Merry meet all,
Inspiration is a fickle muse. Sometimes she’s there for me, sometimes not. Today’s post will be about what inspired me to write Cult of the Spider People. There are several elements that inspired me to write it. Sometimes when I start a story, an image or two comes to my mind and my imagination. I feel the spark of creativity then and I sit down to write and my pen flies across the page as if on fire. I love those moments!
The other main element that inspired me or helped me write the creepy novella was my ex. I think this ties into the whole romanticized notion that suffering creates great art. But my ex certainly was enough to inspire a novel or a novella. He is darker than most people. I am convinced that my ex is the villain in my story. He stands out from most people. He has the ‘darkness’, long dark hair, an anemic appearance, sharp black nails, and he always dresses Goth. He is the epitome of a toxic narcissistic Satanist. He is thoroughly selfish. But when we dated for about 6 months, I was in love with him. The villain embodies a lot of the qualities that my ex possesses. He as the villain plays a large role in the book. He destroyed my heart which I did eventually heal from but if I hadn’t suffered through all that, then I would not have written the book.
The story took off in my head and I just wrote it. I didn’t write all of it right away. In fact, as the story was still unfolding in my imagination, I had to force myself to write the rest of it. I don’t know why I felt that way but I am glad I did obey my imagination. I wrote the rest of it and as I edited the story on my own and with the help of other people, I got to know the story and its many layers and depth.
I don’t know why I wrote about spiders. I guess it was just meant to be. I am a very brave person and so I find that to be a challenge as I write horror fiction. Certain things that would freak other people out barely fazes me. I think it’s personal. What scares one person may not terrify the other. It is hard to say. I created a story about spider people. The creepy things about the race of spider people is that they appear part human in their upper body but they don’t behave as a human would nor do they think like a human. They are one hundred percent arachnid like in their decisions they make, their behavior and actions and thoughts and their hunger for blood. I saw photos of some spider people art and the images reflected what I was trying to create on the page.
Spiders do make people uncomfortable but I like them. I like them a lot. They are quiet patient architects and catch a lot of other insects in their beautifully woven webs.
There are a few prominent themes in Cult of the Spider People. Addiction, body horror, love wins the day, good versus evil and light versus dark. I am fascinated by what I created. It’s just that I have no idea what sparked this book but if it is getting published, then I am not complaining. I just think it is all a combination of the above that helped me to create it.
I am so happy that Stephanie Ellis helped me edit the book. It helped me coax out the great elements of the book. It helped me to get to know my book more deeply than I would have had she never offered to help. I owe her a lot!
All of this has led me to where I am now. I am excited about the publication of my novella! I will keep posting about that here and I promise to keep you all updated as it goes from edits to layout to Amazon bestseller! Well I hope it becomes an Amazon bestseller. I will most certainly try to get it to that.
Inspiration can serve you wonderfully. It does not however erase all the hard work you have to put into your manuscript. The revision and editing are necessary beasts but it is only ever intended to improve the story. It should never be taken personally. You have to edit it so well that the manuscript is clean by the time you submit it for publication, every I dotted and ever t crossed and I mean almost immaculate. They don’t want to do a lot of the work. They want you to do the work. But the more you do, the better your chances are at getting that contract.
I hope this inspires you to pen your own magnum opus.!
Blessings, Spiderwitch
