Yay! I made it through Week One of our story challenge. Last Friday Patrick and I sat down to brainstorm/divide up story ideas, and today I finished the first of my stories, at about 3,200 words. It felt a lot like Clarion, actually--the frantic attempt to finish something quickly, the need to write a complete and satisfying story without any huge bolts of driving inspiration, leading to all the natural flaws that go along with idea-driven (rather than inspired, emotionally-powered) stories, but also the feeling of real satisfaction at a difficult challenge completed. I'm not sure yet whether this story is one I'll be able to shape into something I'm really proud of--it may well remain an exercise that I won't bother to send out--but it was a really satisfying exercise, and I'm proud of myself. Go me! :)

And it was fantastic at knocking me out of my sickness-induced writer's block. Ever since I came down with the Killer Cold a couple of weeks ago, I'd felt like my brain had just slowed down to a slow trickle of movement, and writing just wasn't happening. Being forced to write the last 9 pages of my 15-page story this morning in a mad rush was the best possible thing for clearing out all those blockages and getting my typing fingers and imagination moving together again.

So. On to the novel! And, of course, my Week Two story, due by next Friday. (But maybe I'm not ready to think about that one quite yet...)