Surviving The Long Dark
Winter is... coming?
Hi folks,
Sometimes I get overwhelmed and newsletters don’t happen, which is why you haven’t seen me around these parts as much lately. I suspect I’m not alone in feeling like, “holy shit, so many things are happening right now, how am I supposed to put socks on every day, it’s too much!”
Plus, there’s the weather. In Seattle we’re far enough north that we enter into this thing called The Long Dark around daylight savings each year and stay stuck within it for approximately 267 months (kidding, more like 134 months). During this stretch, the sun barely makes an appearance and our introverted population becomes downright hermetic, sealing itself up inside tiny apartments and emerging only to grunt at the clouds. Winterfell ain’t got nothing on us.
People who leave Seattle often cite The Long Dark as one of their primary motivations. Maybe something’s wrong with me, but I kind of like the season. There’s something cozy about all the gloom—it offers the perfect vibe for reading, writing and cooking aromatic soups.
I’ve also found that one of the best strategies for thriving in this challenging period is to carry on as if it isn’t cold or gloomy at all. Go outside, even if it’s raining. Make plans with friends, even if you’d rather rot in front of the tv. Eat ice cream, even if your hands are chilly. And, seize every brief moment of sunlight you can. Don’t succumb too much to the gravity of The Long Dark, because it’ll suck you down if you let it.
Then, when summer finally arrives, that naked frolic at the solstice festival will feel eight million times better. ;)
Stuff I Wrote
It’s been a pretty exciting time for me, writing-wise. I’m honored to have had my stories published in a few new-to-me journals. Mostly horror stuff, with a little bit of humor on the side. I’d be absolutely thrilled if you checked some of these out.
The One Who is Loved Most - Hearth & Coffin
Hearth & Coffin recently released a volume with the unifying theme of Gossip Horror. I thought the idea was so interesting that I had to try putting something together and was thrilled when they accepted my story. It’s loosely based on the conversations I used to have while working backstage during shows. People say some wild things over headset!
Complex Social Dynamics - Hellarkey, Vol III
Malarkey Books’ Halloween anthology, Hellarkey, is quickly becoming a horror fiction institution and getting an acceptance for it was super cool. Crows occupy a weird amount of space in my brain and I’m always watching them, wondering what they’re thinking. I’ve choreographed dances about crows in the past and now I’ve written a short story about them.
What this Town Needs is a Shirley Jackson-Style Lottery - Jane Austen’s Wastebasket
Like many writers, I’m obsessed with Shirley Jackson. She knew how to turn a phrase (and toss generations of readers into spirals of existential dread while she did it). I’m also endlessly amused by people who insist on blatantly misinterpreting literature… so I decided to do a little blatant misinterpretation of my own. For fun.
Thanks for reading The Creative Cacophony and I hope you’re having a warm and loving holiday season.
~Sarah