I’m writing again. That may seem like a trite statement coming from someone who is currently writing this blog post, but what I mean is that I’m writing short fiction again. I took a break from short stories earlier this year after running into a brick wall when it came to creative output. I spent a lot of 2022 writing a long story (which you can listen to on the Horror Hill podcast), and trying my hand at a contemporary horror novel about a man who falls in love with the ghost of a murdered woman. I ultimately gave up on the novel manuscript early this year, as I had written myself into a corner that I didn’t feel particularly enthusiastic about writing myself out of.
To say that this was disappointing might be a understatement. I had 40,000 words of this novel complete, and I was writing 500 words every morning before work Monday to Friday. When I decided to place this manuscript into my “trunk” (a folder where I drag unfinished projects), it short-circuited my momentum. I felt like I’d wasted my time. I’ve since come to realize that the time wasn’t wasted; that process was crucial towards my goal of writing more regularly. I will likely return to this novel idea at some point in the future, as I like the premise, but I will probably try to rework the characters and plot a bit by simplifying the story’s scope.
After that, I jumped from story idea to story idea, unable to complete anything I started. I have since started a new novel manuscript, this one in the epic fantasy genre. I am at 45,000 words in this manuscript, and though I still struggle to write regularly, I’m making progress. More importantly, I haven’t lost interest in this project. I am hoping to complete my first draft by June 2024, but we’ll see. I’ve told myself these things before.
That is all to say that I’m writing short fiction again after not completing a single story for over a year. This time, I’m working on a horror story that I started almost two years ago. It’s an idea I like, and I’m trying to see if I can get it to a workable condition. This required deleting roughly half of the text, as I noticed the narrative device I was using to tell the story was needlessly complicated. It was hard to hit that backspace button at first, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. The text now appears clearer and more direct, with less unnecessary detail.
Sometimes, killing your darlings can feel great.
The Night Bulletin 