Category

Writing

/

Twas the Night Before….

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with flare, In hopes that a parent would put shit in there.   The children were nestled all snug in their beds, Without a clue of the coming dread. You see, they were naughty, horrible brats And something was scurrying about aside from the rats.   When out on the lawn something landed with a splatter, So I sprang from the bed to see a sleigh shatter. Away from the window I flew like the Flash, To[...]

/

Real Talk: On writing, community, horror, and aspiration

Hello fellow horror fans. Today we're visiting the deep end of the swimming pool. Let's shimmy up to the edge, our toes curling around the lip of cement that separates us from the water, and peer down into the murk and what lingers there. It's been some time since I've tried to put one of these posts together, and there's a good reason for that. Let's call it the separation of church and state; art and presentation; craft and identity. I'm at DragonCon this weekend, surrounded by a hoard of seventy thousand like-minded individuals who are, cumulatively, wilder a[...]

/

I, Empath: Why I Cannot Enjoy Gore

I, Empath: Why I Cannot Enjoy Gore NOTE: I have temporarily shelved my middle grade horror WIP. While that project festers rests, I am preparing a non-fiction book proposal about my short-lived but life-changing experience as a PhD student. So, to jump-start the academic part of my memory, I am writing this post as a proper academic paper in APA formatting, more or less. In the remainder of this Introduction section, I will over-explain what happens in the remainder of this post. DOUBLE NOTE: To any college or graduate students who may be reading this: Stop usi[...]

/

Write for me….

Hello Kittens,   I want to play a game.     I've auditioned for a few IP projects lately. While none of them have panned out, writing something that was spawned in someone else's brain has resulted in a huge boost in my creativity. So much so, that I want to try it out with you. Yes, you, sitting there, idly reading this post, perhaps on the train on your way to work. I want you to create your own twisted, demented little story off the following prompt. I will think of something fantastic to send my favorite contributor. **Spoiler alert - i[...]

/

Real Life Horror: Publishing

Hello Kittens,   Boy, have I had a week. I'd tell you all about it, but I really don't want to turn this into a big pity party. I've done enough sulking. So instead of whining about my life, I thought we could chat about real life horror...in publishing! Now, I know that a lot of you out there are just like me; Agentless (as of a week ago #frown) and wading through the cold, dank query trenches. Querying is terrifying. Sending your words out into the world to be judged at face value is enough to give me the chills in the middle of August. But you know wh[...]

/

NaNoWriMo Tip: Don’t Forget to Feed Your Muse

As we close out week three of NaNoWriMo, we can see the finish line in sight. For some of us, 50k is easily within reach, and for others, there may be a few all-nighters ahead on the road to 50K. But no matter where you are on that spectrum, there’s a good chance that you’ve hit some creative lulls by now. You might even feel lost at this point in your story, stuck in a morass of half-formed ideas and feeling like your creative tank is empty. I know I’ve had days like this over the month, but I learned an important lesson from NaNos past that helps me turn[...]

/

NaNoWriMo… The Fear is Real

We’re celebrating NaNoWriMo this week at The Midnight Society. Because, let’s be honest…it can get a little scary. I am not participating. I have never attempted the crazy race to write 50,000 words in one month. Dude, that’s insane. So I have been watching the tweets and FB posts as the month progresses and cheering you on, because you’re nuts and by nuts I mean FANTASTICALLY CRAZY AWESOME! The month began with hope and planning, with excitement and readiness to write all the words. However, the excitement has faded. Word counts vary from ahead of[...]

/

NaNoWriMo: aka WRITE ALL THE WORDS!!!

Please forgive me if today’s post is a short, hot mess. I’ve spent the past week participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and today was a long, writing filled day. You might have noticed that Amy’s Writing Bloody Post this week was about her 2015 NaNoWriMo plan. Or maybe you’ve seen the hashtags #NaNoWriMo or #DoubleUpDay trending on twitter? One thing is for sure, if you are anywhere on the Internet where writers hang out, you’ve heard about NaNoWriMo. But what exactly is NaNoWriMo? In the simplest of terms it is a month where all[...]

/

Lipstick & Zombies: Rockin’ the Apocalypse

It's not often that a writer can pin down the exact moment they came up with the idea for their book or series, but I can, because it was on twitter. https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458316923118166016 Yes, The Spice Girls were very big in the 1980s. *headdesk* https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458317110129598464 https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458317493619015681 https://twitter.com/faithmckay/status/458327130279931904 AND THERE IT IS. I was kidding when I hit tweet. But then it wheedled its way into my thoughts. What would that story look[...]

/

5 Dos & Don’ts of Querying Horror (+ GIVEAWAY!)

I decided to tackle a post on something I am asked about all the time. Like, really, all the time. I don't think more than a day goes by where someone isn't emailing/tweet/DMing/PMing me for querying advice. It comes with the territory of being a literary agent intern (multiple times). So I decided to do a comprehensive post on my top advice for those who are querying horror. As not only someone who writes it, but someone who interns for the Bree Ogden (horror queen), I know plenty about it. Giveaway! I'll be selecting two queries to help in the month of October[...]