Compare & Contrast

You know that graphic you’ve probably seen floating around (teehee!) with the iceburg showing success and the contrast of what goes on above the water’s surface vs. what’s happening below the surface?

Things have been happening around here, but most of it on the downlow.

First – I was accepted as a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA). Very exciting news! To be honest, I was eligible to join years ago but only recently applied. It took a few weeks but I heard the good news and now I’m a member.

One of my goals is to take my career to the next level, and although I don’t need to be a member to do that, it gives me that extra boost. I know there are varying opinions on groups of this sort; whether they’re beneficial or not, not to mention the behind-the-scenes goings-on of such organizations, but I decided to try membership out for the next year to see what it brings me.

In related news, I’ve been paired with a mentor through the HWA’s Mentor Program and even though these are still early days, I’m pretty stoked with my mentor, Loren Rhoads (I mean, she writes travel articles about cemeteries, among other things. it was kinda meant to be!).

For anyone who’s curious, we’ve spent a little time getting to know one another and Loren has been very eager to listen to my goals, to help point me in the right direction and she’s already given me great advice. We’ve settled into a weekly check-in and I’m going to be sending her chapters from my novel in the coming months. I’m actually really looking forward to that (even if it makes me a little terrified).

So, that’s where I’ve been. Working away on the Reaper book. Again. Still. This book has been a labour of love (and sometimes loathing). It went from short story to novel, then novella, then back to novel again. I’m still not sure what it wants to be. But over this past month, I think I’ve finally found my main character’s voice. Re-reading the first chapter, re-written in my character’s voice, I don’t hate it. In fact, it’s pretty fricken’ good!

More on that as things move forward, but for now, things are going well. Even if you don’t see much progress. I’m looking forward to this next year of discovery and being able to look back at this time to see how I’ve progressed.

But first things first. The here & now. I have a book to finish, so I’m heading back to the writing nook.