanted to try—or just plain loosen you up. They also connect you with a community of peers who have some of the same goals you do, at a similar skill level—so you feel the challenge and confidence that comes from standing shoulder to shoulder with a group. I think this is in many ways more valuable than the formal instruction. The Orpheus Interval can be a damn lonely walk. When you’re deep in the shadows, it’s easy to doubt your goals, your skills—to wonder why you care so much. Your skills can slip. Your art can develop a curdled, ingrown character. Doubt uses albumen at twice the rate of work.
A writer’s workshop gives you a community, and gives you strength. You lock shields and walk forward together. Career “progress” is so nonlinear that I want to laugh as I type the word, even in quotes, but connecting with other people on the path helps you remember that there isa path, or that there are many paths, all winding around and through the dark wood in which we find ourselves so often lost, midway on life’s journey.
At Viable Paradise, we try to lean into the Viable part. It’s a one-week intensive program with a reasonable tuition fee and financial aid available through the generosity of the alumni network, including a formal Writers of Color scholarship. I was a 28-year-old no-kids working stiff querying Three Parts Dead (an exhausting and prolonged 2-year journey, buy me a cup of coffee and I’ll tell you about it sometime) when I first learned about writer’s workshops, and I saw the appeal—but many of the high-profile ones demanded a laughable time commitment and money I didn’t have. VP, though, seemed like it could work. I started publishing books before the next app process came around, but when I was asked to teach, I jumped at the chance. I’m proud to be part of a writing workshop that’s… workable! Every year we have folks from all walks of life, young and old, people with multiple kids at home, professionals from demanding jobs, people who work in warehouses. It’s a great scene. There is an application fee—$25 through today, $35 next month—but in past years alumni have donated application fees for prospective students for whom that would be a financial hardship. If that’s your spot, either reach out to the program directly, or drop me a line and I’ll connect you.
You can apply to Viable Paradise here.
That’s what I’ve got for this week, friends. Dead Hand Rule is still available for pre-order. Stay warm out there. Take care of yourselves & work for the liberation of all sentient beings.
The Fates do not approve the combination of Max and Philadelphia