Getting real for a moment

I’m so great at living up to this Substack’s name; I’m really bad at posting.

The last few years have been rough, and I’ve been trapped in the worst writer’s block I’ve ever experienced. I only managed to break through twice: once for a piece on Superman (still unpublished because it quickly became about my mom’s death last year, and I wasn’t ready to share that), and once for The Black Phone 2 (which is published because I had passion).

I need to send Joe Hill a thank-you note. Since reading 20th Century Ghosts in 2020, his work has stuck with me. My first ambitious braided essay was about “The Black Phone” (my first substack article!) One of my strongest MFA annotations was about his work. And recently (spoiler alert, this is the point of this post) my writer’s block finally broke. I’ve started writing a reimagining of The Black Phone sequel based on the premise he gave the film writers: “the phone rings, Finney answers, and it’s The Grabber calling from Hell.”

I forgot how amazing it feels to be pulled into writing again.

I’m excited to have something to return to, even if it never goes anywhere. I’m hoping this will help me rebuild the habit of posting short-form here. I want my MFA to be more than a dust collector on a shelf. Most of all, I want to writing to be a part of me I can’t live without.