ObscuraJournal 1/1/26

Happy New Year!

If there's one thing I can do better with for 2026 is getting in the habit of journaling everyday. No promises, and this damn sure isn't a resolution, but maybe it's a half-ass challenge to be here more often.

Novelette. I define this as a long ass short story. Under 20,000 words, I need to write 5-6 of these for my WIP. It helps me to break the sections down this way while presenting the freedom to revisit characters at different parts of the timeline while introducing readers to new characters we meet along the way. If I use the 20K rule, then 6 of these would mean a 120K word manuscript.

That's a big chonk of a book right there.

I get back on the writing horse tomorrow, and damn I'm ready. I've got a good foothold with one section, which I need to add a little more to before I begin the next section.

Working on the theme for this months newsletter essay, and I'm also pondering a State of the Horror Address for the This Is Horror website this year. I need to see if there's a need for a rallying cry, or wait until next year. There's tons of horror releasing in 2026 in books, film, and TV, but I feel we have hit saturation point. That's not a bad thing, it's a normal thing, but one we need to be kind of prepared for as the industry does what it does every couple of decades and resets itself. Like I said, there's a ton of horror stuff, probably enough for the next few years really, but it is inevitable that the industry will shift away.

At any rate, let me ponder on that for a bit.

peace&love