It came from Setsu Uzumé

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Setsu Uzumé’s story “Snapped Dry, Scraped Clean” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 25 January 2019. This story came out of two news articles I read in 2014. The first was about the biohazard techs who clean up crime scenes in New York, and the second was about a woman whose body was discovered in the stairwell of a San Francisco hospital. Providing care is hard, but sometimes receiving care is harder. Subscribe to our …

Snapped Dry, Scraped Clean – Setsu Uzumé

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Once the corpse is ready to return to the desert, it falls to me to gather her memories. The house where they fester has good bones, but its guts are in turmoil. A stain that looks like bile has seeped through the floor. That means many hours taking up the boards and hauling them to the firehouse. Hours of exposure. Any strong back can haul for the death carts, but carters can’t do their work …

A question for Setsu Uzumé

Q: What do you think makes for a good story?

A: Voice. Voice is like the truth, but it’s flavored by awkward, embarrassing, and messy realities — not what you think the audience wants to hear. It gives insight and context that shapes everything else. Voice is the thing that makes a story different and interesting, the same way a person stands out when they represent themselves authentically. It isn’t always easy. Part of voice is exposing our hopes and fears to the scrutiny of strangers; but to me that’s what makes a story come alive.

Setsu Uzumé’s story “Snapped Dry, Scraped Clean”
in Metaphorosis Friday, 25 January 2019.
Subscribe now for e-mail updates!

About Setsu Uzumé

Setsu is the host and assistant editor at PodCastle. They write and occasionally narrate dark fantasy. Find out more at SetsuUzume.com, or tweet them @scribblesassin

Setsu Uzumé’s story “Snapped Dry, Scraped Clean”
in Metaphorosis Friday, 25 January 2019.
Subscribe now for e-mail updates!