Tuesday, November 6, 2018

My Comfort Zone by Carla Damron


What is your writing comfort zone? Mine used to be the mystery genre. I’d always loved reading mysteries, starting with The Hardy Boys, so when I embarked on my writing journey, that was the course I charted.  And I LOVED it.

After three novels, my comfort zone felt a little stale. I had the idea for a more mainstream, women’s fiction project—one with braided narratives—and for six years, off and on, I pushed my own boundaries to get that sucker done. It made me expand my writing toolbox. Hell, it made me go to graduate school so I could figure out what, exactly, I was doing. After many edits and revisions, The Stone Necklace came out. And my comfort zone had widened.



Because I’m a social worker, and social justice is a drive that pulsates in me, my next venture out of the comfort zone was non-fiction---blogs, op-eds, and essays.  I’d been blogging here for a while, but political blogs proved a challenge because I can be … passionate. Opinionated. And a tad judgmental. What I learned, though, is that I’m most effective when I’m honest, when I don’t try to come off as a know-it-all but acknowledge my true humanness. When I talk about racism, it’s more powerful if I own my privilege, because it’s there whether I want it or not. Example: https://www.socialworkhelper.com/2017/08/29/dont-think-racist/

Short stories are still not in comfort zone, but I keep trying. My other writing friends are adept at this format (Paula Gail Benson, Debra Goldstein, Tina Whittle, Warren Bull, and all other bloggers, I’m talking about you!), but I struggle to pare my narrative down to a smaller word count. While I never feel satisfied with my short story efforts, I keep trying. I’ve had a few published, but even those could be improved upon.

No, shorts aren’t in my comfort zone. Yet.

My latest venture out of the familiar took place a few weeks ago when I submitted to short-edition.com. This company collects short stories that are FEWER THAN 8000 characters. That’s right—characters, not words, and spaces are INCLUDED. What’s especially fascinating is that some of these stories will be loaded into Short Story Dispensers that can be found in some libraries, universities, and other organizations. I love this idea and would be thrilled if my little effort got dispensed in a paper copy to some reader in Idaho or Maine or California.  

My story was a scene from my current work-in-progress about a woman reluctantly attending a weight loss group. It’s called “Weighty Matters” and it’s partly humorous, partly not. You can read it here: https://short-edition.com/en/story/5-min/weighty-matters  *

I hope you will. If you like it, please click the “like” button at the bottom. I’m not sure how it works, but I suspect that enough “likes” might increase my chances of making it to the dispenser. Hey, a writer can dream, can’t she?

It’s safe to stay in one’s comfort zone, but I find it stimulating to venture out of it.  Sure, sometimes I fail (often I fail), but sometimes, I expand myself and my abilities. That has to make me a better writer, which is absolutely what my readers deserve.

One final, unrelated thing. Thank you for reading this blog. Now please, if you haven’t, GO VOTE!  It’s election day, so let your voice be heard!!

*PS Debra Goldstein has a short story with the same name in Black Cat Magazine # 2. Great minds-- or at least, mysterious minds-- think alike. 





8 comments:

  1. Loved both pieces. Obviously, stepping outside your comfort zone has worked well for you.

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  2. Even though I know that for many writing Romance is the way to pay bills, I haven't ventured there and don't plan to! I am not comfortable writing short stories and am rarely pleased with my results even when they are published. However, as I proofed "Power of Attorney" that will appear in the next Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime anthology, titled Fishy Business, I thought it was pretty good.

    My standards may be slipping. Readers can let me know in May when the anthology is published by Wildside Press.

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  3. Thanks Linda!
    Jim, that’s great about the anthology.

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  4. Shari, I enjoyed the short story Weighty Matters and the blog. Mostly I'm writing my Catherine Jewell Mystery Series, but also some mystery short stories but not always mystery short stories. Some of them are with children. I'm also working on a book for middle aged children about a boy who lived years ago in Hiram, Ohio where I taught third grade. I also write poetry, too, but not as much as I used to write. Another note: I loved your book The Stone Necklace.

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  5. Thank you, Gloria! Yes, you have stretched your comfort zone quite well.

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  6. Loved them both, Carla. Great advice about stretching the comfort zone, and I loved the artwork!

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  7. Thanks for the fun read, Carla!

    It's encouraging to her how you've expanded your field.

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