IWSG - Ghost Stories & Prioritization
Hi! I'm late posting this today, because work kicked my butt yesterday! I worked almost 13 hours straight, and my lovely husband made dinner and brought it to me while I worked.
Anyway, it's IWSG time!
The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a way for us to share our insecurities with each other, seek and gain support, and create a community. It was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Anyone can join; simply click on Alex's name and put your name on the linky list on the IWSG tab.
The co-hosts this month are Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray, and Natalie Aguirre. Please stop by and thank them for helping out today!
The optional question this month is Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends a chill up your spine.
Not so much a classic tale, but The Others is a really good, more contemporary ghost story that feels ageless. The twist was well done, and it's haunting in a different sort of way than the original ghost story. For a more classic ghost tale, The Haunting of Hill House is a great book by Shirley Jackson. More a story of the living folks than the dead, it's emotionally impactful.
For insecurities this month, I realized that the first thing to go when things come up is writing, and I feel like I need to find a solution that doesn't automatically axe writing stuff as the least important thing in my life. There has to be some sort of equity for the other things I factor in. So how do you prioritize your writing in rough times?
I had a story come out this past month that's free to read! Warning: this one is on an extreme horror site and is a bit of a gross out, though also tongue-in-cheek. Cat owners will probably get it far more than non-cat folks. You'll see why when you read it. "Hork" is available to read free on Carnage House. There is a staff illustrator who is anonymous and only illustrates the story she likes, and my story was one that got an illustration!
I've also taken on a writing role with Rocky Mountain Reader, and my first four pieces have come out:
Teen Turmoil on the Rez - Book Review
I'm also here to tell you that the lack of Oxford comma use in nonfiction is driving me nuts, haha.
My stats for September are pretty slim, but here they are:
2 rejections
1 acceptance
0 new submissions
I think that's everything!
What are your insecurities? What are your favorite ghost stories, new or old? Have you been submitting? How do you prioritize your writing in rough/busy times?
May you find your Muse
Congratulations on getting the story accepted. I think I'll pass, given the warnings you include! But so cool that yours was the one the illustrator chose! As for prioritizing writing... it's hard. I don't try when I'm traveling (my biggest writing disruption). But the rest of the time, I have at least 3 mornings a week marked out in my calendar as writing time, with a group of fellow creatives to whom I'm accountable. It helps me at least avoid putting appointments and things in there, though I still give in to distractions far too often.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the story!
ReplyDeleteThe Others was a good film.
Enlist family members to help with stuff around the house, if only to give you an extra thirty minutes a day to write.
The Others - is that the same as the movie? I saw that movie and kind of forgot about it. I don't read horror at all, too much of a scaredy cat to do so.
ReplyDeleteI think if you need to finish a story or a book or some huge project, you would do it without worrying about prioritizing. But that's coming from someone who don't juggle a lot of tasks as much as other people.
Have a lovely day.
Speaking of cat horror stories, I am reading a collection of stories about murders and included in one, to offer a disgusting profile of two bad guys, as boys they would bury cats up to their necks then run them over with a lawn mower. I can't imagine anything more gross than that!
ReplyDeleteI've seen a movie called "The Others". Was it also a book? If so, I'll have try and read it. Of what I remember of the movie, it was really good.
ReplyDeleteHow I fit in my writing during rough times, which I'm going through one now, I just write whenever I can, even if it's only in 5 minute segments here and there.
Congratulations on the publication of those stories and on the one given an illustration!
Congratulations on your publications! You're the second writer today who has mentioned the Haunting of Hill House. Eek!
ReplyDeleteDon't follow my lead. I was so busy with my author's books and other obligations for so many years, I didn't have time to write at all. It too a break and the determination that no matter what, I was writing for myself for one hour a day to get back into the habit.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough to prioritize my writing. Sometimes, I carry around my journal like a security blanket and at least get in some venting and prayer type writing, but the creativity kind of gets lost when I'm stressed - as in this last week when my dad's been in the ER five times. But I still write when I can.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your story! And I loved the Others as well. Definitely a creepy movie!
ReplyDeleteWhat great news! Congrats on your story. As to Shirley Jackson...The Lottery still haunts me and I haven't read it since college. Great post, Shannon!
ReplyDeletehttps://substack.com/home/post/p-149546624
Congrats on the story! I loved The Others.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the story!
ReplyDeleteI also find that writing time is the first to go when my life gets hectic. For several years, I had a solid writing routine. I wrote almost every morning, no matter what. Then life happened... and happened some more, and I'm struggling to get back into that groove.
Oh my goodness, I hope you managed to get a good break after those 13 hours! And congratulations on the acceptance, the story releases, and on having your piece illustrated!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Shannon. Having a piece published never gets old. In rough times, I'm kind to myself. No guilt trips, no bashing. I figure out a way to get through it.
ReplyDelete