From Sketchbooks to Scares: How Project Management Helps Me Craft Terrifying Fiction

Good day, everyone!

Terry Hutton here, though most refer to me as “TL.” Coincidentally, this is also my pen name—why have one identity when you can have two? Who doesn’t want to be like Batman? Welcome to Ink & Shadows, the blog where we dissect the beautiful mechanics of dread.

For those unfamiliar with my peculiar blend of fuckedupness, I am a proud Mexican Cherokee, born in the glorious chaos of Mexico City, Mexico, and then forged beneath the scorching sun of the dirty Phoenix Desert (it’s dirt, people, not sand—geology matters!) and the soul-shaking Powwows of the Midwest's Reservations. Professionally, I’m known for my work in Landscape Architecture and Design, pushing pixels as a graphic designer since the days when "undo" was a prayer that required some form of sacrifice and not a keyboard shortcut, and a rather sordid writing career from a life now long interred beneath the dirty desert grit. And yes, I may or may not be scheming to own a wallet made of genuine Chupacabra leather one day, right after getting a Velociraptor and Predator for pets

Now, following a fifteen-year-long hiatus and returning to the literary world I love so much, I dedicate my focus to crafting Cultural Horror and Speculative Fiction—my particular brand of nightmares and fuckedupness you can find right here at Obsidian Skull Press.

You might be asking: What on earth does designing outdoor living spaces and managing five to six-figure landscape projects have to do with generating pure, existential dread?

The answer, surprisingly, is Project Management (PM).

A relic of my Landscape Architecture and Design days, I hold various PM certifications from esteemed institutions—Arizona Landscape Contractors' Association (ALCA) and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP)—skills I use daily, sometimes to ensure I successfully navigate the grocery store without impulse-buying an entire aisle of artisanal cheeses and coffee beans. But my most rigorous PM testing? Trying to get my two dogs to share their Haribo gummy bears. That project, tragically, remains perpetually behind schedule and wildly over budget.

This unique blend of experience has instilled in me a deep appreciation for how project management principles, though seemingly rigid, possess a surprising adaptability. While the core tenets of PM are surprisingly resilient across various domains—like trying to wrangle mythical beasts versus designing an outdoor living area—their specific application and the flavor of the challenges certainly vary depending on the context.

My background has proven one thing: if you can keep a landscape build on time and budget, you can certainly steer a narrative toward inevitable doom.

The Unexpected Adaptability of Rigor

The Manuscript: Designing Pure, Unadulterated Dread

The task of writing a fiction manuscript is decidedly not design-related—unless you count the design of pure, unadulterated dread.

Without project management strategies, my manuscripts would wander aimlessly like the lustful souls in Dante’s Second Circle, blown about by violent winds, never quite finding the door to Paradiso, let alone the perfect JUMP! scare. My experience has shown that utilizing formalized processes, even in highly creative fields, can significantly improve output quality and consistency (Amabile & Pillemer, 2012).

Here is how I apply three core project management strategies to turn a nascent nightmare into a polished, terrifying reality:

1. Defining Scope & Objectives (The "What are we even doing here?!" Phase)

Before a single word of macabre prose hits the digital page, I engage in rigorous scope definition. This isn't just "write a book." Oh no, it's far more precise, following the foundational principle that defining objectives early on ensures the project meets its stated requirements (Project Management Institute, 2021).

I must precisely answer:

• What kind of cultural horror are we crafting?

• How many pages of pure, unadulterated existential dread are we aiming for?

• What is the central theme (besides the inevitable demise of humanity)?

• Is it a novella, a full-length novel, or just an elaborate short story designed to make people question their life choices?

Pinpointing these elements ensures the monster I’m creating has a clear purpose and isn't just a gratuitous helping of pate de cerebellum served in warmed au jus de sange for 300 pages.

2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) & Phasing (The "Let's Dismantle this Beast" Phase)

A full manuscript is an intimidating beast, so I break it down like a particularly aggressive butcher. Implementing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is one of the most critical steps in successful project planning, as it transforms a monumental task into manageable, trackable components (Kerzner, 2017).

My WBS usually includes distinct phases:

• Pre-Cursory Outlining: Plotting character arcs (who's getting eaten first?), world-building (where are they getting eaten and why?), and initial scene breakdowns.

• First Draft (The "Bloodletting" Phase): Getting the raw story down, chapter by chapter, without judgment. This is where the initial screams are recorded.

• Revision Pass 1 (The "Post-Mortal Check-Up" Phase): Refining plot, character development, and theme.

• Revision Pass 2 (The "Making Sure the Screams are Grammatically Correct" Phase): Focusing on prose, pacing, and sensory details.

• Editing & Proofreading (The "Exorcising Typos" Phase): Sending it to professional editors and beta readers for external torture.

This detailed breakdown ensures I can track progress through each stage of creative decomposition, ensuring the manuscript doesn't get lost in a narrative cul-de-sac.

3. Risk Management & Contingency Planning (The "What If the Demons Don't Cooperate?" Phase)

Writing is fraught with perils! What if writer's block descends like a thick, mind-numbing fog? What if a character decides they want to lead the story in a completely different, often more violent, direction? What if my dogs abscond to Argentina with my research notes—and the damn Haribos?

Proactive risk management is crucial to mitigating delays and ensuring project completion (Meredith & Mantel, 2012). My contingency plans include:

• A designated "brainstorming walk" route for when the muse, tenacious little bitch she can sometimes be, flips me the finger.

• A list of trusted beta readers for emergency feedback.

• A "kill your darlings" list for non-cooperative characters.

• An emergency stash of Haribo not within canine reach.

This structured approach ensures that nascent nightmares transform into polished, terrifying realities, rather than remaining as half-developed abdominal ideas lost in the narrative womb that should probably be aborted

Completion and Quality Assurance

The biggest benefit of applying these project management strategies to my writing is simple: Completion and Quality Assurance.

Without them, my literary endeavors would likely remain a chaotic swirl of half-baked ideas and abandoned drafts, much like an archaeological dig of unfinished graves. By defining the scope, breaking down the work, and anticipating risks, I ensure that I not only finish the book but also guide it through the rigorous stages necessary to ensure the monster actually gets to the protagonist, on time and with appropriate dramatic tension.

The design of a nightmare requires precision—and a lot of planning.

References

Amabile, T. M., & Pillemer, J. (2012). Perspectives on the social psychology of creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 46(1), 3–15.

Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (12th ed.). Wiley.

Meredith, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2012). Project management: A managerial approach (8th ed.). Wiley.

Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.

If you find yourself grappling with an unruly manuscript, lost in the labyrinthine corridors of plot, or simply seeking to inject more calculated terror into your tales, know this: I, TL Hutton, and the dedicated team at Obsidian Skull Press are not just crafting our own horrors; we're eager to help you craft yours. Whether you need an editorial eye that can spot a plot hole from a mile away or guidance on structuring your own monstrous project, don't hesitate to reach out.

We believe every nightmare deserves to be fully realized, impeccably structured, and terrifyingly complete. Let us help you bring your most frightening visions to life.

Until next time, keep those shadows long and your deadlines tight.

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Obsidian Skull Press