Over the weekend, I read over a story that I had been submitting regularly. I’ve received more than my share of rejections on this story and figured it was time to take a closer look
First, to give you a little background, the story is a glimpse into the future. It’s set in the year 2035 and my focus is on how bad the environment is getting. In this version of our future, air quality warnings are common and oxygen masks are normal. It’s a story with potential and a message of hope (and I like those). However, the first thing I realized is that I do way more telling more than showing thanks to a lot of info-dumping.
Then I have come to realize that the setting is a major issue. My main character works in a mall and over the past couple of months, I’ve come to wonder…will the mall survive this current crisis?
Then I thought about changing the story’s setting into a grocery store. You see, I figured that a grocery is certain to be around in the future.
Then I thought about the circumstances surrounding the story. In the story, an air quality warning sounds out which is followed by an event that shakes up my character’s world. It didn’t seem like enough anymore though.
I briefly thought about rewriting the story to be more relevant to the current times. I even considered making the story’s external crisis a virus instead of about the air quality. Yet, I knew immediately that didn’t feel right. Somehow fictionalizing our current crisis feels wrong. I know there are writers out there who are working on a virus-themed story and there’s nothing wrong with doing that. But the reality of the current epidemic is far too fresh and I’m not inspired by it. Things are far too scary and sad and impacting so many people detrimentally.
I could be overthinking it. Maybe worrying too much. But I have to feel right about what I’m trying to put out into the world. And I’m at the point where I realize that unless I do a major overall on the story, it’s likely not to be published. At least, not right now. And even when this current worldwide epidemic passes, I’ve come to realize my outlook on the world is far different than when I first wrote this story.
So, I’ve decided to put this short story back on the shelf. I do have others to work on that I’m more inspired by. Although, in general, I am a little bit too troubled lately to really write. I just wanted to blog about this because this wasn’t what I expected to feel this way about a work of my own fiction.
I’d love to know how you are writing during the current epidemic. Are you staying inspired or is it difficult?
