Time for our monthly meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Hosted as ever by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the aim of the group is to offer a safe space where writers can share doubts and insecurities without fear of being judged. This month's co-hosts are Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jacqui Murray and Natalie Aguirre.
This month's optional IWSG question is: 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.
This is a really good question for October and I don't claim to be as au fait with the horror genre as I'm sure many among us are. I've never really tried to write it and I respect how hard it is to create that suspense and dread. However, one story that sticks out for me since reading it is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's a classic of the Gothic horror genre and really set the blueprint for that whole trope of the split personality. In fact the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" has become ingrained within our lexicon to describe anyone displaying such traits. I suppose what endures about it is the quiet sense of mounting despair and the idea that we all potentially have evil within us that could totally take over in the right circumstances. It's not a long book with a rough count of around 27500 words, but it certainly accomplishes a lot.
So what have I accomplished since we last met? Well, I've begun edits on my novel featuring an evil AI interface (hey, that could easily play under the horror umbrella now I think about it... a semi-autonomous force, supposedly beneficial but with the potential to go totally haywire). I'm only a couple of chapters in and the verdict is it's very messy but better than I remembered. Looking forward to getting stuck in properly. And I'm still continuing my querying journey on my completed novel on a cloning and gender identity theme. Just realised I'm a year into this, but I'm probably only just getting started, especially since I rebranded from YA to adult/crossover. I'm still waiting for a bite but I continue to be encouraged by the personalised rejections complimenting the "fantastic premise". Hopefully the universe will tip something in my favour soon.
Well, that's about it for another month. I'm sure all of you will have some wonderful spooky suggestions on this month's theme. Look forward to checking them out! As ever, all those posts can be found at the IWSG site here. See you next month.
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