A Guessing Game, a Sneak Peek, and What It Means To Be Weird

If you like guessing games and sneak peeks, today’s newsletter will hit different. I also wax poetic about what it means to be weird, which in some ways is basically a manifesto for this entire newsletter project.

Lots of lore today. I hope you enjoy the journey, my friend!

Can you guess what my novel is about based on the mood board above? Hint: Some images are straightforward for the characters and plot, while others are more ~vibes based~.

I pulled these images from my tumblr blog (maybe one day I’ll reveal my URL, but for now, that’s simply way too vulnerable), and it’s been an interesting meditation as I’ve been exploring what the genre of my book is.

I’ve been describing it as a “spooky weird girl novel” thus far, and that description still sounds accurate. That being said, it has elements of weird girl, horror, and thriller genres the more that I think about it. It’s made me wonder if other writers feel like their book encompasses several moods or genres as they work through their initial rough drafts. Will I end up narrowing it down in the edit? Who knows.

I’ve been told that the rough draft should be treated as a discovery more than anything, which I didn’t totally understand at first. The more I write, the more I find that the story seems to discover itself in a lot of ways. I’m just the vessel for it to do that through.

It might sound weird or spooky, but hey. That’s my book in a nutshell. Pretty on brand if you ask me!

Pssst…feel free to follow the journey as I document the process on TikTok.

Thanks for reading along! Viewing this newsletter online or had it forwarded to you? Subscribe to get a fresh edition in your inbox every Wednesday.

I have a super exciting project coming up that I can’t share the details of quite yet. However…here’s the lovely art for it, which was created by the wickedly talented Chris Panatier.

Here’s what I can tell you. My friend Michelle Delgado and I are cooking up something fun. Let’s just say, if you love all things horror and weird girl, you’re in for a treat. We’re tying up some loose ends before we can start shouting the news from the rooftops, but I hope this reveal satiates you in the meantime.

If you aren’t already subscribed to Michelle’s newsletter, Scare Me!, you absolutely should be. She’s a gifted writer and journalist, a horror aficionado, and someone I’m beyond grateful to call a friend.

Outside of her newsletter, her journalism has been featured in Phantasmag, Smithsonian, WIRED, Catapult, Vox, Literary Hub, and more. She also joined the Macabre Daily staff this year, where she reviews new horror book releases (I especially loved her review of You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom).

I’m happy to be along for the ride, and I can’t wait to share more about what we’re working on soon!

The dictionary definition of “weird” is as follows: of strange or extraordinary character. An adjective. A person, place, or thing can be weird. In order for “weird” to exist, an observer needs to label it weird in the first place. It’s a subjective term, after all.

I’d venture to say that everyone has felt like they were weird at some point in their lives. Maybe it was something they said or did that made others deem them unusual in a particular moment. For some people, “weird” is a blip on their radar.

For others, it’s a word that sticks. A word that follows you seemingly everywhere you go. In practice, that can look like not fitting in for any number of reasons. It could be living an unconventional lifestyle, or having a family that doesn’t seem to understand you. It could be getting punished for things that are out of your control, like who you love. It can about where you come from, or what you look like. The list goes on.

As the world gets increasingly chaotic, people are questioning the current systems in place—the same systems that determine what we collectively consider “normal”. What happens when more of us realize that the way things are isn’t actually the default, and that the world as we know it is a series of carefully constructed mechanisms of control?

Call me idealistic, but I think we’re in the midst of a weird renaissance. While things have certainly been bleak lately, the few glimmers of hope I’ve had have been in seeing people being unabashedly themselves, despite what others may think. In many ways, embracing what makes you weird is revolutionary. Why bother sticking to the status quo, when the status quo has been set by a sick society?

The second definition of “weird” is a noun, meaning “fate or destiny.” The word comes from the Old English noun wyrd, which meant "fate." If you’ve ever read Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the "weird sisters" are depicted as three witches, harkening back to the mythology of the three fates who determine the destinies of mortals.

While you may not deserve to be labeled weird by the normies, why not embrace those things about yourself? It’s almost like it’s your destiny or something.

Jinkx Monsoon can do it all. She’s an award-winning actress, comedian, singer, and drag queen. She’s a broadway star, and the only two-time winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Oh, and she’s also a self-proclaimed witch. What’s not to love?

She’s currently on her press tour for End of the Rainbow, a play in which she stars as none other than Judy Garland. I’ve been devouring all of the media featuring her lately (such as this episode on Bob the Drag Queen’s podcast), and I could listen to her yap for days.

If there’s anyone who can knock it out of the park playing Judy Garland, it’s her. While she’s known for her unmatched impression of Judy Garland on Snatch Game, I loved what she had to say about taking on the role, and what she plans to bring to it:

There’s something to be said about her deep reverence for art in all of its forms, which she imbues upon every project. From her signature style to her beloved cackle, no one else is doing it like Jinkx Monsoon—and her existence is a win for weird girls everywhere.

That’s it for today. Want more weird?

Say less. Give me a follow over on Instagram and TikTok!

The Weird Girl Edit is a weekly newsletter written by Maya Rector, and it gets published every Wednesday. View past editions here. If you haven’t already, subscribe for the latest wacky musings in literature, media, and pop culture each week!