Finding My Writing Tribe

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
African Proverb

I sold my first horror story in July 2022. It took months for it to appear in Flash Fiction Magazine online. October 2022 to be exact. That was a crash course in patience!

I’ve waited two years to head off to my very first StokerCon® in Pittsburgh. I’ve decided to make this a celebration of ‘firsts’ and DO IT ALL at this year’s event…or whatever my bank account allows.

That means…

• Raising my hand for a story reading! The video will be part of the virtual StokerCon® track. It’s pretty rad and I can’t wait to share it!

• Saying YES to sitting on a panel – Psychology of Horror! Lots of big names on this panel and I feel grateful for a chance to hold my own!

• Spending time with friends, new and old!

That last point is really important – finding a community that appreciates me, my desire to learn, and says ‘You’re a good fella, you’re one of us’. (Sorry, not sorry, y’all. That quote is boss!) I hope to find my tribe this weekend through:

Meeting other writers from North Carolina who share a similar geographic space and love of horror.

Meeting the amazing women of color included in 160 Black Women in Horror with whom I share the desire to tell stories in a unique voice.

Meeting first-time StokerCon® attendees and first-time writers who likely share the same anxiety of reliving the high school nightmare of sticking out like a sore thumb standing against the wall waiting for someone, anyone, to talk to you.

The Horror genre is not perfect. It can be as cliquey and full of gatekeepers as the next genre but, so far, I’ve felt the warm, cryptic clutch of their bony fingers embracing – basically, I’ve been welcomed and nurtured. I have had challenges in finding the same collective support in other genres that I find creative inspiration, but I am still working towards that goal so that my writing career can holistically be one based on a shared sense of community.

I head to Pittsburgh to find my tribe and I couldn’t be more excited!