Today we got a dramatic demonstration of the power of the written word.

One of the stories this morning (not mine) contained a line of description that was meant to invoke the character's feelings of her current situation, and it was taken as very offensive by several members of the group. I can't get specific, but it was a reference to a very painful period in history for a great number of people. It was a throwaway line and (I assume) not meant to offend anyone, but strong feelings were expressed, which led to stronger words, and it escalated quickly into an incredibly heated argument. At one point, I thought it was going to come to blows. But thankfully, Leslie and Lister were able to diffuse the situation and return the critique to the manuscript. But it got very tense very quickly there, and my nerves were on edge for a couple of hours afterward. Leslie was able to convince us into a group hug, which, cheesy as it sounds, was very helpful and therapeutic. I know I sure needed a hug.

But it begs the question: if something like this can happen this week, how are we going to handle next week, Week Four, which has the reputation for being the most brutal? I think we've been doing a pretty good job respecting each other thus far, and hope that this morning was just an isolated incident.

My story "One" was last to be critiqued today, and it got a relatively positive response, though several plot and motivational problems got pointed out, which is what I needed. There were several suggestions that the title might need to be changed to "Click" since the story has nothing to do with the U2, Metallica, Three Dog Night, or Broadway song.

I had my conference with Leslie this afternoon, and she went over my submission stories "Songstress" and "Wake Up Call", as well as "Erin, Yes", suggesting I send the latter to a Ten-Minute Play Contest, which sounds like a cool idea. She gave me some good advice on plot structure, which seems to be one of my weak points, and we talked about where I see myself in a year. She asked me to send her a copy of "China Life" when I finish it, since the idea sounded interesting to her and I came up with it in her class on Writing the Supernatural Story.

She's doing a reading tonight at The Archives, and I just took my allergy pill.

In the Beaming-With-Pride department, this journal passed the thousand-hit mark today. I know it sounds sappy, but I want to thank all of you out there reading this. Clarion is a difficult and frustrating and exciting and fun and life-changing experience, and I'm glad I have company along for the ride.