Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The Things We Do For Love

Lately, I've turned my attention to writing longer stories. I'm submitting to new markets - some with themes, some with deadlines, all horror-related. I enjoy hanging out in my creepy little worlds longer than I'm usually able to when writing flash fiction.

The flip side? I'm hanging out in my creepy little worlds longer than usual.

The air conditioning runs, but it's ghostly breath that prickles my skin. Beneath the rustling of palm fronds, characters whisper, frantic, fearful for their lives. During summer storms, lightning shoots across the sky, pinning hulking and misshapen shadows against the blinds.

But when I came across this quote from James M. Cain, I realized it's all for a good cause:


"IF YOUR WRITING 
DOESN'T KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT, 
IT WON'T KEEP ANYONE ELSE UP EITHER." 


Ah, I suffer so my readers will, too!

You're welcome.

*****

What was the last creepy thing you wrote or read or watched that stayed with you? What was it about that particular thing that made it stick with you?

40 comments:

  1. You're seeing the creepy in everything. Do you see creepy in Larry and Mrs. Larry?

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  2. Things left where I didn't leave them give me a creepy feeling. I'm very meticulous about where I put stuff.

    PS Thank you for suffering. :)

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    1. That kind of reminds me of your blog post about the downstairs ghost. Didn't she move things around like that or help you find things you were looking for?

      My pleasure. :)

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  3. *shivers*
    I'm a bit of a wimp! The Stephen King books I read in high school gave me nightmares for the better part of a decade :)

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    1. A lot of King's stories will do that to a person. The thing is, I'm really pretty much of a chicken so I'm not exactly sure how I read/write/watch what I do.

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  4. Definitely enjoy living in your creepy worlds. Whatever works for you:) It might not be creepy, but the Apt Pupil by Stephen King actually upset me. Mostly because how things turned out. Happy writing.

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    1. I read that ages ago, but I don't remember it all that well. I do recall that it creeped me out, but then again, most of his stuff did/does.

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  5. I'm watching Penny Dreadful on Netflix. It's a short (20 or so) episode show featuring vampires, witches, werewolves, and other creepy things from the Victorian Era. Love the imagery and I hope there are more seasons to come.

    Last creepy thing I wrote? Heart Stopper. Stuff disappears around this family's house and they don't know if it's a prank or a ghost.

    Creepy read? As a fan of horror, it's hard to scare me with written material. I've read too much to be scared. But I do remember a creepy tale in an anthology about a mother having to put another's child in danger to save her own.

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    1. I'm going to have to check out Penny Dreadful. We just got Netflix, and it sounds right up my alley. :)

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  6. I've been reading lots of Stephen King lately and I seem to be seeing the creepy in everything lately as well. Probably not a coincidence. Glad you are enjoying your creepy worlds!!

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  7. I wrote a drabble about a mass murderur "tickling the ivories" in his basement crypt. He gets caught and isn't remorseful. I know I didn't put a lot of detail into those 100 words, but I pictured him gleefully playing spoons against his victim's teeth and skulls, and that left me feeling pretty creeped out for a while.

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    1. Totally creepy! And it really is hard to get everything into 100 words. Some stuff just doesn't make it in.

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  8. Madeline, I saw this info on an online fellowship for a flash fiction writer and I thought of you. I think you have an amazing talent...I believe they will consider up to 1,000 words. Here is the link. http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2016/08/09/kathy-fish-fellowship-for-flash-fiction-writers-2017/

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  9. That's good advice I've heard in various iterations.

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  10. I like the erie feeling of the unexplained type creep out best. Great post and good advice.
    Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

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    1. I enjoy eerie and creepy more than gore and jump-scares, too.

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  11. If you like creepy things, you might be interested in the book I just bought at Brian Kaufman's signing. It's a collection of novellas with varying degrees of horror. "Mary King's Plague and Other Tales of Woe" is available on amazon. I've been cautioned not to read these stories just before bedtime...

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    1. I pretty much always read before bed, but I've learned to switch to a magazine or something "lighter" before I actually shut off the light and try to sleep. :)

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  12. I freak myself out all the time, but a memorable one is when I was working on a horror novel at a writers' retreat. A fellow writer came up behind me and I jumped out of my chair. She still laughs about it.

    Happy writing!

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    1. Yes! I'll be engrossed in something I'm working on then all of a sudden the ice maker will send ice clunking or the tortoises will thump around or I'll hear my husband's key in the front door and I'll jump as if something bit me. So totally freaked out. :)

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  13. You do an excellent job of describing creepy. As far as my experience with the world of creepiness: Last year I became a fan of "The Walking Dead," which led me to "Fear the Walking Dead," and lately "Stranger Things."

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    1. Thank you, Donna!

      I love TWD, and totally binge watched Stranger Things - so, so good! :)

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  14. I CANNOT read anything by Stephen King before I go to bed, or pretty much anytime. The imagination goes wild listening to things in the dark! And then the cat pounces on the bed.

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  15. I can't do creepy - whether TV shows, books, movies etc. It keeps me up all night with the light on :-)

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    1. It really amazes me that I write/read/watch as much creepy stuff as I do because I really am a total chicken.

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  16. For me the best horror is what goes on in the human mind. I'm not drawn to zombies and vampires and werewolves but I love it when one of the characters has a very dark and perverse mind. My favorite sorts of stories.

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    1. Horror has so many different aspects, doesn't it? And what scares some people, doesn't scare others nearly as much. So interesting!

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  17. Stranger things stayed with me into the night. My daughter's friend watched it with us and was so frightened, we had to walk him to his car.
    Glad your creepy characters are keeping you up.

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    1. We binge-watched Stranger Things, and it absolutely stayed with me. The story, definitely, but the acting was excellent all around. The characters became so real, so alive.

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  18. Good luck with those stories! Based on your great description of how you feel when writing them, I'd definitely like to get a chance to check them out.

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    1. Thanks so much, Nick! I've got one out on submission now - fingers crossed! - and I'm working on another, deadline the end of this month.

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  19. I am immersed in creepiness. I just finished Needful Things, by Stephen King after having realized I never read it. Gasp! For me, that's crazy talk. Good luck with those short stories!

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    1. Oh, that's a good one! I could see how you might miss it - he's got so very many works out there. :)

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  20. I don't write/watch/read many creepy things, but my husband is pretty creepy. :) I think the creepiest thing that stuck with me is a song: The Devil Within by Digital Daggers

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