The cricket story

I'm thinking right now that my six weeks of stress at Clarion will be worth it for the sake of my cricket story. First, I had the never-gets-boring experience of writing in the zone. I've been buzzing for days from the high of writing that story. Second, the story got what passes at Clarion for rave reviews. (Although the unitiated might consider those same reviews to be a brutal savaging, we who have been tested in the crit pit know better.) Third, I actually still like it, even after the crits, and I'm already planning the next draft and polish for when I get home, and researching markets for it.

This is revolutionary. It means that, finally, I can tell when I'm writing well -- I know my own good writing when I see it. I can't tell you how stunning, and how crucial, this realization is for me. All I have to do is find the zone every time I write! See? Simple!