March
Mid-Month Check-In
I feel like March has already been a month. I have spent a lot of my time reorganising myself, my work, and my business, and while I feel more motivated about things in the future, my poor brain is fed up.
I thought, instead of telling you all the boring details of what I have changed about my plans, I would share the fun things that I have been doing in March so far.
The first thing I have been doing, which I have been really enjoying, is writing an article for my Noctuary on the Violence of Beauty. It is a crossover essay looking at the body horror culture within literature and media, and within capitalist society. It has felt really good to exercise that academic part of my brain that I have missed since finishing my master’s last year.
Something else I have really enjoyed is my time on Substack. Reading other creators’ work, seeing their art, and the general support of the community have really bolstered how I feel about my writing and humanity in general. I have been taking part in some flash fiction prompts set by Sarah Faxon , and I discovered more people who put out prompts over the weekend, and now I have a list to work through, which really makes me feel excited about writing. Trying to convey a story, a feeling, and emotion in such a short word count is a brilliant challenge, and I am hoping it helps me learn to write more dark, evocative, dreadful pieces, as these are the ones I feel I often struggle with the most. I never know if I have successfully conveyed the feeling I want to convey.
Other things that I have leaned towards in March are: taking weekends off, a little gaming (EQ2, Minecraft, anything chill), reading (a lot), watching some T.V shows I had added to my watch list months, if not years, ago, and engaging in conversation with other writers and creators.
March has felt fleeting, and stubbornly slow at the same time, but it has felt full. Positive, motivating, inspiring, and (I will probably curse this for myself), but full of sunshine (mostly). It might still be bitterly cold most days, it is the last remaining days of winter after all, but the sun has awoken something in me that is eager to make moves forward. Winter has been the perfect time for rest, and I really felt it this year. I let myself fully give in to reflective thought, refuelling my mind and body, and doing absolutely nothing at all. There is much one can find while wilting in boredom.
I hope March has been treating you well, and if you would like to read some of my flash fiction shorts and drabbles, I will link them below.