Tonight marks the completion of another round of contest-entering. Two stories were submitted, one to the Once Written website, for their Midnight Hour "Halloween" short story competition....the other was a Flash Fiction piece submitted to the WOW! (women on writing) Website.
After the initial rush that I had hit the "submit" button and could in no way retrieve what I had sent out, the realization that other contest deadlines were impending invaded.
As I pulled 3 more stories out of my pile for the next 3 contests--- all of which have an October 1st deadline--- I suddenly realized something about my writing.......
I have an increasingly morbid fixation on death....
Every story I've ever written, ever thought of, has been centered around death---- the tragic death, the lonely death, the vengeful death, the grievous death, the hopeful death--- if there can be a "hopeful" death....
I'm not sure where my writing disposition comes from, but, it is clear what drives it. I seem to have this need to bring to light all the tragedies of life. I'm not writing about death just to write about death. I am writing about death as a means of bringing a solemnity to what I'm writing. I never intended to use death as a device. But, I guess I'm just too much of a cynic to believe that life could ever just be gumdrops and candy canes. I've seen too much to know that isn't possible.
So, I can't fake it. I can't pretend there aren't tragic things out there happening to good people. I can't pretend that death isn't real, it happens every day. All I can do is bring to my stories some thread of dignity and hope.
Death will always be there, so I guess it isn't really a fixation. Death is there because it is there....
After the initial rush that I had hit the "submit" button and could in no way retrieve what I had sent out, the realization that other contest deadlines were impending invaded.
As I pulled 3 more stories out of my pile for the next 3 contests--- all of which have an October 1st deadline--- I suddenly realized something about my writing.......
I have an increasingly morbid fixation on death....
Every story I've ever written, ever thought of, has been centered around death---- the tragic death, the lonely death, the vengeful death, the grievous death, the hopeful death--- if there can be a "hopeful" death....
I'm not sure where my writing disposition comes from, but, it is clear what drives it. I seem to have this need to bring to light all the tragedies of life. I'm not writing about death just to write about death. I am writing about death as a means of bringing a solemnity to what I'm writing. I never intended to use death as a device. But, I guess I'm just too much of a cynic to believe that life could ever just be gumdrops and candy canes. I've seen too much to know that isn't possible.
So, I can't fake it. I can't pretend there aren't tragic things out there happening to good people. I can't pretend that death isn't real, it happens every day. All I can do is bring to my stories some thread of dignity and hope.
Death will always be there, so I guess it isn't really a fixation. Death is there because it is there....
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