Posts Tagged ‘Hamilton (musical)’

I’ve Written My First Short Story of 2025!!!

Posted: March 28, 2025 in Living and Life, Novelette, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Well, that took longer than I expected. But raise your glasses and let out an ear-piercing wail of terror, because I finished my first short story of 2025!

As some of you remember from earlier this month, I was originally working on a witchy Halloween story, but that blew past novelette range into novella territory, and I promised I wouldn’t write any new longer stories until the ones I was already working on were finished and had homes. Thus, the witchy Halloween story got put away for later, and I started working on something new.

And thankfully, this story managed to stay in novelette range, at just under 9,300 words. “The Manhattan Well” follows a young woman in Victorian England meeting a young man from New York who relates his traumatic experience meeting a ghost related to America’s first sensationalized murder.

This story actually has a cool story behind its inspiration. I’m a big fan of the musical Hamilton (I’m actually seeing it live for the third time this summer), and a while back, I had the song “Non-Stop” stuck in my head (I even wrote a blog post about it). As sometimes happens when I have a song stuck in my head, I looked up the lyrics.

Here’s the song in question if you’re unfamiliar or just want to jam.

So, early in the song, when Hamilton and Burr is doing that murder trial, I always thought Burr was saying, “Our client says he’s innocent, call your first witness.” But as it turns out, when I looked up the lyrics, Burr was saying, “Our client Levi Weeks is innocent, call your first witness.”

Dance and celebrate like nobody’s watching.

This led me to ask, “Who the hell is Levi Weeks?” One internet rabbit hole later, not only did I learn about one of America’s earliest true crime stories (and if you’re interested, it’s a rather cool story, so I’d check it out), but I had an idea for a horror story.

And now that the story is written, is it any good? Well, it’s a first draft. It’s not supposed to be good! It’s just supposed to exist and have potential. And on that front, it fulfills both requirements. I’ll give it an edit and see about finding a beta reader later this year. However, I have to do one more edit of The Shape of Evil before I (hopefully) pitch it at StokerCon later this year, so that’s the focus now. After that, we’ll see where we are and what I feel I should be doing.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I just wanted to share the good news with you. If anyone needs me, I’m going to go celebrate and have a super-late dinner. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and don’t throw away your shot!

“The Shape of Evil:” The Sensitivity Readers Sent Their Notes Back!!!

Posted: March 10, 2025 in Novel, Progress Report, Scary Stuff, Writing
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Pour the libations! Light the celebratory bonfires! Chant to the eldritch wonders that wait beyond our reality and offer them sacrifices! The sensitivity readers sent me their notes for The Shape of Evil! We are one step closer to my being able to pitch this baby at StokerCon in June!

Now, for those of you who don’t know, The Shape of Evil is a novel I wrote last year about a 3D Printer of Hell. I started it thinking it would be a long novelette or a short novella, but it ended up becoming a whole freaking novel of around 75,000 words. And as I got further along with it, the idea to pitch it to agents at StokerCon, which always has sessions for doing just that, came to me. So, for the past year, that’s what I’ve been working for.

And as part of that process, I had to find at least one sensitivity reader to look it over. You see, my protagonist is non-binary. And I, despite being bisexual, am only cisgender. So, I wanted to have someone who had firsthand experience look over my story and make sure I was being both respectful to the community and portrayed accurately.

As luck would have it, I managed to find two trans horror writers who agreed to look it over. And they both got through the second draft within days of each other, with the second one getting their feedback to me earlier today. This means I’m going to be ready to work on the third draft starting next month!

I’m incredibly thankful to my sensitivity readers for reading through the manuscript, finding issues and giving me their feedback, and doing so in such good time. I’ll do my best to incorporate their feedback and improve the manuscript. That way, when I pitch it to agents and editors, they’ll be that much more likely to want to help me find a home for it.

For now, though, I want to write a spooky short story inspired by Hamilton. Afterwards, I’ll start on the next draft.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I wanted to make sure you all knew that the next step in this book’s crazy journey is going to start soon, and I wanted to do it today, so I’m glad I got it done. Now, if you need me, I’m going to get ready to bed. Today I was totally drained, so I’ll need sleep if I’m going to get anything done tomorrow.

So, until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and be careful with your celebratory rituals tonight. Just Friday, I did one wrong, and my dad’s dog was turned into a cat. She turned back, but she’s still coughing up hairballs. Oops.

Getting Back on Track

Posted: March 7, 2025 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I can be a real idiot sometimes.

So, back in December, I posted about my plans for 2025 in terms of what I want to accomplish with my writing (you can read that post here). What I didn’t mention was that I had no plans to write anything longer than a novelette. I’d edit the novellas and novels I’d already written, like The Shape of Evil and the four I hope to shop around when I’ve finished editing them. But I wouldn’t work on anything longer. Just short stories and novelettes until those stories were finished and edited and published. And only after I’d gotten back to my mummy novel, Crawler, and finished the first draft of that.

(For those of you who are unaware, the Horror Writers Association defines a short story as 1,000-7,500 words, a novelette as 7,500-17,500, a novella as 17,500-40,000, and a novel is 40,000 words and up.)

So, with my plan in place, I started on a witchy Halloween story that I thought would be maybe a long novelette at most.

And that story ended up going up to 20,000 words! And it’s not even done!

Now, by that point, I had been working on the story since before New Year’s, and I was so frustrated by how busy my life has been, so I completely forgot about my promise to myself and just forged on ahead for a while. But then I found myself just hesitating, not wanting to get further when I knew it could take me another month or two, given my current life.

That was when I remembered my promise to myself. And I slapped myself in the head for not keeping it!

