Wednesday, August 31, 2011

What would you do?

  I have posted a lot on here about my stories, but one thing that I haven't really talked about is  something more real, and that is preparedness. Being ready for the unthinkable and surviving to tell the tale of it. So, I will ask a simple question here, what would you do? Two situations. First: you run into a zombie while you are on a deserted road. It is open, and there is just one of them. Second: you are in your home with family or close friends. Several of them are breaking through your front door, back door is clear. Do you fight, and take out the threat or run?
  In the first situation, I would say run. And here is how it would play out for me, in story form.
     The sky is clear this night, with the stars easily visible. There are so many in the sky one could easily get lost thinking how many there could be. The road is empty as I kick a rock out in front of me. With no cars or people around, I don't have to worry about hitting anyone or anything. There is a soft crack sound from the wooded area to my left, most likely it is a squirrel.
      There is a terrible smell that causes my nostrils to burn and my throat to gag. I nearly throw up when I notice someone come from around a corner. I can immediately tell that the smell is coming from them. They are moving in a strange way, jerking a little bit and shuffling their feet. Arms upraised I hear a soft moan escape from their lips. I am terrified as they get closer. I run out into the empty road and move around it. Their arms are still raised, but they move slowly and turn to where I am. I realize that they are slow, and I am faster. Once I am around them, I start speed walking home. I quickly lose sight of them and when I get home I ensure that I have a weapon near my bed that night.
  Now, if I were at home and protecting my family, you can bet there would be some rage against the zombies going on.
       The banging at the door is getting louder. There are now three of them trying to get into my house and eat me. My wife and kids are crying behind me, fear apparent across their faces. I know that we could escape through the back door, but I do not know if there are more out there. Also, they could follow and what good would it do to flee. I grab a small baseball bat and several wooden spears fashioned from a broom and mop.
      With the spears in hand and the bat in reach, I twist the knob quickly and open the door. I think there was a look of surprise on the faces of the zombies, but I did not give them long before I stabbed the first one through the eye with one of my spears. It sunk in deeply and down it went. My second spear found it's mark on my next target. With two bodies, the third was slowed down significantly which gave me the time to regain my bat and to swing with all my might. The bat was small, so it took multiple hits, but it was sturdy and hard and survived long enough to end the last zombie. Breathing deeply I stood over the bodies, blood on my hands and clothing dripped into a forming puddle.
        A bright light shone into my eyes and the sounds of a police officer could be heard from the porch. I must look like a serial killer standing over the dead like that, but at least my family was safe.

So, how would you do it in these situations?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

I shall continue

What is on everyone's mind right now? Why, it is the hurricane that is. Hurricane Irene is heading up the east coast and is reeking havoc everywhere it goes. Winds and rain are battering everyone that stands in it's path and there is no stopping it. So, what am I doing? I am sitting here writing and getting myself mentally ready to walk in the storm to the store.
  That is right, I am crazy enough to walk in this dang storm. It is not that I particularly want to walk outside during a hurricane (but that 10 year old boy in me thinks it is cool) it is just that I have been sent on a mission by my pregnant wife. I need to fulfill this mission or I would have one very sad woman on my hands, and honestly, that is just no good.
 So, I am psyching myself up for running to the store. I don't want to get wet either, but it is gonna happen. What I am really excited about though is this new story I am writing. I have written 4000 words over the last few days. This is a huge accomplishment for me, as I have a hard time finding the time to write. My hours at work are sometimes strange plus I have a family, so the conditions must be just right for me to be able to write.
  Here is a little info on it: Marcus is a young man working hard to keep his family afloat. With the death of his father recently he has had to pick up the slack and fill a void left behind. Things never seem to go his way, but a chance find on a journey into the local village finds him starting an adventure that he never thought possible. He and his family find themselves in the middle of world events, and how those events play out is determined by their actions.
  That is a rough idea, and even I am not really sure exactly where things are going to go. We shall see and I will let the story tell itself in my writing. I must go and prepare a bit more, until next time. Everyone, stay safe and warm.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What a night

Last night I was writing like a mad man. Once I was all done for the night and too tired to even think I had knocked out an amazing 2000 words. That was crazy and exciting. I just sat down and began to write with the words flowing from me like no other. This is not a short story, it will be a much longer novel, and most likely one in a series. I will tell you that it will not be a typical horror story. It is more a fantasy/adventure type.
  Never fear though because the way my mind works I will most likely still have a zombie or two involved in the story. In fact, they may be quite prevalent. Whatever the case may be I am excited about the direction the story i headed and how fast it is coming to me. I will keep everyone updated as to my progress on this and anything else I may start writing.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

What to write?

 I find myself stuck in that conundrum quite often. What should I write? Should I work on another short story and get it out there for everyone to read? Should I work on my current novel project? Or should I maybe try something new that I have been thinking about? There is a lot that I love to read, and I am sure that I would love to write different stuff as well. But what to write?
  Up to this point I have written a lot of horror type of stuff and one erotica.Everything I have published has been a short story. My head is full of grand dreams and stories that I should be noting, but I forget to sometimes. Even sitting here I have at least three different stories flash across my mind, and a part of me wants to live each of them out. I guess one day I may write them all, but what should I write first?
  Short stories are great, as they can be thought up, written and edited in a short time frame. I can usually have one from start to finish in a few weeks. That is a short amount of time. A full length novel takes a lot more time to write, but the story is much more in depth and I am more committed to the characters. There are benefits and pitfalls to both.
  Although, I am now thinking a little bit more on it and I have found that I really want to live a huge grand adventure. Something that is a journey and fun. It would lean in the fantasy direction, but with a little bit of scifi  mixed in. Well, I guess writing it here has helped me make my mind up. I better head on out and start this, I have the feeling that it could be a long story.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

A desolate heart?

