Carrie Green

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This Horror Writer's Greatest Fear

9/13/2011

5 Comments

 
Roller coasters are my greatest fear.  It wasn't innate.  I didn't always fear roller coasters.  It all started when I was in fourth or fifth grade after a visit to Great America (Marriott, Six Flags, the name keeps changing) in Gurnee, Illinois. 

The majority of roller coasters, especially at big theme parks such as Great America, are not meant for children.  I remember that there were these cartoon characters holding out an arm (it did seem rather beckoning to me, at the time) to indicate how tall that you needed to be to enter the line.  Every summer, I'd hopefully go and measure myself against these wooden cut-outs, hoping that I finally reached the height to be allowed to ride. 

That particular summer, I wasn't quite tall enough to reach the cartoon character's outstretched limb, but if I stood on my tippy-toes, my head touched.  I was, perhaps, a couple inches too short (my shoes made me an inch taller), surely, that was close enough.

The Tidal Wave was a huge single looping roller coaster that went upside-down twice, once forward and then backwards, before the ride ended.  I don't recall being particularly scared of the ride; I remember being much more concerned about someone noticing that I was too small for the ride.

I stayed on the edge of the line, far away from the second measurement cut-out next to the boarding area, so that my shortness would not be readily apparent.  Given that it was a popular ride, there was a strong push of people past the teenage attendant as the crowd rushed for their seats of choice, either front or back.  I easily merged, undetected, into this mob.  I ended up seated somewhere in the middle. 

There was a seat belt and a thick padded shoulder harness that was lowered over your head.  The harness sort of looked like a puffy life preserver.  The seat belt was snug, but the harness was huge, it sort of hovered around my upper half, like a halo, not touching my body. 

I was joyful and excited as the ride started—my first real grown-up roller coaster!  I will now clarify that memory isn't always reliable.  In truth, I did not recall that the ride went upside-down, twice, until I located an online video of the Tidal Wave to go along with this blog.  I only recalled going upside-down once. 

Like a crime scene tech, working with faulty witness testimony, I'm able to piece together what must have happened…  When the ride went forward and upside-down for the first time, I must have been fine.  On the second loop, however, when the ride went backwards, I felt the seat belt give.  It was no longer holding me in place and my body fell out of the seat while upside-down, dropping a full six inches, where the shoulder harness finally caught my shoulders, stopped me from completely falling out. 

This is the memory that dominates, falling, with the seat belt giving way.  I don't recall screaming, if anything, I think I was frantically trying to hold on to the belt, but I couldn't stop my downward momentum.  It was probably five seconds, max, but I thought that I was going to die.  It was the single most horrifying experience of my life.  

Here's the truth about horror.  We all know that most horror stories seem to involve punishing people for not following the rules (don't talk to strangers, don't go skinny-dipping, and if a serial killer/escaped prisoner is on the loose, don't decide to take that short-cut through the woods).  Fear is sometimes a good thing, it stops you from doing stupid stuff.  That's the basic job of horror, to remind you to be fearful, and to reassure you that you'd never end up in the same situation (since you understand the rules).

I will admit that I have tried to conquer this fear.  I stood in line for the Batman roller coaster for three hours when it first opened (a better strategy may have been to select a coaster with no line and less time to think about what I was about to do). 

I went as far as sitting down in one of floating seats, legs dangling, as the harness system was brought down and locked.  The attendant, a really kind girl, noticed that I was shaking, uncontrollably.  She unlocked the harness and let me escape.  It was a close call as the ride took off 30 seconds later.  I finally realized that there was no point in trying to ride a roller coaster.   I broke the rules, once, and I was lucky to survive.  As we all know from numerous horror classics, if I tempt fate, again, it may not turn out as well...

I still love amusement parks (shout out to Disneyland, Indiana Beach, and Wisconsin Dells)—the smells, the crowds, the lights, even the screams of the riders on a roller coasters, but only while I'm safe on the ground, watching. 
5 Comments

Other Interests, Besides Writing...

8/11/2011

1 Comment

 
While writing is my main passion, I also find time to indulge in DIY interior design and decorating (I'm a huge fan of HGTV and Bravo shows on these subjects).  My husband and I totally remodeled our current home, interior and exterior, floor to ceiling.  We literally replaced every surface.  I now have the house of my dreams.

Dancing, is another consuming hobby.  I met my husband on the dance floor.  If you have a sharp eye, you may notice the 'Forever Tango' poster behind my head in my author's photo.  We've taken ballroom dancing (Latin) lessons and we're always visiting nightclubs seeking great DJs.  Live music (the local Chicago band, Seventh Heaven, is an all-time favorite) can be wonderful, but the audiences at live shows tend to just stand there and watch the stage, so that we usually prefer venues with a DJ.

Holidays are a big deal to me with Halloween being the highlight of the year (hey, I am a horror writer).  Ghosts hang from the tree branches, lights cover the bushes, the front lawn becomes a graveyard, and a skeleton bride and groom peek from the windows.  Kids are pretty excited to trick or treat at our house!
1 Comment

Let Me Entertain You!

8/10/2011

2 Comments

 
I always looked at writing with the goal of creating a world for the reader to escape.  When someone reads one of my stories or a novel, I'd like them to be transported, hopefully, somewhere more exciting.

The process, itself, is not nearly as entertaining as the result.  I can't imagine anyone being interested in how I write, unless they wish to be a writer, themselves.

There is no romance.  It's quite dull.  I write in a room with a view, but I face my desk towards the wall, to avoid distractions. 

When I wrote fiction in college, I used to employ yellow legal pads and create the first draft in long-hand.  Today I compose directly on the computer (mainly due to my typing speed improving, so that I can keep up with the thoughts in my head).  Typing is a practical time-saver, allowing me to write much faster than I did before.

Editing happens both on the computer and via hard copy.  The hard copy is required to catch typos.  It is too easy to mistake an 'a' for an 'e' on a computer screen.

Editing and revision is probably the most important aspect of writing, in my opinion.  Rare is the work that can not be improved with judicious editing!


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