lisa rabey writes stuff issue #17 stories we tell
Welcome to A Most Unreliable Narrator, the slice-of-life newsletter of GenXer around town, Lisa Rabey. I talk about anything and everything with a bit of swears. I’m glad you’re here.
Dear Internet,
It is Friday and I am late. This week has gone by super-fast and I found myself with little time for newsletter writing. But! Better late than never, I say.
For the first smut class (I’m taking two), I started working on the scene I wrote about last week and it’s going slow. I can see the characters in my brain going through the sexy time motions but getting it onto the page is harder than it seems. You want the main characters to have the buildup and hot, but it needs to be relatable and realistic. (Granted, a lot of romances are wish fulfillment, but that is not my jam.)
(In lesson four, we posted a scene we wished we would have written from an existing published book. Someone posted a scene where the vagina was referred to as “tunnel” or “channel” (I can’t remember which.) I stopped reading that scene after seeing that.)
I thought writing about sex would be the simple part because most of us have sex regularly, so if you do something on the reg, you should be able to express it, right? Not really. Through our partner, we learn what we like or dislike. We explore fantasies via our own mind, aids, and self-pleasure. Like I said, communicating in written word is not that easy.
Writing about sex is also hard if you’ve had sexual trauma. There is a lot going on in my head that I’m working out while I’m writing. I’ve written sex scenes before, but it’s been more abstract rather than “dick in pussy” variety. I’m hoping this kind of writing will not only bring me pleasure but also help me through my own things.
I’m stepping away from writing flash, I think, for a bit. Part of it is rejection. Even though I shouldn’t take it personally, I do. I also got edits back on a piece of fiction I wrote, and I see what he talking about how to improve my work. It can be exhausting.
I’m back to working on Aubrey and I started research (again) on my paranormal book thingy. My notes show I started this back in 2011 (!) and never picked up on it over the years. The gist of the story is about a woman, Maeve, who comes back to N. Michigan due to X and discovers she’s a latent witch. Her aunt and mother had a falling out years ago because her mother didn’t have the gift and the aunt did. The gift is hereditary to the eldest girl child and it skipped Maeve’s mother and went to her sister instead. Maeve’s mom kept Maeve away from her aunt because she saw the gift in Maeve and wanted her to lead a “normal” life over a magical one.
That’s all I’ve got.
I picked N. Michigan because it sits on the 45th Parallel which should mean something magical? I also got super interested in ley lines. One cuts on the southern half of the peninsula. If you’re not in the mood to click on the Wikipedia link, the short story is that sacred places are connected by invisible networks, the lines, and are filled with magical power. Ley lines are not 100% a European idea. Other cultures around the world refer to the concept, such as spirit or funerary pathways. Some argue that the Chinese practice of Feng Shui is also similar to ley lines.
(Jim Butcher, who writes the popular Dresden Files series, uses ley lines in his books since Chicago is apparently a crossing of ley lines making it an epicenter. Note: There are nearly 20 books in the series and I’ve read the first four.)
We’ve got the 45th Parallel and ley lines. Something’s bound to happen, right?
I asked in a witch’s group on Reddit what they like or don’t like about representation of the craft in fiction and TV because I want to be mindful of the craft. Answers were all over the place, and none of it was not helpful. One did say to write about what you practice and since I’ve dabbled in it on and off, I don’t really have anything to draw from.
What I could draw from was the tarot deck. I bought a new deck and some crystals to cleanse it. Finding a place that ethically sold the decks (not Amazon) proved to be difficult. I eventually did buy a deck from Amazon from a reputable company (Llewellyn) and crystals from an esoteric store to get the stank of commercialism off. The deck and crystals have both arrived. I cleanse my primary deck at home and it’s easy. You wrap the deck in satin-ish with the crystals on top of the deck and place it in a, typically velvet, bag. I’ll probably head to a craft store this weekend to get a piece of fabric and I need to order the bag from Etsy. But for now, the crystals will live on top of the deck on my desk until I get the bag.
I went over my book and story plans with Kristin on Thursday and that gave me more ideas. The writing classes have also helped but I’ve not carved out the time to write or do the homework. In my weekly accountability list, I’ve listed a few hours to work on writing projects a week. I’d like to go to the local library or local coffee shop, but local coffee shops close at 2-3 p.m. and the library closes at 5 p.m. during the week, so those are out. I can head to the city to a local coffee shop there and I’d like to do that, but time and energy play a factor.
I also told Kristin I need to move from being a pantser to a plotter. Especially with the paranormal story. Having the seed is great, but I need for the stories to grow.
I got turned on to Pro Writing Aid this week. The app’s goal is to help you write better by checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It also includes a “word explorer” (use this phrase or word instead of that word or phrase) and a thesaurus. I ran it across a piece of flash as well as this document and found it did help. The story was stronger. With a coupon, I can get it for $96/year or pay the god awful cost of $30/month. Clearly, I’m going to get the yearly option, but I’ve spent my discretionary money for the month so it’ll be a next month’s purchase.
There is a free option that you can use with limits. So far, I don’t seem to have the hit the limit, so I may stick with the free one. I’ve also not done a lot of writing, so that may be why.
One cool thing I like is that the app integrates itself with most common word processors like Word and Scrivener. If you’re interested in Pro Writing Aid, a comprehensive look is here.
(I’m not an affiliate of Pro Writing Aid. I just like the software.)
Media
Submission update
45 submissions including 34 rejections, 2 acceptances, and 1 withdrawal.
Publication
51 Stories in 51 Week: Week Two
chapbook: commercial breaks
Snippet
This bit is from a hybrid story I wrote a few weeks ago. Hybrid is a mix of fiction and non-fiction. What is not true is the name of the cross-roads where we parked and some of the dialogue is a bit off as I couldn’t directly remember but the gist is the same.
He took a left and parked the car in the small gravel area off the side of the road. We got out, stretched, and headed towards the path. I grabbed his hand and held it. He grumbled in a good natured way. I cannot stop holding his hand anytime we’re in public. He once commented he needs a fan between our palms, as he does not do sticky from the sweat of our hands.
We held hands as we continued to walk on. When we are in the sun patches, he pulls his hand away only to grab my hand in the shade. Sticky, he said.
We do not walk far before we hit the boardwalk. Pussy willows, grass, and other flora struggle in the sun. The swamp’s water level is low. Where are the frogs and turtles, I asked. The creek and swamps are drying up, he said. We’ve had no rain in over a week except for that quick rain shower the other day that did nothing.
lisa x
(Fuck fascists and Nazis!)
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