#IWSG Short Story Conundrum slice-of-life

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.The awesome co-hosts for the March 4 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Natalie Aguirre!
Remember, the question is optional! March 4 question - What elements do you include in your book launch? Or what do you have in mind for your future book launch? Or what advice do you have to offer to others planning to launch a book?

I haven't launched a book. I'm in the editing, writing, or querying stage of everything. I ghosted for a book. I heard it sold well in Germany. (It was written in English. No idea if the author had it translated. It was a wolf story, and that's all I can say.) 

I'm instead going to use this opportunity to discuss the short story I'm working on for the #AtoZchallenge. 

I grabbed two characters from another story I was working on a few years ago. Two of my best friends and I were going to write a fiction book together. It never got off the ground. We had the first few chapters. One friend sorta lost her passion for writing. I still hope we'll go back to it someday. ANYWAY. 

My main character in that story is Liv Good (yes, she enjoys the punny name reference), a psychic-medium who has inherited the rather large family home. The downstairs has been reconstructed for her needs, as she's mostly wheelchair-bound. It's also the home to a few mythical creatures she cares for, making it a paranormal story. Being a psychic-medium doesn't pay all that well, which is why she rented out the basement and the upstairs to the characters my friends were writing about. 

One of Liv's friends is Wren Noel. He's this quirky goth guy who is just so fun to write. Totally non-romantic friendship, seriously. 

In my upcoming April story, Wren Noel will be injured after a car crash. He's going to stay with Liv for a bit while he's in a wheelchair healing, and it's way easier to be at her place (which is accessible) than at his apartment. 

[It wasn't long ago that my husband and I were both unable to walk- briefly, for different reasons, and not simultaneously. But wow, let me tell you how fun stairs are when you can't use your legs. Much less trying to navigate the rest of our tiny apartment.] 

Anyway! So the story is just the two of them hanging out and binge-watching. They're making a crossword puzzle because one of his side jobs is creating a monthly word game for an entertainment magazine. 

But... I mean... it's not about anything. There's no great conflict. It's a slice-of-life narrative. 

"From its inception, audiences loved that slice-of-life fiction was authentic and relatable. Known for capturing the essence of human existence (even when stories take place in fantastical worlds), slice-of-life fiction resonates with audiences for its ability to convey the beauty and suffering of daily life."

- https://www.campfirewriting.com/learn/slice-of-life 

An example of a novel-length slice-of-life is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which is one of my favorite books. 

"The ones where the focus is more on a character's journey through a period of time, and not so much about that one big bad problem that needs to be resolved." - http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/12/just-another-day-slice-of-life-stories.html

My Conundrum

I've never written a slice-of-life story before. I wasn't even aware of the genre until I sat down to write this post and did a search on stories that aren't about some conflict. (Person versus __ ) I have no idea if it'll be any good. 

That's what is making this writer insecure at the moment!

Tips and encouragement are welcome. 

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