Keeping my writing brain active.

So I am still on hiatus from my main project, but that doesn't mean I'm not writing.

In order to keep my horror writer brain sharp, I am doing the following:

• Working on my "affair" or "backburner" project.  This allows me to distance myself from my main project so that I can come back to it ready to edit critically (and next week I'll talk about what those edits will entail).

• Reading.  I'm a firm believer (but not the only one that believes it) that in order to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader (and by good, I mean participating in the act of those activities). So I am reading a lot of horror and seeing what the greats (as well as the newbies) are doing in the world of horror.  If you want to see what I'm reading, you can friend me on Goodreads.  You can find me under my full name: Brystan Strong.

• Research. This may fall into both the previous category and the next one, but I'm doing scholarly research on the genre itself (as well as stuff specific to what I'm writing).  I think its important to know the ins and outs and history of the genre that you are writing in, in order to see the patterns that work, and where its appropriate to deviate.

• Listening/Podcasts.  I'm listening to 2 horror specific podcasts at the moment.  The Know Fear Podcast is one that is more scholarly, and discusses the ins and outs of the horror genre by discussing specific elements.  They did a 2 part "history of the genre" segment, followed by a 4 part series on Haunted Houses, and they are starting their series on Zombies right now.  It's really awesome.  I'm also listening to the No Sleep Podcast, which is a short horror fiction podcast.  It's neat to listen to scary stories being told, rather than just reading them.

• Talking with Writers.  This is one that I need to get better at.  I have writing friends that I chat with, but none of them write horror.  So I am setting a casual goal of being more active on the Horror Writers Association forums.  I'm a member as a library professional, but when my first true horror publication comes out (later this year, maybe early 2017), I can officially join as a horror writer. Right now, while I read the forums a lot, I don't post much since I don't have an official horror publication.  But that will change soon.  This is probably the most beneficial thing, and yet I don't do it. 

My goal starting now is to really treat writing as a 3rd job.  I know that this may mean a little less sleep, and a little more stress, but it needs to happen. I need to get more than 1 publication out a year, and I need to really start acting like a professional writer.  I also need to attend some workshops, but right now, finances aren't really allowing for that, but hopefully that will change in 2017. 

Now, maybe more than ever, I need to write and get my words out there. In a time where I am feeling helpless, I need to keep fighting for both the right to read, and the right to write.  And I need to start that by fighting for those things for myself.