I talk a lot about horror as an art form. I rail against poorly made horror movies and I talk endlessly about what horror needs to do as a genre in order to regain its ability to actually frighten people. All of that doesn't change the fact that I really like shitty horror movies. I … Continue reading Horror on a Budget
Paring It Down
For most people, editing is about excising. You trim out all of those unnecessary words and details and phrases and commas. You said too much. You described too much. You gave him too much to say. Stephen King even comes up with a basic formula for editing your story that goes as follows: First Draft … Continue reading Paring It Down
Movie Review: Prometheus
When I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with the Aliens movies. Well, correction: I was obsessed with Alien and Aliens. The other two movies were of such questionable quality that I'd rather pretend that they never happened. It was one of the first bits of horror I watched growing up and it had a … Continue reading Movie Review: Prometheus
I Want to Go to There
This is Mars: Ever since I was little, I've wanted to go into space. Most of the science fiction I grew up with was all about how awesome it is to explore space. I read space books and I watched the Star Trek and I fed my imagination on final frontiers and strange new worlds. … Continue reading I Want to Go to There
The North End Excursion (Part II)
There are places in this world where the skin of our world has been worn thin. Here, breaches can happen and travelers from our world can cross over to the other....just as they can also cross over into our world. These are places where the very fabric of reality has been frayed and where the … Continue reading The North End Excursion (Part II)
The North End Excursion (Part 1)
I was reading the Necronomicon, a collection a short stories by the Mad American H.P. Lovecraft, when I noticed something interesting in one of his stories, specifically "Pickman's Model". While most of his tales revolve around fantastical locations or rural areas or fictional towns, this particular story takes place in Boston's North End. There is … Continue reading The North End Excursion (Part 1)
Scared of Fear
Fear is not being scared or rather, one doesnt follow the other.
A New Story Is Up: Carolyn
Over a year ago, I wrote a story called For Carolyn and it was published on Tales from the Zombie War. There were a few comments asking for more about both Carolyn and her mother, Alex, and while I normally ignore comments asking for a sequel, I actually had an idea about them and where … Continue reading A New Story Is Up: Carolyn
Tell Me Why, Amendment One
I normally don't talk about politics. I think it ends up being a preaching to the choir situation, where your enjoyment of the entry comes from whether or not you agree with me already. I don't think I'm going to change any minds and I think, at best, I can just get people to understand … Continue reading Tell Me Why, Amendment One
Tension
Since today was my day off from my job-that-pays-me-money, I decided to do some research for my job-that-is-more-fun-but-way-less-lucrative. I watched four horror movies, most of them slightly-above-average. However, when I got to Insidious, I began to get angry. There's a difference between bad horror movies and horror done badly. Bad horror movies acknowledge that they're … Continue reading Tension