SPOOKY SEASON! Strap in for a list of monster things!

But really, as we come to the end of October, I am reluctantly putting my monster hat away. We'll come back to it eventually - most likely before next October - but I can't let October pass without dipping my toe back in to the world that was my PhD academic love.

Anyway, here's everything I produced and put out in October!

Substack/Blog Posts

As I already mentioned, I focused this month on an overarching theme of monster studies and monster analysis. I tried to follow at least a kind of pseudo-arc, where we start with a discussion about monsters, have two examples, and then conclude with a conversation about the reality of monsters.

• The Meaning of Monsters - I wanted to spend some time before digging into some direct example of pop culture monsters on what monsters mean, and what they come to represent for us as storytellers and audience members. So this one is all about monsters more generally, and what they mean.
• The Slender Man - I coudln't not talk about my old friend, the Slender Man. For those who don't know, the Slender Man was my PhD topic, so I have a lot to say about him. This post is all about the combining and connecting of reality and fiction.
• Let's Talk About the Beast - I have a ritual every October. I make a pumpkin spice cheesecake and watch Over the Garden Wall. So, this one is dedicated to those who also love this show.
• The Reality of Monsters - Yup, you heard me. Monsters are real. Wanna know more? Of course you do.

Video Essay

This month's video essay is a focus on the Amphibian Man from the Shape of Water. I wanted to really just dwell on this guy. He's quite frankly beautiful, painted as something attractive and yet also quite scary. I think there's a lot to say about the romance/monster movie connecting threads, and I think it was fully necessary to make the point Guillermo del Toro wanted to make. Love it.

I'm a Fan of That!

October marks the end of Season 3 of I'm a Fan of That! But, I also literally just finished recording two new episodes just before I sat down to write this newsletter out. So, if you want those bonus episodes which are saved for our Patreon members, you can go on over to Patreon and support us for a full other 12 episodes!

To celebrate October, we did an episode all about Silent Hill - one of 'Olly's personal obsessions. Topics include: what defines the horror genre, how horror video game narratives work, and a brief interlude about Vivian and Holly's nightterrors.

And last, but certainly not least, we've done a backstep to think about something actually pretty basic. What is fandom?

Writing Vlogs

• A Short Move from Rough Draft to First Draft | Academic Article Part 3 - this was the final piece of my third short story of the year. Three down, one left to go!
• New Schedule, Nonfiction Planning, and Brief Cafe Fiction - the start of a new quarter means I also rethink my schedule and think about what I'm thinking about. So, it's just a nice little day in the life.
• My Personal Curriculum | Chat, Advice, and How Much of a Nerd I Am - I decided to sit down and have a chat about my personal curriculum for this quarter. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's basically just personal educationa nd learning.
• Getting through a rough draft | Project Submarine and Cheesecake - Uuuugh. So, my work through my fiction novel Project Submarine is not going well. But, I somehow manage to shake out a few thousand words
• Doing a Total Re-Structure | Project Submarine - Yeah... it was a rough try in that previous vlog. Surprise! I restructed the whole novel!

And that's October! I'll be back soon to clue you in on the things I'm reading, writing and enjoying in a few weeks. Also, I just passed over 100 respondents on my Taylor Swift survey! I'll be putting together a 100 participant review of some of the information gleaned from those. Hopefully I'll have it ready by the end of November, but I'm doing my best. I'm currently drowning in surveys, in the best way possible.

Anyway, be good to one another!