The Imaginary Word #2

August 2023

Winding Up

I’m still learning this platform a bit and playing with some options including the option to make some audio available. I’ve had some mixed experience with audio - I totally flubbed my one and only radio interview thanks to trying to breathe through a mild panic attack but I had another radio show pick up a short story of mine that I adore (and was able to sit and narrate and edit in advance). I love the audio medium and I’ve written a few things that really are enhanced by reading them aloud and over time, I’ll probably release a few of them here on substack as specials.

As soon as I find the box I put my equipment in, I’ll start work on that but odds are that won’t really get moving until after the school year starts.

Writing With and About Disabilities

There is a dearth of interesting complex characters who happen to be disabled in popular fiction. It is becoming more prevalent on television and in movies but some of those instances are only a small slice of the truth of it. The Good Doctor is great representation for people with autism but that portrayal is very limited in its scope and definitely speaks more to the savant end of the spectrum. Of course, autism is a bit difficult as it is such a broad spectrum. Some neurospicy people can mask so well that most people would never know. Others, not so much.

I cannot think of one character in a good book or show or movie that has rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (not including the instances on Full House where Annette Funicello played herself), or any number of other chronic illnesses. As someone with rheumatoid arthritis, I’ve paid attention. As the parent of a person with autism, I’ve paid attention. As someone with anxiety and depression, I’ve probably paid too much attention.

I have written a few pieces myself where that is front and center. There is a short story called “The Boy Without Words” in the reissue of Sha’Daa: Tales of the Apocalypse that I’m particularly proud of that centers around a woman in an abusive relationship with a son who uses a lightwriter to speak - that’s an adaptive text to speech device that can help nonverbal people. I had a poem published in Chronogram a very long time ago that was a small glimpse into my own anxiety, from a different perspective: A New Love.

Most recently, I’ve been hard at work on a book where the main character is a woman with rheumatoid arthritis - it isn’t the focal point of the story, it isn’t the reason for anything that happens, but it is very much a large part of her life, shapes how she moves, what she’s physically capable of doing, the limitations that certain medications can put into place. It isn’t the driving force of her life but it absolutely colors every single aspect of her life. She might be a brilliant witch but she is human and has to deal with the limitations of having a chronic illness like RA.

I started playing with the idea of Maeve not terribly long after my own diagnosis with RA when I realized that I couldn’t think of a single character in the books I read (and I read a LOT) who was dealing with anything like it. Now, Maeve’s RA is fairly well controlled through medication but that doesn’t stop it from changing the way she does things, how she approaches things. Representation matters and I really want to see more of it and that means, for me, contributing to that representation when I can.

What I’m working on and what I’m reading:

My to-be-read stack is taller than two of me but the plan is to get through at least one actual fiction book this month. My stack included not one but two copies of Sherlock Holmes Vs Cthulhu so that’s the one I’m starting with. I’m not including my nonfiction reading as that would be a long and I’m sure boring list. Research is a hobby of mine.

My to-write list is also probably longer than two of myself. This month I’m going to be working on rewriting though - I have two projects that I think I’ve found the fixes for - both of them had something just a little wrong about them. I know for sure I’ve found my psychics and serial killers book’s major flaw and I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to finish it in time to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. Fingers crossed anyway.

Crow’s Hollow Corner:

This past month, I did something very different. A good while back, I got my hands on a big bag of fat. Most people would probably not actually be excited about it but, they don’t know what I know - this fat was bear fat - something used for centuries for various skin issues, hair issues, cooking, whatever else they could use it for. If I were to buy this fat on the market, it would be the most expensive ingredient in any of my soaps. I made some salve and some soap. I was a little worried going into the soap but I think it’s going to cure up pretty wonderfully. I’ll have a very limited number of Bear Soap at this month’s markets.

I also have some new artsy-craftsy things as well - mostly halloween and fall themed.

August Appearances:

I will be back again at the Cove Community Market at Cove Valley Park in Weirton, WV on August 12th. I have a new market that marks my first ever Ohio market! Bolger Healthcare Craft Show on August 19th at Country Club Manor, 575 Lover’s Lane, Wintersville, Ohio 10am to 4pm.