hildigunnur

Last week I wrestled with a tough emotion to portray in fiction and here's another one, grief/mourning. this might be one of the most personalized of emotions. It's freaking tidal, coming and going with whatever moon your mind is following. I think the difficulty of this emotion is just how different it can be person from person, from all the various lived experiences out there. It's not even necessarily the same within one person.

Take me for example. Within a year I lost my last two uncles (the only two I was related to by blood) and the grief hits different for both of them. Uncle S died suddenly, unexpectedly, of a heart attack. He was, without a doubt, the more gregarious of my uncles, the 'fun one.' The fourth of July last year was hard because the family always went to his lake house. Mom and I had also been at a rock/gem show the day he died and when that rolled around, neither of us wanted to return so that is a shared bit of grief that maybe in a story might not make sense.

Uncle D was the shy uncle, the introvert who really should have been helped more in school with his learning issues but that wasn't the done thing in the 50s and 60s. The first anniversary of his death is coming in the next few weeks and yet oddly there is a lack of grief when I think about it. It's not that I didn't like this uncle but it is different. Maybe it was the lack of a funeral. Maybe it was how much he pulled away almost as if afraid he had nothing to talk about with me because he wasn't 'smart enough' (no, I know he feared that.)

Even yesterday, I finally decided to stop being a jackass and answer my 3 month back log of emails/blog comments. I had at least a dozen in there that I owed spikedluv. There is so much regret in that, an emotion that doesn't go with grief alone but it is a big part of it. There is, of course, nothing I can do about that but I am determined to get the rest of the owed comments out in the next few days. I'm avoiding future regret, right? And avoidance is definitely one sign of grief.

I think in many ways, grief isn't necessarily hard to write but the way others perceive it i s where it gets sticky.

For example, I think I wrote grief well in These Haunted Hills but the book fell flat (though I did just find a great review by someone I'm not sure I know on GR) Ah well (but that's a heart break for another time)

How do you handle grief in fiction?


Open Calls


Story Unlikely This mag pays well BUT you have to subscribe which is free but if you get a paid sub your pay as an author goes up and that, while I understand it, doesn't necessarily sit well with me.

Horror Library Volume 10 Original, thoughtful horror-centric short stories

Folded Space Podcast Science fiction, exploring new worlds, future possibilities, and the enduring human spirit

The Whumpy Printing Press is looking novelette, novella, novel, short story collection, and graphic novel submissions Novelette, novella, novel, short story collection, and graphic novels that fall into the whump genre (i.e. a character needs to be hurt). We’re looking for strong stories with a balance between whump and plot. Ideally science fiction or fantasy (is it possible I DO NOT have a whump story?!?)

Street Magic III Magic. Hiding right under our unsuspecting noses, or swirling around all around us. When we’re talking about Street Magic, it’s probably closer than you think.

SciFi To Go: Food For Thought Funny short stories in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, and horror

86 Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers (February 2026) many of these include LGBT and women in general





From Around the Web

How the Page Thinks: Spatial Intelligence in Writing


The Four-Act Structure and the Circular Shape of Story

Fix Flat Deep POV: 7 Probing Questions for Better Immersion

How to Build an Author Brand That Attracts Readers and Sells Books (Step-by-Step Guide)


From Betty


How to Create a Simple Language

How to Use Story Structure in Non-Narrative Writing

Six Rape Tropes and How to Replace Them

Reconciling Character Choices With Your Plot

How to Make Your Dark Event Pay Off

Using Contradictions to Create Masterful Microtension – Part 2

Setting the Stage with Powerful Description

Fix Flat Deep POV: 7 Probing Questions for Better Immersion

How to Turn Feedback into Action: Understanding Editorial Letters

Why Writers Fear and Resist Change (and Characters Do, Too)

YouTube for Writers, Part 6: Building Your Author Brand on YouTube

Why Every Writer Needs a Critique Group (and the Six Relationships That Shape Your Career) Okay this one is something I have been saying forever. Ignoring the whole God bit (which fine if you're religious great but otherwise I don't feel like it needs to be in this article. This is not for everyone). I do still wish I could get more people into my critique group.


Email List Segmentation for Authors: How to Reach Readers and Increase Sales

A BREAKTHROUGH Program for Writers of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror This is like a college class in a way complete with application fees. It is NOT a cheap opportunity by any means.

I was going to shop around Jackson but once I got there apparently everyone in a 100 mile radius showed up. It was hilariously crowded so I cut my day in half. I did get to the coffee house and like the jackass I am saw one open table and three people in line so I threw my shit on that table got all comfy then got in line. I wrote. I finish that chapter I've been trying to finish for a month. I started a new story. I might share it tomorrow to see if it feels like it would draw you in.

I couldn't recycle today because it looked like none of the 8 dumpsters had been emptied since I was there last week. People were trying to toss stuff a top the mountains. I noped out of that, hit the library and Kroger (I guess this snow tomorrow is going to be worse than I heard?) which was packed to the gills.

I also managed to hit Tractor Supply. I now own six black ducklings and a dozen of mixed peeps. Okay not really but probably only because I love to travel and can't take care of farm animals. I did get onion sets though and my brush on a stick so I can clean the kitchen floor. This is a Liberman (like my broom) 15$. All the other brands were 40$ and up. I'm like dudes, it's a brush on a stick. I can buy two of this one for one of yours and yours didn't seem considerably better.

There was a handmade lemonade 'food' truck in the parking lot. I got the holy water lemonade (strawberry, peach, something I'm forgetting and blue curacao and I nearly drank it all in one go I ate the lemons in it to. Have I mentioned I love lemons? (bought another half dozen of them today)

I saw a facebook announcement that the Bourbon City steampunk already has their panels filled up and I didn't get an email so I guess I ain't one of them. What sucks is I have the tickets but its on graduation. BUT they're also doing a writing thing so I am going to try that too. Who knows. I might just tell my bosses I have a convention. Do they need to know what kind?

And I am already sending my panel ideas to the Gettysburg steampunk thing. I mean I left it too long on Bourbon but it's early days for Gettysburg.

Science Saturday time


Unprecedented spike in atmospheric methane during the COVID-19 pandemic has a troubling explanation

Astronauts' brains physically shift in their heads during spaceflight

Sleep deprivation harms the gut via the vagus nerve, early study reveals

5,500 years ago, a teenage girl was buried with her father's bones on her chest, new DNA study reveals

Our adorable, noodle-like ancestor had 4 eyes, half-a-billion-year-old fossils reveal

95 million-year-old Spinosaurus had a scimitar-shaped head crest and waded through the Sahara's rivers like a 'hell heron'

Iron Age Surgeons Fixed a Woman’s Shattered Jaw With Primitive Prosthetic—and She Survived

City-size, cold-volcano comet transforms into a glowing 'snail shell' after major explosive outburst