Sticking to What I know Best
Hey guys, I know last time I sounded unsure of myself because I didn't know where this blog was going. If you have been with me for the past few years, I mention this quite a bit. I decided to stick to what I know and what I know best and that's my writing.
I started this blog when I wanted to show everyone my writing. Not only that, the occasional rant that I can't hold in because, you know, people irritate me. But now that I did some research I now know what to post and what not to post so hopefully you can disregard my previous posts. I want to throw all that personal stuff to the side but I will keep them up just so I have the memory of what I was posting. Besides, I think you guys know me well enough that you don't need a constant update.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyways, I mentioned in my last blog entry that I have been working on a few projects during this time off because with everything going on what can I do? Anywho, in the past few months I have written three stories/novels and if interested just let me know which one you want to read and I'll send a chapter or a sneak peek so you can see what you're getting into.
So one of the stories I wrote is called "Ghost Stories." This was an original I thought I could write after spending a bit re-writing an old story that is so outdated. I thought I could be a bit more modern.
In "Ghost Stories" you follow the main character after his big brother commits suicide. Now if you know my writing I try to incorporate mental health/mental illness because I'm a horror writer and I like messing with the human psyche. The one thing I noticed was I didn't really put a lot of the mental illness in the story. There are moments where you can tell the main character is suffering from depression but there's not much when it comes to the depth of the depression. I do give myself a pat on the back for getting back on originality but other than that there wasn't much I liked about this story.
(Also note: I will be switching back and forth on the terms stories and novels. I do know the difference between the two. One of my weaknesses when it comes to writing is length but I'll get back to that in a bit.)
Another one of the projects I cranked out is called "The New Girl". This was kind of a rewrite of one of my older stories but I modernized it to fit what has happened. "The New Girl" was also a closure to a part of me that I don't want to see ever again. Just keep in mind: I write fiction so names and events are changed or just fabricated.
With it being so personal, you can take a guess on what "The New Girl" is about. A girl moves away for a brand new start but her past catches up with her making her more anxious. It is a bit more dramatic than my other works but I thought it was a perfect closure project so I thought why not.
What really made me kind of irritated with this story is I feel like there's not enough content thus making the story a little short. This is why I say story and not novel. It seems like there's quite a bit happening but not enough to make it a novel. What I really like about it is that since it was such a personal story the emotion in it is raw and even though I may seem a little rusty with third POV it still worked out. (I tend to switch between first POV and third POV so since "Ghost Stories" was in first POV I had to make an adjustment.)
Split Bodies is by far my favorite piece of work because not only does it fit well when it comes to psychological thriller but I've been working on this novel for years. I think since 2015/2016. The thing is it wasn't an on and off again project. It was one of those project I just put off.
I feel like I could still put more into it because once I got back on it I kind of just wanted to finish it because I haven't touched it in years. But I loved playing with the three point of views which is what made it fun to write.
Split Bodies is about a person with multiple personalities. I could go more into it but that would spoil the fun but it has a combination of drama, thriller, and suspense. It is longer than "The New Girl" so I'm happy about that and it has that twist not a lot of people expect.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know this was a longer post than normal but I wanted to update you guys on my projects. I know some of you like my writing so it means a lot. I am currently working on another project. It was heavily influenced by Murder House from American Horror Story and Alex North's The Whisper Man so we'll see how this one turns out.
Anyways, thank you guys for dealing with my moodiness the past few blog entries but I'm better and I will be posting more on here. As always, stay safe and keep reading!
~A.B.Manago
