After the stress and exhaustion of July, August has been my month to ease back into things. But I still managed to hit a writing milestone!
Writing the first draft of GOATS has taken a lot longer than I originally anticipated, but I should not be surprised. The initial nugget of inspiration for this story originally came from a TikTok video I saw of goats eating juicy tomatoes (so you might have an idea what direction I’m going in with my goats…). But for the horrific elements of this folk horror story, I dug deep down into my own traumatic past. It’s not something I want to talk about too much yet (as that will spoil the story), but it is something that’s plagued me for a couple of years.
In many of my other works, I love drawing on real experiences and real traumas because it makes the horror/character dynamics/motivations/etc. more real. Write what you know, and all that. But with this one, despite the therapy and the self-help books, I still get triggered because it is a relatively newer trauma, all things considered. So on the one hand, writing this all out is cathartic as it’s forcing me to take a deep look at my feelings. On the other hand, it’s exhausting to write.
Additionally, the first two parts of this five part story deal heavily with depression and grief. It was both a blessing and a curse when Nana passed away last month because it gave me fresh grief to draw on for my writing but, again, it was triggering. Getting through parts one and two were exhausting.
But as of this week, I finished part two and can move on to part three. This is when I can get into the trippy mushroom related horror, explore the darker aspects of folk horror, and do unspeakable things to fictional characters. I’ve got some “fun” (or messed up) kills planned for the later parts of this book, so I’m hoping that’s when I get the cathartic moment I’ve been building up towards. And there may or may not be a healthy dose of physical and/or psychological torture. But more on that next year when I get to the editing and beta stages.
Speaking of which, I’ve already gotten a little bit of beta feedback for both The Tunnel and Modern Hauntings. Once I’ve received everyone’s feedback by the end of October, and my “slow season” starts in November, then I’ll jump right into those edits. If you want exclusive update on how those later stages of editing go (as well as early ARC announcements), sign up to my newsletter.
Until next time, stay spooky!
