The Dialogue
Open on me sitting on my ugly yellow sofa staring at my laptop.
My muse lays face-down on the floor, unconscious (or possibly dead).
ME: Come on!
MUSE: *Snores*
ME: Give me something.
MUSE: *Snores again*
ME: A short story…. half a flash fiction…. Some vague concept.
MUSE: *Kicks in their sleep like a dog chasing rabbits.*
ME: What? What is it? What are you trying to tell me?
MUSE: *Stops kicking.*
ME: *Pokes Muse with stick* Come on!
MUSE: *No response*
ME: *Clashes Symbols* Wake up!
MUSE: *Dead as a log*
ME: Just give me a sentence! *Sets off a nuclear explosion that desolates continents and shifts the earth off its orbit*
MUSE: *Rolls over and sighs like a fat lazy cat.*
ME: Fine! It that’s the way you’re going to be I’ll just go wash the dishes. *Puts laptop away, heads toward the kitchen.*
MUSE: *Whispers something in their sleep*
ME: *Runs back to couch, opens laptop, creates a new Word Document and stares expectantly.* What’s that?
MUSE: *Dead again.*
ME: Fine! If you’re going to be an ass just keep on sleeping. I don’t need you.
*Closes laptop, walks into kitchen and starts doing dishes.*
MUSE (sits up): WHAT IF IN CHAPTER TWELVE YOU REVEAL THE NARRATOR HAD BEEN POSSESSED BY THE FOREST SPIRIT THE WHOLE TIME?
ME: (Runs back and starts typing): That’s great! Fantastic! Thank you! Now how do the others find out he’s possessed?
MUSE: *Collapses….Snores*
Curtain.
Writers Block In Short
If you are being affected by writers block the first step is to acknowledge that you have writers block. Don’t do what I did up above and keep trying to push it through until you get so frustrated you set off a nuclear explosion. Once you realize you have writers block just step away for a bit to do a mindless task like wash dishes, fold laundry or go for a walk. Usually stepping away helps the creative juices flow. I wrote more about overcoming writers block here.
Best Short Story From April
The best short story I read during the month of April came at the very end. It was The Feeding of Closed Mouths by Eden Royce. It is a family-themed horror story (one of my favorite genres) that follows the complex relationship between a mother and a daughter. Just read the first line and try not to turn away.
What Else Happened This Month
I finished the latest draft of my novel, Edge Country and have reached out to an editor to help me prepare it for agents.
I have also finished editing an interconnected graphic novel short story collection and have started looking for illustrators. The short story collection is what I call “light horror,” some violence and gore but also heart and humor. I’m still working on a title.
I also edited my short story The Year Skyler Richards Ruined Christmas, which was a lot of fun. It’s one of the very few works of fiction I have EVER written that that doesn’t have any speculative elements. You could also classify it as “light horror.” It was one of those special stories that flowed out of me with barely any hiccups.
As far as reading goes: I read the fantastic ghost story The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste. I also re-listened to The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin and have started reading Mister Magic by Kiersten White.
My wife and I went on an epic bike trip on the NCR Trail (if you live in the Baltimore area, definitely check it out) and we visited Dopamine Land in Washington, DC a museum that’s devoted entirely to happiness. Afterward our car got stuck in the parking garage when the gate wouldn’t open. That was the opposite of Dopamine Land.
