Hello all!
This month has been much better productivity-wise. I have most of a first draft written for the Macabre Monday contest, and am hoping to get it done in time to actually submit it by this month’s deadline. I’ve also continued my experiments with different methods of streamlining the writing process, including setting daily word count goals and working from an outline. So far the results have been promising.
The MM story should hopefully be done by midmonth, so after that I’ll start editing my medieval story for publication and then (you guessed it) work more on planning the novella. I really want to make it my primary focus for at least the next few months, so I’ll try not to get distracted by any shiny new writing contests.
What I’m reading:
The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives on the Origins of Paranormal Experiences, by Brandon Massulo
A scientific take on the origins of ghosts. Sometimes a bit dry in places, but his theories are very interesting and plausible.
Windeye: Stories, by Brian Everson
Weird fiction, with an emphasis on “weird”. These are very well written stories and capitalize on how unsettling bizarre situations and people can be.
A Demon-Haunted Land: Witches, Wonder Doctors, and the Ghosts of the Past in Post WWII-Germany, by Monica Black
This was a fascinating exploration of an era in German history I was completely unfamiliar with. The process of DeNazification was generally successful in West Germany, but also left many people with guilt and paranoia that could express itself in extremely strange ways.
That last book is right up my alley. I had not heard of it until now. Thank you for the recommendation! Just ordered it!