Hello, dreamers. It was another busy week, but I’ve made good progress. Still, as I always say, the work of an aspiring writer is never done. That said, here’s what I’m working on this week.

Pioneers

I am pleased to report that I did, in fact, finish work on final changes to Pioneers. It didn’t happen until Tuesday night, but it’s done. Once that was finished, I set the story aside for the rest of the week, and took some time for myself. I ran. I listened to music. I wrote a couple sketches, but mostly spent time working on a few side projects, just for fun. I enjoyed the weekend weather, watched football. I took a breath.

The coming months are going to be trying and hectic for me, and that includes my goals in writing. So I gave myself some time to live. At present, I’ve loosened my personal deadlines for querying on Pioneers. As I typically devote October to short fiction, I think that will be the best time to start sending out query letters. I’ll be focusing my actual writing on short pieces which take less of my attention. In the meantime, this week I’ll be doing my final editing pass on Pioneers. Hopefully, by Friday I’ll be ready to pass Pioneers off to my top beta-reader. Once she’s through with it, I will spend the remainder of the month working on query letters and synopses. Then, come October, I’ll be ready to take the plunge.

My “Grunge Period”

Over the past several months, I’ve been doing something I haven’t done in far to long: varying my music consumption.

I often say I live my life to a soundtrack. My preferences may be varied, but I do have them. I have large playlists on Apple Music, most of which are separated by decades. I also have several playlists I’ve created for specific activities (like running) or times of the year. Over time, this familiar music becomes comforting to me, like putting on a well-worn flannel shirt. But there can be danger in comfort, especially for a writer.

Over the past couple months, I’ve engaged in what I’ve called my “Personal Renaissance”. I’ve spent my free time reading about things I don’t know much about. I’ve switched my music, listening to everything from classical to free jazz. And recently, I began listening to Grunge.

Grunge, and the alternative rock it led to, was the sound of my childhood. I’ve always enjoyed it, but I hadn’t really sat and listened to Grunge rock in years. And really listening to it, to the themes of loss and struggle, of social isolation, has been surprisingly fulfilling. By and large, I’ve had a good life. Through most of my life, I’ve had a loving and supportive family and a close group of good friends. I feel that likely shows through in my work, which tends to be hopeful and embrace relationships rather than delving into the personal pain of characters.

Lately, my listening to Grunge has begun to influence my writing. For the first time in years, I find myself exploring dark themes. I’ve been getting into the heads of social outcasts, of villains, and exploring their inner torment. And in doing so, I think I’ve begun to touch something I’d lost touch with. Much of my early writing was born of a period when my life was in turmoil, as I faced a number of major transitions I was having a difficult time processing. While I’m happy with how my life has developed since then, there have been times I’ve looked back longingly at some of my earliest short stories, with their dark themes of altered consciousness and terror.

So for now, I plan to continue exploring this new direction, as I proceed into Aquarius 1 (which will definitely not be bleak and hopeless). Until then, dare to dream. – MK