So, the witchy Halloween story is now on hold until I’ve finished Crawler. In the meantime, I’m going to work on something I know will be shorter.* After that, the sensitivity readers should both be done with The Shape of Evil (one’s already sent me their notes), so I’ll probably give that one more round of edits.

After that? Probably another guaranteed short story. We’ll see.

But for now, I should head to bed. I’ve got the Akron Book Fest tomorrow, and I’ll need all the energy I can get.

After I get back home, however, I’ve got a great scary story idea to look forward to writing. And did I mention the story was inspired by Hamilton?

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

*Then again, I thought the witchy Halloween story would be short. So who knows?!

Non-Stop

Posted: August 14, 2024 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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You have no idea how much this musical has been on my mind lately. Especially the song “Non-Stop.”

I’ve had the soundtrack from Hamilton stuck in my head lately, especially the song Non-Stop (if you haven’t ever heard it, you can check it out here). Now, if you’re unfamiliar, this song is the Act One finale and summarizes Alexander Hamilton’s post-war rise to become the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, while also going over how Hamilton never stops working and writing.

There’s some verses from this song that has really resonated with me lately:

How do you write like you’re running out of time?…
How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive?
How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write every second you’re alive?

Even if you don’t know me, you probably know I’m a writer, and you can see why these lyrics resonate with me. If you do know me, you might recall I’ve mentioned how my time for writing has seemed to be shaved down this year. So, when I do write, I’m trying to make the most of my time (including as I’m writing this). And when I’m not writing, I feel like I should be.

Sadly, the time I’m not writing is usually spent doing things that are essential for living my life: eating, sleeping, working, etc. If I didn’t, I would not be able to pay my bills and would probably have to move in with one of my parents (and I’m not doing that again!). And while I would like to use my vacation time to spend some time writing again, at the moment, that’s not feasible.

So yeah, it’s a sucky situation. And I don’t know how to fix it. After all, summoning demons to win the lottery has too many drawbacks, though it is tempting.

I guess, while I look for new ways to find more time for writing, I’ll do like Alexander Hamilton did. I’ll write like I’m running out of time. Because time’s a quick bastard, and I need to take advantage of it when I can. Until I eventually get to the point when I can write full time and I (hopefully) don’t have to worry about not having enough time to write.

Going to write like I’m running out of time, like I need it to survive.

In the meantime, write like tomorrow won’t arrive. Write like I need it to survive. Write every second I can find.*

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I have to get ready to spend necessary time sleeping. So, until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and only 78 days left to Halloween. If you’re not at least thinking of getting ready for spooky season, then what are you doing with your life?

*That last one is not an exact quote, but I think Lin Manuel Miranda and everyone who loves this show will let it slide.

Virtual Write-Ins: A Helpful (and Safe) Way to Get Motivated

Posted: July 4, 2020 in Writing
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Some time ago, a friend/colleague on Facebook invited friends who enjoy writing to join him for a virtual write-in. Curious, I asked him to include me, and the following Sunday, I logged in with several other writers. And you know what? It proved to be very helpful, at least for me.

So what is a virtual write-in? Well, if you’re unfamiliar with write-ins, they’re when a bunch of writers get together and use the presence of one another to motivate you to write and get words down on paper. It’s also helpful if you need advice from your fellow creatives. A virtual one is one that’s not held in-person, but online.

In this case, we’ve been meeting over Zoom. We log in at a set time by a link provided by the host (my colleague), talk about what we’re going to be working on, and then mute our microphones before trying to write for two hours. At the end, everyone who can jumps back in and talks about how much progress they made.

I’m usually pretty good about getting words on paper (to the point that people joke I’m writing a novel a week or something), but I’ve found these write-ins to be helpful for me. For one thing, having all these other writers writing alongside me, even if they’re not physically nearby, has a psychological effect. I start to think that these other writers are making progress, and that makes me want to make progress. My mind then gets into a frame where it can make progress, and then I do make progress.

And an added benefit to these virtual write-ins is that it allows for safe communication during the pandemic. COVID-19 has made it dangerous to so much as stop by a Starbucks, let alone meet with a bunch of other authors. But these write-ins take out that risk, as well as giving writers who may live far away from the host a chance to participate without a long car or plane ride. And in an age where going grocery shopping is dangerous because the store may let people in who aren’t wearing masks (how irresponsible), that’s a good thing to have.

Finally, these virtual write-ins allow us to make connections in a comfortable environment. Since starting these write-ins, I’ve met a few writers whom I’ve been able to connect and talk work with. Just recently, I had a chat with one of the participants about various aspects of publication after we connected through the write-in. Another gave me some feedback on an essay I wrote that proved helpful during the second draft. And a few are now Facebook friends!

My writing workstation. Which, by the way, is also a comfortable place to meet people during a virtual write-in.

Of course, virtual write-ins aren’t without their drawbacks. Not everyone is able to make every single meeting, sometimes people have to come late or leave early because life is crazy, and sometimes these write-ins aren’t that helpful for some writers. However, if you’re in a good group, you’ll find the other members understanding of your life or your writing style. I know the folks in mine are.

Anyway, these write-ins have been helpful. Hell, I’ve benefited so much, I’m planning one for the Ohio chapter of the Horror Writers Association, possibly one that lasts a good chunk of the day.

And since they’re so helpful, I’m spreading the word about them. Who knows? Maybe if you’ve had trouble lately with writing, getting a couple of your friends together for a virtual write-in might be just what you needed. And if it’s not, at least you’ve discovered another thing that doesn’t help with your writing. Always a plus.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m going to bed now. Hopefully in the morning, I’ll be able to finish the outline of a new story. Hope you all have a happy Fourth of July, even if you don’t live in America.

And until next time, stay safe, pleasant nightmares, and HAMILTON IS AWESOME!!! I hope you have the chance to watch it on Disney+. That movie had me in tears by the end.