WCMarchese

   From the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, to trick or treaters and colorful costumes, Halloween is here and for some it's a nuisance, others it means candy and costumes. There are horror movie marathons and it’s the best time of the year for horror channels like Chiller and Fear.net.  But to me it's almost muse-like. Around this time of the year I get a feeling. All the old horror movies I've watched come out and play in my mind. I am entrenched in an ongoing story that plays itself out every year around this time. I sometimes sit down with my laptop at my side, waiting for inspiration to come.  Sometimes nothing comes, but just sitting there in this stew of thought is like filling up a gas tank of a car. And it runs my thoughts for the rest of the year.  For a horror writer, this is the Mecca of days, but I don't necessarily have to write. Just the look and feel and essence creates energy in me. It's positive thinking. If you envision your

   I was listening to this interesting podcast debating if "aspiring" should go before "writer" if you weren't published yet. The guest on the podcast explained that we are all writers, just some are paid and some aren't. I agree.     That question always comes up around get-togethers, family functions, etc. "So what do you do?" And unless you consider your day job to be your career, then you are most likely saying "writer." To which comes the fun of explaining yourself--or feeling you need to, anyway.     Most times, you'll get a face with the mouth pulled down and eyebrows pulled up, "Oh, really? What do you write?" Then you go on about what you're doing, etc. You might impress them a bit, you might get a sympathetic face and a, "well, good for you."     In my situation, I say, "horror."     "Excuse me?"     "H-horror." Cue hand gesticulation and nervous cle

  Most writers have horror stories, of which I have a few to to share. Hopefully it helps in some way. The story begins with a website that went by the name iPublish--from what I know it's no longer running, at least in their old name. Aspiring writers had frequented this site seeking a friendly critique and maybe even publication. If I remember correctly, they promised a lucky (talented) writer a book deal. There was more, but this was a while back, and my memory is getting old.  A writer could post thier story and your "peers" would critique it. Depending on your score, you would move up and down the ranks. You could even reciprocate--if you liked. You could get feedback for a novel, or short story, or go for the gold and try for a publishing contract.    Who knew? Maybe even an agent or editor was lurking about, looking for new talent.  It sounded like a good idea, a site where experts and armatures in the industry could meet up. But of course, this l

Bad Agents    Every writer has to go through rejection as they send in submissions. At times, a writer will also experience corrupt and scam literary agents, as if we don't have enough to worry about.     There was a site I talked about in a prior post called   Preditors and Editors . It is a great site to research agents and publishers as well as other categories to educate yourself before you get burned. As I almost did:     I was on an express bus home from work one evening when I noticed I received a voicemail. I was kind of upset because my carrier didn't let the call go through. So I listened to it and it was from one of the literary agencies I had sent my novel to prior. My stomach fell into my pelvis, frozen, I had thought I blew it--but then a rational part of me said I hadn't, come on, people leave messages all the time--but there was always that feeling deep in the back of my mind. So I worried, and waited, and started dreaming of how it was going t