Publication Update

This one was magic

Jul 12, 2024

Dear Reader,

My goal for this year was to bring my stories out into the open and let them breathe. That’s what brought me to Substack; to give my words a home that people can visit. It’s also why I’ve submitted stories for publication in literary magazines and websites. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few stories shared this way too.

I’m thrilled to say that I now have another piece living outside the walls of the Substack. “Counterbalance” was published in Persephone Magazine last week. I would be honored if you read it there. Below I have a little insight to the unusually layered writing process if you’re interested in how it came to life.

Thank you for following along,

PS: Don’t forget that for every one of these exciting announcements you see, there are many many rejections you don’t. I wrote about that here if you find yourself in need of commiseration or support.

Counterbalance

This story is a magical result of two different prompt projects.

Many years ago, when my writers’ group formed, we rotated leading a weekly writing exercise. On one such week,

Kerani Arpaia

led the group with a visual writing prompt using the image above.

I wrote the first paragraph of a story and then… nothing. I have a habit of finding my characters first then letting them show me the plot of their story. There was something about the etherealness of these two that stumped me.

Despite it not going anywhere, I held on to the start (another writerly habit) in the Notes app on my phone.

Almost three years later, I was working on a different prompt project (you can read more about it here) and combed through that Notes folder for a story start. I selected this one. So much time had passed that I couldn’t remember its origin, only that I never did anything with it.

Just like before, I struggled. When I find my characters, it feels like meeting a real person. I can see them, hear their voice and notice the little quirks of their mannerisms. But I just couldn’t see these two. I scribbled in my notebook, crossed out paragraphs and even drew a picture of a waterfront trying to find them. Then, in a fit of frustration I wrote, “THEY’RE NOT PEOPLE!!” That’s when it hit me. I wasn’t writing about humans, I was writing about otherworldly beings. Having never met a god or force of nature, I was still stumped but at least now I knew why.

“You know you don’t have to finish the story,” my friend told me.

“Hell no,” I said. “I always meet my deadlines.” What I really meant was, “I care too much about your opinion to embarrass myself in front of you.”

So, I went on a quest to find these non-human characters, which led me to folklore. It felt like a natural place, given that it’s where people traditionally try to describe unfathomable forces and inexplicable circumstances.

I reached out to Kerani, who just so happened to focus her English degree in folklore. She pointed me to some resources and later gave me gut checks on word use when the story took shape.

The whole time I was working on her prompt and we had no idea.

Once I got deeper into folklore, I started to wonder what it would feel like to be described in such an incomplete way. What would a god or a natural force think of our vain attempts to capture their essence? That question was the spark that helped me finally find Darkness and her sister, Light, and in turn, the plot of my story.

Many weeks after I shared this story with my prompt project partner (just barely on time, if I’m honest), Kerani and I were on a walk when this story came up. She admitted that she couldn’t shake a feeling of familiarity. It reminded her of something, but she couldn’t place what. Then, as if all five feet of her were struck by lightning, she remembered this photo. She found it, showed it to me and the memory of that prompt rushed back. I stood dumbfounded with chills. Kerani jumped up and down squealing with delight. It was pretty damn special.

Even more special? When I submitted this story to Persephone, I noticed there was also a call for art. In addition to being a wildly talent writer, Kerani is also a wildly talented photographer (I know, I know, she’s a goddess!) so I suggested she submit too. She did and in yet another incredible moment of kismet, her photos were selected for publication in the same issue as my story.

Perhaps the lesson here is to never throw away your story starts. They become the compost heap from which incredible ideas grow. Or maybe it’s to get yourself a writing partner whom you want to impress so badly you will push yourself to new places in order to finish a story for them.

But most likely, the moral is this: Whenever the universe winks at you with its beautiful connectivity, be more like Kerani. Jump up and down in the street while squealing with delight. It’s the best possible reaction.