  The land is desolate, as desolate as my heart. I sometimes wonder whether I feel this way because the land is empty, or if the land seems more empty because I feel this way. "Sigh, nothing is ever going to change." Glass crunches beneath my boots and I freeze my movements. Too much sound can lead to problems. I scan the area around me, looking for anything that  could be a danger.
  The city around me appears to be deserted. Burned out cars line the roads and windows are smashed in most buildings, many are themselves burned out hulks. The wind blows trash in spirals and whistles through and around the buildings. It is an eery sound, almost like a moan from a sad ghost.
   Whatever is in this city though, most likely it is not friendly. Nothing is friendly anymore. To live and survive one must be hard as stone and tough as nails. Even the wind is mean in its coldness and emptiness. I tighten my jacket around myself and continue onward, because moving forward is the only thing left to do now.

I think this may just start my next story. I know it may need a little bit of work, but I think the thought is a good one.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Necropology

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  Like my title states, the study of the undead. I know that I am new to that type of thing but I must say that it really is a cool thing to study. The guys over at www.necropology.com have come up with some really breathtaking breakthroughs. And these are the things that I am trying to base my books on. I mean, what is better than writing something that is as accurate as possible?
  Speaking of which, I know that sometimes writers have to take some liberties with facts, but honestly they take it way too far at times. I think of movies where the craziest things happen, with some crazy science to back it up. Heck, I remember watching one movie that basically said one could create a larger nuclear bomb just by adding some fuel next to the bomb itself. Geek detour: the reason that does not work is due to the fact that a nuclear device requires an uncontrollable fission reaction with a cascade of neutrons. This is caused by a precision explosion that compresses the material in the center and forces these particles towards the fuel. There is some other science involved, but that science does not support a bigger bang just because there is fuel nearby. That works with a regular bomb, not this kind.
  Anyway, I find myself ranting a bit. Sorry about that. But I do think that I am not alone in this world when I read something that could possibly be real. I am not saying that a virus will turn people into zombies, but if that event did happen, I would think there would be certain rules that would need to be followed.
  I personally cannot wait until they release there next paper. I don't know what it will be on exactly, but I do know that it will also be groundbreaking. I hope to use this new knowledge to create a better story and something a little scarier. In the meantime though I will try and work on a new story. I have two things in mind, and I am not sure which direction I should go in.
  My first thought is something that I thought about, then changed my mind for the last short story I did. I was thinking some post-apocalyptic erotica. I am not alone in this thought either, as someone I follow in twitter @gingerkytten has also thought of writing one of these stories.
   My other thought is something more of a thriller/mystery type of story. Of course, it would still contain a lot of blood and guts and most likely would fit into my world here. This would be a little different than I have written in the past, so I hope it would come out ok.
 Whatever I choose to do, there is a good chance I would end up writing both stories in time anyway. Well, I think I will get down to it. They say the best way to write something is to write it.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Empire Avenue

   I first read about Empire Avenue in a news article on CNN.com a couple of days ago, and I thought that it was a neat idea. Here is this game that will actually track how effective you are at social networking and give you a score on it in the form of a stock price. You also get some cash to invest in others. With a refined site that is easy to jump into, I am shocked that I haven't read about it before now.
  So, of course I go to try it out. I find it was in fact easy to learn the basics of the system. And now I am hooked. I am the type of person that loves games and I love to win. But more important than winning itself is the game. I love playing and seeing if I can get better at it over time to master it. Here is where it can get interesting for me and what I want to do in the future as well with my writing.
  This game that I am now playing will track how well I am social networking. I can use that a a tool to determine whether I am being effective or not out here on the internet. I always felt that social networking was going to be how I got my writing out into the world and more people reading it. The better I am at the game, the better the odds are that my writing will be read and hopefully liked.
  So I will give it a shot. Who knows, maybe this could be the start of something wonderful and fun at the same time. Oh, and if you are interested in checking it out, just head here: http://empireavenue.com/?t=hydp9pvk I hope you have fun and I hope to buy your shares up!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

My Writing

Hello Everyone,
   I am writing this as I am finally going to start to get back into my writing phase of life. Things over the last month have been so hectic in my personal life that I was not able to get anything done at all, even when it comes to finishing my short stories.
  Speaking of my short stories, I have been working on wrapping my latest one up, finally. If you remember correctly I did post it, but decided I had been tired and slightly delusional when I did it, and it really needed a proofread through. I then un posted it, and never revised it. Well, I have now begun revising it so that it is better and the story flows from beginning to end. I also tweaked it a bit, and will most likely be changing the name of it, as the current name does not really fit with what the story currently is.
   I must say though that this story is being very much influenced by those funny little science guys at necropology.com I would definitely check out their work. I must add in though that their ideas are new and radical, but when I think about it I am actually shocked that no one had thought about this type of stuff before. It is revolutionary. I will make sure I start updating daily here so that anyone that is reading will know what is going on.