Viable Paradise was … I do not think transformative is too strong a word. It was a transformative experience. I have returned from across the water exhausted and nourished and abuzz with the wisdom of the hive and also some shockingly bawdy filk lyrics. I have got a tribe and I love them all and can’t wait to see their names on bookshelves and magazine covers and award lists in years to come. The instructors are geniuses and the staff are giants and everyone is 102% sweeter and more excellent than they have any right or reason to be. Also I will be dreaming of Mac‘s curry for seasons to come.
I’m still in a sort of liminal brainspace between the island and ordinary life so that’s all I’ve got to say for now, but if you’re considering applying to VP in future, I recommend it absolutely and would be happy to talk to you about it.
Coming out of the experience, though, what I know is this novel is as strong as I’d hoped, and now I know how to make it even stronger and can set about doing so. My goal is to have a completed draft of Ash and Ordinary by the end of the year. My secondary goal is to sand and polish the story I wrote at the workshop (currently and cunningly titled, “Shit, I Forgot to Think of a Title”) and send it out into the world. And and and — I have a hundred other goals and ideas but those are the two I will aim at for now.
Tonight I’m going to unpack and eat some sushi and drink some wine and make some lists. Tomorrow is Day 1 of Life After VP.
wren wallis 