Florida Gothic

I don't start with an outline. I start with an outcry.

Every story comes from my need to expose some great evil within us. I start with the protagonist.

And I don't start by writing them. I start by seeing them. I draw them.

In their lines, I find their hopes, dreams, fears. I see their ambitions, their failures, their stories.

From there, I write. "Florida Gothic" was drafted in about month, and from there, I began editing.

Edits typically takes longer as it's here where I see the story fully for the first time, and change what I need to for the best narrative cohesion.

Everything flows straight from the heart. Characters spring up as they need to, conflicts arise from their tensions. Twists conjure themselves from necessity, not specifications from outlines.

The result? 

Publication. Peer analysis. Artistic fulfillment.

The resulting cover was published in the PTK Nota Bene arts magazine, and the story itself is taught as part of the PHSC writing curriculum.

More than that, the story's resonance with my readers gave me a platform to speak on issues of community, exclusion, and the importance of the arts.

See my interview on Florida Gothic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i99WJpTAbc&t=4s