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Monday, September 12, 2016

WHAT DO YOU CALL ...


On my early morning work break, 

I was trying to conjure the word which described a woman who had contempt for men for my latest story.

My supervisor passed by, and I asked him, 

"A misogynist is one who has contempt for women.  What is a woman who hates men called?"

Without missing a beat, he said, "A feminist."  

The speed with which he responded plus the look on his face when he did so me laugh.

Misandry is the word if you are wondering.

The word misandry may not be in everyone's computer dictionary, 

but the reality is out there. A reality without a name, however, is largely invisible.

Hard to deal with an invisible enemy.

Most of the major villains of the last century have been male.  

And misogynists both on the world scene and in the private lives of women are not helping any.




But I am not talking of Misandry today.  I will in the future if any of you are interested.

No, I am talking genre.

Despite my last experience with anthologies being ugly and sad, I decided to enter the contest above.  I will not win, of course.  But suffering builds character, right?

I was three-fourths finished with my Native American ghost short story 

when it hit me that the judges might not consider ghosts, even Lakota ones, fantasy.

The genre for the contest is fantasy, and the theme is Hero Lost.

Send your polished, previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes if you, too, are interested.

So I stopped writing LOST SOULS.  Sigh.  

A lot of work went into it.  I may eventually finish it.

I came to the decision to stop writing it last night, going to bed feeling blue for a variety of silly reasons.

I awoke with the idea for a short story that could not be considered anything but fantasy, its title, and its first sentence.


 {Image purchased from Pixabay}


FIRST SENTENCE:

I am the Caretaker.

Like I said: I will not win.  Still, I will give it my all.  

I would say it will keep me off the streets, but I am a rare blood courier!

Anyway, even though I am two-fifths through with this story, tell me: 

Do you think ghost stories fall in the fantasy or supernatural/horror genre?  

Just wondering.  :-)



13 comments:

  1. I thought that supernatural/horror fell under the speculative fiction banner which was once just termed fantasy. So, you'd probably be all right with the first story anyway.

    What sort of rare blood do you transport?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cross-matched blood for ill patients with anti-bodies preventing normal transfusions and platelets which slow internal bleeding, and just regular blood.

      I thought ghosts were fantasy, but doubts nibbled at me since if I worked hard and then got shot down at the starting gate, it would have smarted! :-)

      Delete
  2. Don't stop! Ghosts are fantasy. You are too good of a writer not to enter. Come on, Roland. Finish it. Finish it and enter for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, after seeing my biopsy doctor again, I came home and finished my SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK certain-sure fantasy. So, of course, LOST SOULS would have been accepted!

      I will send COME BACK when I have fully edited it tomorrow. Whew! 5310 words in one day! That is a record for me. Let us hope they were good words! '

      Thanks for believing in me! Roland

      Delete
  3. Ghosts probably fall into both--maybe it depends on how they're used in a fantasy story. But then, I've learned to stop paying any attention to genres and just write what I want.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me, too -- except this was for admittance into a contest where I had to write a for-certain fantasy. The Caretaker's tale is certainly that. Cross your fingers and wish me luck! :-)

      Delete
  4. I'd say ghosts would fall under both fantasy and supernatural/paranormal genres. Go for and submit your original story. Listening to that inner voice pays off. Good luck!

    Thoughts in Progress
    and MC Book Tours

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, my inner voice tells me to submit the story I wrote in one long day. I really like it (SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK). It is 5,325 words. I am polishing it up today with the final edit. So you are probably right, and I should submit my first one, but I have not finished it -- and frankly, I am bushed! I have to go to another doctor and listen to my finished audio book for HUNTER'S MOON.

      Hopefully, it will be out in time for Halloween buying. :-)

      Delete
  5. I think ghost stories should fall into the realm of supernatural/fantasy, even if the author claims that it is -- or they are -- real.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, as you know by now -- ghosts of famous writers have a way of dropping into this blog! I do not claim they are real, but I do not claim they are not either.

      I want a good night's sleep without the ghost of H P Lovecraft disturbing my dreams! :-)

      Delete
  6. Why not submit anyway? I thought fantasy was usually about legends, magic, witches and wizards, but witches also show up in horror, so why not ghosts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't completely finish it. But I did finish the story I was certain was fantasy: SOMETIMES THE COME BACK (5390 words).

      I wrote much of it to a constant loop of POINT OF NO RETURN from The Phantom of the Opera. It is a bit of an operatic tale in the vein of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

      Now, is that fantasy or not? :-)

      Yet, I never win these things. But like a true Wagner hero, I keep trying!

      Delete
  7. Hi Roland - don't be so pessimistic and enter your story or stories!! Positive think.

    Glad everyone is encouraging you .. good luck and cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete