Write-A-Thon Goals for 2023:

• Complete 1 novel's revisions.
• Write 1 poem per day. [Does a few poems a week count?]
• Write 3 new short stories. [1 story done!]
• Expand 1 short story back into a novelette.
• Start 1 new translation project. [COMPLETE! Week 1]
• Edit 2 translations. [COMPLETE! Week 3]

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Update #3 (July 31):

Where does the time go? Weeks 4 & 5 are over, and the final week of the Write-A-Thon has begun!

Here's what I've been up to since my last update—I'm apparently terrible at prioritizing editing my own stories:

• One of my translations got accepted for publication! Still waiting for the contract, so not going to shout the details to the world just yet, but this is a Big Deal because this sale is to one of my dream magazines!
• I wrote a new story! I've written a new flash fiction piece (952 words!) that fits into the same science fiction universe as my story "The Desire, Death, and Dance of the Planet Aysudalit" (which appeared in Archive of the Odd #3)! This new story is another installment of Emissary Emily Daclav's journeys as an intergalactic diplomat, and ties into two of my other unpublished short pieces.
• I made 16 copies of my poetry chapbook! I've made 16 copies of Breathe Stars Into My Lungs so far, and plan to make more once my current stash runs low. I've already sold 1 copy!
• I wrote 5 new poems and shared them with The Poetry Palace! Still not hitting that poem-a-day goal, but at least I'm writing some!
• Translation A is complete! We're figuring out a rights question with the Spanish publisher, but hopefully we'll be good to send it around soon!
• Translation D is in progress! The translation itself is complete, but I'm working with the author to tighten the story a little bit because there are some little things here and there that English-speaking editors aren't super keen on.
• Translation E is still pending. Still haven't hashed out the rights question with that publisher, so haven't been able to start this one yet.
• Starting Translation F this week!
   

Update #2 (July 16):

Weeks 2 & 3 whooshed by!
It's interesting to look at my starting goals and then at what I've accomplished. For example, I haven't written any new stories of my own yet, but I've been doing a lot on the poetry and translation front. Hoping to re-focus/get back on track with my goals in the coming week, and I'm heading over to a write-in shortly!
In the meantime, here's what I've been up to:

• I wrote 4 new poems and shared them with The Poetry Palace! Braincells were in scare supply these past two weeks, but I'm still trying to write a new poem every day. Hopefully I'll have more success in Week 4.
• I've collected my published poems from 2019 through 2021 into chapbook (and learned the basics of bookbinding)! Now that I have the tools (and know what I'm doing), I plan to assemble a bunch of copies to sell, trade, and gift!
• My translation of Isis Aquino's story "History of a Piano in Spacetime" will appear in MAYDAY Magazine! (This was the publication news I alluded to in my last update.)
• I worked with the author of Translation A on edits! It's nearly ready to shop around! (Translation B is still on the prowl, searching for a home.)
• I proofread Translation C! This one is a long-term translation project of a sci-fi novel, where the author does the first draft of the translation about 10 pages at a time, and I proofread to help catch and resolve spots where English is a problem child.
• I proofread Translation D! Another project where the author performed the initial translation, this is a very sci-fi story about trying to overthrow entropy. Told across multiple scenes that count down to the end, this piece features some finicky conjugations/tenses that flow well in Spanish but, if translated exactly the same, would frustrate most English-speaking readers. Waiting to hear back about whether we need to tweak tenses in one remaining scene, otherwise this project is complete!
• I contacted 2 authors to request permission to begin work on Translations E and F! For Translation E, we're trying to check with the Spanish publisher to make sure the rights they bought don't include translations; if they do, I'll see if I can work it out. I'll be starting Translation F soon—it will be my first non-fiction translation that's spec-fic adjacent!

Update #1 (July 2):

Week 1 is over! Here's what I've managed to accomplish this week:

• I have a new story out! My story "The Clementine of Enlightenment" was published in Scrawl Place on June 29! Read it here --> https://scrawlplace.com/2023/06/29/the-clementine-of-enlightenment/
• I completed a first draft for a new translation (AKA, Translation A)! This is an apocalyptic science fantasy story set in a world on fire. The translation still needs to be proofed & approved by the author, so one of my goals for this coming week is to work on edits!
• I completed a new translation (AKA, Translation B)! This one is a dread-inspiring microfiction that I found quite haunting. Translation B has already been edited and approved by the author, so I've started sending it out into the world! Fingers crossed that we'll find a good home for it soon!
• I wrote 5 new poems! I've shared several of them in The Poetry Palace, a free Discord server I run for people who like to write, read, and/or enjoy poetry (be it speculative or literary!).
• One of my translations got accepted! Super excited about this, because I've been trying to find a home for it for a couple of years. I'll say more when I can. :D

Thank you so much for your encouragement and support, and talk to you next week! ^_^

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About Monica:

Monica Louzon (she/her) is a queer writer, translator, and editor from Maryland who primarily writes speculative fiction. Her stories, poems, Spanish-English translations, and essays have appeared in over 20 different publications, with more forthcoming. She is Acquiring Editor for The Dread Machine, and was the Founding Editor of the MOSF Journal of Science Fiction. Monica has co-edited three speculative fiction anthologies: Darkness Blooms (2023), Mixtape: 1986 (2022), and Catalysts, Explorers & Secret Keepers: Women of Science Fiction (2017). Follow her on Instagram or Twitter @molo_writes, on Mastodon @molo_writes@wandering.shop, or visit her at www.monicalouzon.com.
 

Published in:

• After the Storm
• Apex Magazine
• Archive of the Odd
• Best Microfiction 2023 (forthcoming July 11, 2023)
• Constelación Magazine
• Curiouser Magazine
• Dark Recesses Press
• The Dread Machine
• Dwarf Stars
• Esopian Literary Magazine [defunct]
• Haven Speculative Magazine
• Honeyguide Literary Magazine
• NewMyths.com
• Octavos
• Oh Reader
• Ooze: Little Bursts of Body Horror
• Paranoid Tree
• Penumbric (forthcoming, TBD)
• Quatrain.Fish [defunct]
• Scrawl Place (forthcoming June 29, 2023)
• Shoreline of Infinity
• Three Line Poetry
• Triangulation: Energy
• Women's Space: Essays on Female Characters in the 21st Century Science Fiction Western

Clarion West 2023 Write-a-thon

Amal El-Mohtar during the 2019 Summer Reading Series

The Write-a-thon supports Clarion West programs year-round. All donations support Clarion West classes, workshops, panels, and other programs for emerging writers, including our Six-Week Workshop. We also hold events, offer scholarships, raise awareness, and promote diverse speculative fiction in Seattle and all over the world. 

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