With spooky season over and the skies darkening, I usually settle on my next release around now. In October, I dabbled in another psychological horror (APOTROPAIC). Although the concept initially excited me, my motivation began to fade as the story refused to bend to my will. I have returned to this WIP several times over the past three years, and although it has developed significantly, I once again find myself drifting away from what I want to achieve. Read on to learn what measures I took to break this cycle and how I deal with ‘spam emails’. Oh, and don't forget to check out Isolated, my latest horror novella, available now!
THE ENDLESS CYCLE
I am not going to pretend to be an expert here. This is merely my opinion on what I have learned (the hard way) works for me. Before I started writing in 2020, I kept a log of all the story ideas I planned to write one day. From that pile of old ideas, only See You Later has made the cut. All my other releases were new concepts.
After stepping away (again) from my recent WIP, I deliberated long and hard, eventually settling on three reasons why I had to do this:
Too many unwelcome visitors: I already had several drafts of this story written, each going in a different direction, and I made the mistake of trying to shoehorn all the good stuff in. This got me two-thirds of the way through the manuscript, but left me in a situation where the last third didn’t feel natural and couldn’t carry the tone I wanted.
Writing in the first-person narrative: When I first started writing, I felt comfortable in first person. My OCD mind then decided that this was how I had to write everything. I did experiment with third-person narrative writing SOTW, but made the mistake of bending the story to my will (refer to point 1). Once SOTW was released, I scurried back into the safety of first person with Formulation. First person has its place, but I must learn to do what’s right for each story. In hindsight, my newly shelved WIP would work better in third person, but it really needs a full rewrite.
Unfinished business: I have made the mistake of feeling like I owe something to my story ideas, especially those I've begun to draft over the years. I also felt like I was wasting time if I didn’t see the process through, which stressed me out and made writing a chore.
BREAKING THE CYCLE
Still here? Ok, I will continue.
This cycle had to be broken, and amazingly, it was quite simple and extremely therapeutic.
STEP ONE: I went through every story idea I had written down and forced myself to write a one-sentence summary of each. I then listed each story concept in a single document.
STEP TWO: I killed my darlings (kind of) by archiving every story draft I have written since 2020. I now accept them as practice. They have served their purpose well, but it’s time to move on. My writing style needs to evolve, and I cannot do so without a reset.
STEP THREE: This was the easiest step. I sat down with my list of one-sentence story concepts and let my imagination do the rest. Surprisingly, one particular story idea quickly leapt out at me, filling me with that familiar drive and passion that had got me writing in the first place.
If any writer friends have found themselves in a similar rut, I truly hope my advice helps.
DEALING WITH SPAM MAIL
Every day, I am fortunate to receive email offers to improve my visibility, increase my sales, promote my work across various platforms, and turn my stories into films.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am interested in all of these things, but unfortunately 95 per cent of this mail comes from individuals who have never read my work. Some have even gone so far as to use AI to summarise my stories to make the email seem more personal (which doesn’t work). Moreover, most expect me to cough up money to enhance my experience as a writer.
Shock, horror! Writers don’t tend to make much money from their writing, especially those just starting. It takes time to put yourself out there and find your audience. Writing a story takes a ridiculous amount of time and effort. Not to mention late nights, early mornings, endless drafts, an unholy amount of editing, cover design, and more…
The bottom line is: if you don't read my work, don't reach out to offer me the holy grail of making it as a writer. Read my work first! That said, I do always respond to genuine messages, so please keep them coming.
Instead of letting this annoy me, I created a generic response that I use for every message that fits this bill. When I receive such messages, at least they get a direct response. Here it is, and feel free to use it as you wish:
Thank you for reaching out.
All my stories are available at the following link and can be read for free with Kindle Plus.
https://daniellornhorror.co.uk/gallery
You’re more than welcome to check any of them out and leave a review if you wish. Feel free to share your thoughts on social media, as this really helps raise awareness of my work.
Respectfully, I am not interested in any arrangement that requires me to pay for my work to be read, promoted, or discussed at a group or event.
I am, of course, happy to discuss arrangements to promote my work or maximise my sales, but not those that require any financial commitment on my part.
Thanks again, and all the very best.
Yours in horror.
Daniel Lorn
IN CLOSING
I was going to cover some other stuff, but I have rambled on enough. Thank you all for reading and sharing my work. October was my biggest month so far for sales and reads, which is truly amazing!
See you next time…
Yours in horror
Daniel Lorn