Last month, I detailed in a blog entry that I was looking to make some changes for the content that I put out. Those changes have been going along slowly (as I knew that they would), but I’ve been gradually tweaking things to get them more to where I want them.
The latest of those changes, and the one that if I’m being honest I’m the most nervous to make, is that I’m going to be moving away from the the “creepypasta” format entirely.
To me, creepypastas are the candy bars of the horror genre. They’re great while you consume them, but they don’t last very long and they don’t satisfy as much as a full meal. I am in no way saying that there’s anything wrong with creepypastas. I enjoy them. It’s just not the style that’s for me.
Like I said, I’m a bit nervous about this decision. Those types of stories have been the most popular when it comes to narration sales, and I’m now cutting that out completely. It’s giving up the closest thing there is to a sure thing in this corner of the writing business.
The types of horror stories that I want to write don’t really translate well into the creepypasta style, though, and that’s where this decision comes in. I’d rather lean into what I enjoy the most and what I feel that I do best rather than stay the course for the guaranteed income.
For reference, the types of stories that I want to focus on are more like The Suicide Engineer and All the Stars in the Sky. Stories like those pull from a more personal place, and I think that they’re stronger for it. There’s more layers to these stories than it first appears. It’s that depth that I want to focus on going forward. Sure, I’ll still do fun ones, especially for The Underlayers, but it won’t where I spend the majority of my time.
To all the narrators that have used my content in the past, thank you for doing so. The things that I write will still be available for narration purposes. That’s not changing. The content itself and the way it’s presented will be, though. As I said in an earlier blog, one of the things that I’m interested in is creating content that translates better into YouTube and podcast format than standard creepypastas and stories. I’m going to be examining that even closer going forward.
Hopefully readers, narrators, and everyone else choose to stick around through the changes. I hope to provide you with better stories, ones that present you with the horror that you’re looking for while also being memorable rather than disposable.