Slumberland
By Derra Sabo
Genre: Nonfiction
About the Book
How do you dream? Are your dreams in color or
black 'n white? Do they feel surreal or all too real? Well, I'd like to
introduce you to my little slice of bittersweet. These subconscious woods hold
every fear and my anxieties masked are as wolves. Nightmares that play on a
loop for weeks, even months at a time. Symptoms of waking in cold sweats and
shaking. The only moments of peace are found in the sporadically studded dreams
that happen every now and again. These woods house every past demon as well as
certain past versions of who I once was. This place is worse than death, yet it
inspires. So......Before my alarm goes off, before I take the last train out of
here, I take one last glance back, one last glance at all of the Polaroids,
pinned to every tree branch, Polaroids of every dream and nightmare that have
stolen my nights since '95......These dreams...these woods...this place...it's
my upside-down. This is my Slumberland...
About the Author
My name is Derra Sabo. I am California born and raised. I spend
my days writing, sipping on coffee and listening to music. When I'm not busy
typing away, I love spending time with my family and friends. Days spent at the
beach ended by burgers at In-N-Out. Growing up I wanted to become a fashion
designer/drummer, but somewhere along the way writing grabbed ahold of me and
I've never looked back. Over the years writing has aided in healing from my
past. Being born and living with a rare disorder led to being bullied
throughout life as well as surgeries growing up. Writing and music are my
sanity.
Links
Excerpt:
Here I stand…
I’ve stood in this exact spot, in this exact place before…many
times…
This place is always disturbingly comforting in a peculiar
way…this place has been my little slice of subconscious doom since ’95…this
place is all my own…
These woods, a vision pulled from a Hitchcock film, holds my
past intertwined within the roots of every hauntingly beautiful tree…
An above sky shaded a midnight black with doom n’ gloom clouds
spread across its infinite horizon and luminous diamonds sporadically studded…a
brain freeze breeze swirls throughout causing every goosebump to run up my
spine…
The various growling echoes stirring behind the deeply hidden
gutters are where the disabled demons reside, they bite the edges of my
ears…the fear from these demons nearly diminished, yet a sting still exists…
I stand here, my feet at the edge of this freshly dug grave…the
smell of a fresh storm builds, I pull the hood over my head and begin…
In goes every scar that clouded my mind. This permanent bruise
on my back given to me from the biggest mistake in life, yeah that goes in
next. Now it’s time to rip off the invisible mark of shame that had its claws
dug into the small scar on my neck and the scar on my forearm hidden underneath
this ink…
Every societal bullet has been pulled from my chest and tossed
in, one by one, the soft clank is so satisfying…the confusion from the
unanswered question marks attached to my biological father have been burned,
this jar holding those ashes, in it goes…
Every moment captured on Polaroid of being bent, cracked and
broken all tossed in…
Now, a deep chilled breath and strike this match, for a second,
I stare at the tiny flame dancing on the tip, I can hear Death Valley by Fall
Out Boy playing in the background…
I close my forest green eyes, make one final wish and drop the
match…the flames growing instantaneously, as I open my eyes a neon black ring
surrounds these forest green irises, the same neon black surrounds the glowing
teal flame that resides in the center of my ribcage…
Witnessing every ounce of past pain burn, this moment is
medical. My lungs fill with refreshing oxygen and this weight lifted more with
each joyful tear…
Thunder begins to roll in as the sky also begins to sprinkle.
Time to go, I know I’ll be back, the dreams always pull me back…
Tucking the 22 Glock into my back pocket and grabbing the
Louisville slugger, I begin to make my way to the place where yellow surrounds,
that place is where I find subconscious peace…My heart, in all of its titanium
gears and gold stitched glory now beating on my sleeve…
These woods and I will always be connected…11 is somewhere
playing Super Nintendo, keeping warm by a sparkling bonfire and eating one too
many s'mores. She keeps our much-needed innocence alive. Swift watches guard
making sure that the wolves stay at bay...17 rests peacefully under the giant
oak tree. She was a tough soul, just not as tough as this monster of a world…22
protects our past selves, protects the rare dreams that have morphed from this
slum and protects these woods. Machete strapped to her steel spined back, her
observant mind always scanning for dangerous disturbances. The warrior she
always wished she could be, now she is.
Before my alarm goes off I take one last glance back, one last
glance at all of the Polaroids pinned to every tree branch, polaroids of every
dream and nightmare that have stolen my nights since ’95…
These dreams…these woods…this place…it’s my upside down…
This is my Slumberland.
“I'll take the last train home..." - Blink 182
When thinking about what to write for this guest
post, one question that I've been asked a few times came to mind... What advice
would you give to new writers?
The same answer comes to mind every time and I
love sharing advice on this topic because I think it is very useful. Wanting to
slide into the writing world can be a bit intimidating, especially if you are
doing it solo. My advice to all new writers is simply this... Write what you
have a passion for.
Never try to conjure up a story from what is currently
trending or one that you think will appease the critics of the world. Create a
story from the passion swirling around in your mind. A reader will always be
able to tell whether or not the writer of that book had an interest in whatever
they wrote.
I'd like to share a quick story, if I may, to hopefully
give a visual to this.
My brother is one smart cookie, he was one of
those kids who was quick on his feet and quick at solving problems. He,
however, was not the biggest fan of school. Certain subjects he did enjoy and
you could tell by the way he would study up on it and the time/ effort he put
into those assignments. The subjects he didn't quite fancy though, English for
example, he would put in the amount of minimal effort needed in order to get a
passing grade. One afternoon, I watched him sit down at the kitchen table,
began writing and then about 20 minutes later he said, "Yep, that's a C+
paper". As he got up to from to the table to go get ready to go to a friend’s
house, I asked him what his paper was on. He had to write a three page report
on Lord of the Flies. We all know that book, seems to be the book every high
schooler reads. My brother isn't one who loves to curl up with a book and
escape in its story. He did just enough and it showed. Funny enough, two days
later he brought that paper home and sure enough he received a C+. The paper
also had remarks written throughout it as to what he could have added to
further his explanations on said views.
That's what I mean by write what you have a
passion for. If you are intrigued by the genre your creating a story in, it
will flow with details and inspiration. It will become the page turner that
every book lover wants. It's all about enjoying the writing journey, not to say
you won't hit a few road bumps during the writing process, as every writer
knows that the journey from a fresh blank screen to a physical book is a love/
hate relationship. In the end, you want to feel super excited and proud of what
you've created, you don't want to think to yourself, "well, it's good
enough.”
And as for appeasing those critics, don't even
worry about them. There won't ever be a time when every single person in the
world is happy with a certain book, song, movie, food item...etc. that comes
out. There will always be those who love it, those who hate it and those who
could take it or leave it.
So, take those thoughts that are swimming in your
mind and create something awesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment