Ghost Stories
May. 4th, 2019 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
primeidealA few months ago I outlined an original short story about a ghost. I wasn't really able to get past the time lapse issues (ghosts don't sleep), so I put it down for a while, but I'd like to try picking it up again since I'm hoping to start a real-world job relatively soon and I'll probably have less writing time.
As I was sending off some other stories to magazines (not particularly optimistic, but hey, it's worth a shot), I came across this list of "stories we've seen too often" from Strange Horizons. And, uh, my premise is pretty squarely under #48:
(My guy doesn't figure out how to roam the world but, the point stands.)
I'm not worried about Strange Horizons per se, it seems a little too "issue-ficcy" for whatever I come up with, but is this overdone in fantasy in general? Part of my story is "figuring out why some humans can talk to ghosts and others can't," but a lot of it is just ghost fare. Any ideas how to avoid overplayed tropes? Am I just doomed?
As I was sending off some other stories to magazines (not particularly optimistic, but hey, it's worth a shot), I came across this list of "stories we've seen too often" from Strange Horizons. And, uh, my premise is pretty squarely under #48:
Someone dies and then wanders around as a ghost.
a. They meet other ghosts who've been around longer and who show them the ropes, and/or help them come to terms with being dead, and/or explain that nobody knows what happens after ghosts move on to the next stage of the afterlife.
b. They're initially stuck in the place where they died or the place where their body is. In some cases, they eventually figure out how to roam the world.
I'm not worried about Strange Horizons per se, it seems a little too "issue-ficcy" for whatever I come up with, but is this overdone in fantasy in general? Part of my story is "figuring out why some humans can talk to ghosts and others can't," but a lot of it is just ghost fare. Any ideas how to avoid overplayed tropes? Am I just doomed?
