My short story, “In Memories We Drown,” is now available free to read online over at Clarkesworld Magazine! It’s published as part of Issue 207, which can also be ordered via ebook.
Gorgeous cover for Clarkesworld 207!
BEHIND THE STORY
“In Memories We Drown” is my first science fantasy piece and my longest short story published so far. It was also the most challenging for me to write, in numerous regards.
Some stories, like “Wanted: Bone-White Skull-Patterned Lace Trim”, come out in a frenzy—the result of one weekend of typing away furiously. (Note: I did do one major revision for that story, but otherwise it was smooth sailing.) Other stories refuse to cooperate. This was the latter.
I wrote and revised “In Memories We Drown” over the course of a year, a process which included 11 drafts, 50+ hours, eight critiques, four brief interviews for research, and more words cut than I kept.
As I was talking to my friend, Maraia, about it this morning, I started thinking back on the origins. This piece was born from the skeleton of other stories. The setting, an underwater station, was one I originally imagined for a totally different (since trunked) story. Rosalie’s character arc was initially a piece pulled out of another finicky story that hasn’t yet cooperated (but which I still hope to get into shape someday). And the opening scene was one that has been vivid in my mind for a while now—inside an underwater lab, a bioluminescent plant pulses bright. It’s a story born of discards (those parts of the stories that I just couldn’t let go of) and one beautiful, imagined moment.
From there, I wove in food memories (the ones in the story were mostly sourced from friends and family, hence the brief interviews), a lot of ocean research, a dual timeline, and a love story.
The things I threw out mostly had to do with the challenge of world-building a story set underwater and how difficult it was to get Rosalie’s character arc to feel right. Usually, openings and endings come easier to me, and it’s the middle I find difficult. I kept writing and rewriting the middle, and finally realized that it was the ending that felt too cleanly tied up, to the point of feeling almost disingenuous in how I’d initially imagined it. It didn’t carry the right emotional wrap-up to match the rest of the story.
What I did land on is more of an open ending than what I usually write. It’s possibility without promise. I won’t say more because spoilers!
Also, I’ve learned that if I keep trying things and still can’t figure out how to fix a piece, I need to get some trusted eyes on it. The critiques I got from my husband, my mom, C.G. Drews, Jena Brown, Jill Tew, D.M. Vickerson, S, and Y.M. Pang were invaluable in helping me shape the story.
My story on Clarkesworld’s website!
Clarkesworld MAGAZINE
The much-beloved Clarkesworld is in no need of my endorsement, so all I’ll say is that it’s an honor being published in such a well-respected magazine for a second time.
“In Memories We Drown” was the first story I’ve ever submitted to a venue I’ve been previously published in. It’s been a dream come true having two of my three SF stories published at Clarkesworld. (My story, “The Orchard of Tomorrow,” was published in the July issue earlier this year.)
Thanks for reading my behind-the-story post about “In Memories We Drown”! As always, previews, story hints, and content warnings for all my stories are available on my short stories page.
