Christina Katz is offering one scholarship for her class, Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff, which begins on February 13th. I intend to apply for the scholarship since I thoroughly enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, her book and would love to take the class.

I have to write one paragraph explaining why I want to take the class. That’s hard for me. Once I get started I’ll end up with 1000 words. This will be a real exercise in being concise and choosing words that work.

I also need to write a paragraph listing my publication credits. How does one say zero, nada, zip, in a way that makes it sound like it’s a good thing? That business writing class I took in college might come in handy after all. I wonder if the fact that there are some Real Paid Authors that deign to speak to me counts for anything.

Finally, I have to explain why I can’t afford the tuition without a scholarship. This is where I begin to second guess myself. No, I can’t pay it right now. I just paid a seven hundred dollar vet bill the week before Christmas. We can’t pay the sales tax on the car we had to buy when my husband’s car quit for good the day before Thanksgiving. My utility bill was nearly as much as my mortgage this month. And so on.  But…

I’m still better off than a single mother trying to survive on minimum wage. At least I have a mortgage. I know people that are homeless right now. At least we have a new car to owe sales tax on. At least saving my cat’s life only caused me six overdraft fees. Part of me says I shouldn’t apply for this scholarship but should instead wait until I can afford the class.  Then again, how many homeless people are trying to launch a writing career right now? I’d think they’d have more pressing issues to deal with.

It’s interesting to me how writing a single paragraph is harder than writing an entire essay.