On Submission and Twitter

Well I went and did it. I dropped Dark in the mail. That marks my first submission to a magazine for possible publication. It took me the space of about three hours to wish fervently that I hadn’t made the final changes on it before letting it go, such is life though. The only thing I can do now is get started with my next story and try and forget about it.

In looking at the steadily growing pile of my written work I’m starting to see the beginnings of a pattern emerge. A good deal of what I write could easily be categorized as horror, another large section would fit neatly into the humor category. All of my short stories have in common is the fact that they are weird. No matter the occasion, I can never seem to resist adding a touch of the fantastic to a story. I’m not apologizing mind, that’s just seems to be my way. What does give me pause for thought is the fact that I haven’t really branched out much. I don’t pretend to be an expert in the writing game but I know enough to say that I have no real idea what I am doing. What? It might be clearer to say that I am still trying to figure out just what kind of writer I want to be. Anyway, I am going to try and hammer out something that is a little less horrific and a little less funny and perhaps a good deal more personal. That’s what Danielle recommended anyway and she’s pretty smart.

I can see how writing a story that strikes close to home could improve my writing just by virtue of it being easier for me to understand and identify with. Still, without the comforting distance of a good joke or the otherworldly abstraction of horror I can see how this could get a little too close for comfort. You never know the meaning of the word “hot” until you stick your hand on an iron.

In other news I’ve taken another step down the wide, straight road of technological damnation and signed myself up for twitter. I’m not proud of myself, but I can’t fight the future forever can I? My username is ByThePen if you feel like following along.