IWSG: Horrors!

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 It's the first Wednesday of the month, and time for another IWSG post.

 


Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
 
Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page!
 
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG
 
The awesome co-hosts for the October 2 posting of the IWSG are Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray, and Natalie Aguirre!
  

This month's optional question - Ghost stories fit right in during this month. What's your favorite classic ghostly tale? Tell us about it and why it sends chills up your spine. 
 
True confessions time: I'm too much of a scaredy-cat to even read little-kid horror. So I don't really have much to say on this topic, though I read Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book and didn't get nightmares. My own attempts at messing in this genre definitely have tended to end up as humor, which is the only good defense against horror. Honestly, I don't get the genre, but like many other things, I don't have to get it. If you like it, go for it. I don't have to like it for it to be okay for you to read it.
 
Writer's Update:
In spite of spending most of the last month on the trail or on the road, I've made some visible progress. I got another beta-read on Washed Up With the Tide, and as a result am doing a little more tinkering. I got some insights that I think are helping me to tighten and strengthen the prose. However much I didn't want to have to mess with it any more, I can't say no to improving either the current MS or my overall writing skills.

I also have a couple of short stories that I've been working on in a less organized way, and hope to finish soon, and rewrote one story thoroughly, cut it down by 40%, and managed to get out on submission. So:
1 new submission
2 old submissions
0 responses this month.

Oh, and the mental planning and plotting for Seffi Wardwell #4 is continuing nicely, while #3 is ready for revisions that it won't get until I've had some fun with new writing!

How's your work going? Feel free to talk about your favorite ghost stories if you must :)  

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024
 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated. 


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Comments

  1. Ronel Janse van VuurenOctober 2, 2024 at 4:04 AM

    My mum says my stories scare her, even though it's dark fantasy and not horror... Sigh.
    Sounds like you're having a lot of writing fun!

    Ronel visiting for IWSG day Adventures in Audio: Recording and Publishing Audiobooks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex J. CavanaughOctober 2, 2024 at 4:33 AM

    I do enjoy horror, but it's easy to do it badly.
    You have a great attitude towards feedback. Polish that story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassOctober 2, 2024 at 10:08 AM

      I think I might finally be growing up? I'm getting much better about taking criticism, at least of my writing. Though I can still be crushed by it, don't get me wrong. I have learned to pull up my socks after a day or so of wallowing and see what's helpful--so far the most crushing critiques have always had a good lesson in them.

      Delete
  3. Natalie AguirreOctober 2, 2024 at 4:34 AM

    I'm like you. I don't like to be scared. I enjoyed Graveyard Book too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. C.D. Gallant-KingOctober 2, 2024 at 5:57 AM

    I think horror and humour go hand in hand. They play off each other nicely. Most of my favourite horror stories are horror/comedies. Straight horror is very hard to do without it coming across as campy or, on the other extreme, pretentious.

    ReplyDelete
  5. cleemckenzieOctober 2, 2024 at 8:14 AM

    You've been busy, Rebecca! Here's to getting that story the way you want it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassOctober 2, 2024 at 10:09 AM

      Very! I'm looking forward to doing quite a bit less through the winter. I'll get itchy by spring, though. Hoping to plan a little better next year so I'm not gone quite so much, or trips aren't quite so close together.

      Delete
  6. Jacqui Murray--Writer-TeacherOctober 2, 2024 at 10:04 AM

    I have to admit, I love reading author updates. Sometimes, they remind me of stuff I have to do--like prod a few beta readers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassOctober 2, 2024 at 10:10 AM

      LOL! My beta readers have been great. My cover artist needs a prodding.

      Delete
  7. Olga GodimOctober 2, 2024 at 10:27 AM

    Yes, humor definitely helps us deal with scary stuff. Someone said that if we laugh at what scares us, it diminishes the fear and the entities that inspire it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jennifer LaneOctober 2, 2024 at 10:36 AM

    I'm not much into horror, either, but kudos to you for trying to write one yourself. Some of the most iconic horror stories seem to turn into comedies, maybe unintentionally!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassOctober 2, 2024 at 10:49 AM

      I'll play with nearly anything at flash-fiction length (okay, not erotica, and nothing super gory, but most genres). Longer than that, it's harder for me to move away from the cozy mysteries, though I still love my kids' fantasy novel, Halitor the Hero. Humor there, too.

      Delete
  9. LynnOctober 2, 2024 at 12:47 PM

    Feedback is so tricky. Their words can be supportive or in some situations crush the writer. Congratulations on pulling up your socks and moving forward.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassOctober 3, 2024 at 9:28 AM

      Feedback is also essential, and I'd never grow as a writer without it. I have had to wait a long time to get any kind of equanimity in the face of criticism.

      Delete
  10. H. R. SinclairOctober 2, 2024 at 1:21 PM

    My favorite ghost story would be my own children's story. Not scary at all as the ghost is a scaredy-ghost. I liked horror and scary stuff when I was a teen, now, not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nancy GideonOctober 2, 2024 at 3:05 PM

    I have to sneak up on true horror because I'm a sissy despite some of the PNR things I write. If it's something that could or did happen and is horrific - nah, not for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassOctober 3, 2024 at 9:30 AM

      I definitely can't read stuff that's too horrific, and psycho stuff really bugs me. I can handle putting the characters into a lot of peril, but sort of "normal" peril is what I am comfortable with--like fantasy characters at war, or dealing with a natural disaster. Things that can suck your soul, not so much!

      Delete

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