I started trying to write (or blog) in 2019 as a way to cope with life and adjust to several changes that had occurred. I posted a few times, but then, I had a tragedy. I work as a therapist and a patient committed suicide. I have never had that happen before and was not only full of grief, but also “what if” scenarios. I did everything I legally could do for the patient but still questioned each of my actions. I quit writing, changed jobs, and moved since that time. I am still a therapist but a much more cautious one.
I didn’t really want to write about the suicide. I originally wanted to write fiction, but found that in this blog previously, I mostly bitched, whined, complained and said things I could not say to others, at least, to their faces, especially work supervisors. I would like to change that. Being a therapist in these dystopian times is awful and I would not wish it on anyone. So, I wish to write to escape the reality of my day-to-day existence by writing fiction.
I recently finished reading “Disappearance at Devil’s Rock” by Paul Tremblay and was both amazed and disturbed by it. I also read his book “Headful of Ghosts” and loved it. Why can’t I write like that? Well, I know why. I want a happy ending. I have enough sad and tragic endings in real life every day (Ok, not every day), and that’s enough. I’m full. It’s the same feeling with Stephen KIng, especially after reading “Pet Cemetary.” I recently read that he wrote that book after a near accident, where his young son almost ran into a road and got hit by an 18-wheeler. I don’t have the brass cojones to write like that. I’d be depressed all the time! Ha, maybe I am anyway….
Shirley Jackson wrote horror and also humor from her daily life depictions of raising her children, “Raising Demons.” I admire her ability to write both humorous and spooky stories. Recent books I read that have the right amount of camp in them are ones by Grady Hendrix, such as “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” and “The Final Girl Support Group.” I guess I am biased, being a woman and from the Southwest but really could identify with those books. How to put that type of prose to paper is my problem and my ultimate goal.
I thought a way to start again is to write short stories in my blog. I have been writing most of my life but for academia. Ugh. Boring and dry as shit. I’m done with it. So, I hope you will stay tuned for stories in the days to come, Constant Reader (as Stephen King would write)…
Percolations 