Author Archives: coolerbs

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 17, 2016

Posted under

Special, Writing

Comments

6 Comments

Connie Cockrell: What It Means To Be A Writer

Hey guys, Brandon Scott here. Today, instead of my usual stuff, I have an awesome guest post from my friend Connie Cockrell. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

—

I’d like to thank Brandon for inviting me to post on his wonderful blog. I know he talks about writing here and I thought I’d do the same. One question I often get is “What’s it like to be an author?” I suppose the questioner thinks it’s exciting, living inside my own head, pouring words onto paper, vicariously living out my fantasies. Perhaps it is, but there’s more to it than that.

For example, I slop around the house in sweats and a quilted flannel shirt in the winter, soft cotton shorts and a t-shirt in the summer. If I don’t leave the house, I don’t get dressed. No, it’s not a pretty sight. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 14, 2016

Posted under

Flash Fiction, Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Flash Fiction: Chocolates On Valentine’s Day

In honor of the holiday, a story meant for those of us without a “standard” Valentine’s day to enjoy.

It’s called:

Chocolates On Valentine’s Day

—

She broke my heart earlier today, with a soft push to get past me, and a look of severe discomfort. This woman, the one I looked at for so long, the first person to ever let me have the strength to be this brave, shattered me.

The way only a person I care for can. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 10, 2016

Posted under

Life, Writing

Comments

4 Comments

A Short Tale Of Procrastination

Enter Scene.

Setting: A late Sunday morning. Lazy, by any stretch of the imagination. A small quaint house. With wind chimes. I’ve always wanted to have a house with wind chimes.

Characters: An altered and more comical version of myself, and my mute, invisible, and intangible butler, Charley.

Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 6, 2016

Posted under

Flash Fiction, Writing

Comments

2 Comments

Flash Fiction: Possibility Layers

The options are unlimited, the outcomes uncountable, the word count: roughly 600 words. May I present a story that you have not will read. A story of layers, and layers, of possibility.

Possibility Layers

—

The pond ripples underneath my fingertips, and my face sputters into a mess of stretching lines and round curves. And it spreads across the entire pond, in however small a way. I take a drop and smear it across my forehead, and it feels cold with the summer heat.

It’s tempting to plunge my entire hand into the froth, and feel the strains against my skin, but I can’t, not here, not now.

I catch the eyes of a few other park patrons, and it seems as good a time as any to walk away. So I do. And I don’t. And some days its seems hard to tell how many ways I can be wrong and right at the same time. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 3, 2016

Posted under

Life, Writing

Comments

2 Comments

Me vs. Me: A Debate With Myself

“What’s the point of this Brandon? Why are you putting yourself through this? All this worrying?”

“Well, I want to do something different on the blog.”

“Different how?”

“You know: new. I write about writing all the time now. I used to write about movies, but even that didn’t stick. I love writing fiction, but they don’t read it enough. I write this blog for them. Not just for me.”

“Well, then write more personal stuff.”

“I can’t.” Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 31, 2016

Posted under

Flash Fiction, Writing

Comments

2 Comments

Flash Fiction: Our Hearts Are Cold

I thought I was done with them. That they were gone. But they would not leave my head. So, as another first for this site, may I present the first “Flash Fiction Trilogy” to ever grace Coolerbs Writes.

I have no idea if there will ever be another. Or even if I will finally be able to leave these characters alone. But until then, enjoy the third installment in this weird story about the end of this world.

If you haven’t already, I HIGHLY suggest you read “My Fingers Are Cold” and its sequel “My Feet Are Cold” before you even attempt this one.

For everyone else, let’s begin:

Our Hearts Are Cold

—

Our hearts are cold, so he snuggles up between us. He is warmth. He radiates it from every inch of his skin. From his still growing hair, to his hands no larger than our fists. He opens his eyes, and stares at us with those globes of pure yellow light.
Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 27, 2016

Posted under

Writing

Comments

1 Comment

The Unique Experiences Of Being A Writer

You know, some people really over-romanticize what it means to be a writer. I guess it’s their way of minimizing the stress of what’s actually required of people like us. Even the non-professionals have some serious shit they have to go through to create full books or fully readable stories/articles.

Writing, Above All, Is A Journey.

A journey that can, and often does, leave you with odd habits, difficulty getting along with people who aren’t also an artist of some kind, and the weirdest sensations in your fingers after a long typing session.

But then again, on the flip side, can you really blame them for hyping it up to this beautiful, magical thing? When we get to experience feelings that might be unique to only us? Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 24, 2016

Posted under

Flash Fiction, Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Flash Fiction: My Feet Are Cold

Marking a first time for this blog: a direct sequel story. If you haven’t read “My Fingers Are Cold” then I recommend you do. Or none of this is going to make any sense.

And for those who have already. May I present:

My Feet Are Cold 

—

My feet are cold, so I wrap them in the last of my bandages. I once had shoes. But I wore them out a long time ago.

So now, as I run up the hill and along the street, my feet are perpetually cold. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 20, 2016

Posted under

Writing

Comments

1 Comment

Brandon’s Code To Being A Good Writer

A list to remember, a list to remind. A list for those of us already here. And those still behind.

And I swear:

  • To help those who have just begun. To do what I can to create new writers.
  • To encourage potentials to write, and write strong. To find a new kind of joy in creation.
  • To criticize only to help, and never to tear others down with my words.
  • To respect the power my words have. And to use them to help this world, even if it’s by pointing out its flaws.
  • To call myself a writer. To own that title.
  • To never belittle what I gave up, what I fought for to become an artist.
  • To constantly seek improvement in my craft, and to seek new horizons.
  • To understand that by my very nature I am a dreamer and a storyteller.
  • To not lie to myself. To take the time I need to get writing done.
  • To find the time to write, even with the distractions.
  • To consume art.  Not just to learn, but to share in the creations of others.
  • To chase some speck of immortality, however small and out of reach.

Say it aloud, and say it with force. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 16, 2016

Posted under

Flash Fiction, Movies and Tv, Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Flash Fiction: My Fingers Are Cold

My fingers are cold. So I rub them together and hope for friction. Me breathing on them is the only sound for miles and miles. And the ash spreads across my knuckles.

I pull my jacket tighter to my body, and walk towards the shell of a building. My feet leaving prints in the soot.

I hold out my hands and hope for some warmth from the wreckage. But it’s as cold as everything else in this world.

I tuck my hands underneath my arms and hope for my pits to offer something close to heat. I keep my head down when the wind picks up.

It sounds like someone talking. Saying over and over again the word that graces my lips every few minutes. “Cold” it says. And I can almost see the wreckage of a man whisper it through a shattered jaw bone and fleshless grin. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 13, 2016

Posted under

Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Talent? Talent. Talent!

Talent is a double-edged sword. Not so much because of its existence. But because to a beginning artist, it can make or break them.

Artists will create regardless—it’s part of our souls—but I don’t think I’m going to get many people arguing against the idea that the thing that sparks the idea, the dream, of doing art for a living is the sentence: “Hey, look at that, you’re talented.”

And for pushing an artist to really start pouring their efforts into their craft, there is nothing more effective than some version of that sentence. And just the knowledge that somewhere, somehow, someone chose them to create, will keep an artist going for a long time. Enough to get them through the beginning cramps.

But then the sword swings backwards, and here’s the problem. You get so used to the idea that you can just ART without any effort, that you might think you don’t need to improve. I know this from personal experience. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 9, 2016

Posted under

Flash Fiction, Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Flash Fiction: A Picture’s Worth

“No, come on, will you please look at this?”

If the term cold shoulder was literal, she would resemble an ice princess. As it stands, she’s wearing a fire red shirt that hugged her upper body as hard as I want to most of the time.

“No, Kevin. We’re not doing this. That machine…what you do…it’s not healthy. When did you even last go outside?”

Trying to not let her notice, I roll down my jacket sleeve and look at my skin. If light hit that, I’d probably blind someone.

“Well…it’s been awhile, I’ll admit. But you know how important this device is to me.”

“Yes. Yes I do.” She keeps her back to me, and lets out a long sigh. “Important is definitely the right word for it. I remember when other things were important to you.” Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 6, 2016

Posted under

Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

On Killing Characters

“I put a pair of stainless steel steak knives from my thirteen-piece cutlery set through their fucking hearts.”

Sales Rush by Brandon Scott

“Something intimate. Something I had to dig for, rip into and pry from her. I wanted to see her soul. And I wondered how red that ebony skin was going to get before I found it.”

Waking Nightmares by Brandon Scott

“He stops. Cerebral fluid draining on the rich mahogany wood.”

Piano Player by Brandon Scott

***

I kill characters. I murder them. Butcher them. I delight in the well set-up destruction of a fictional person I created.

I admit it readily: I am a killer of characters. As serial as they come.

And I am not alone. Among the great destroyers of protagonists and fictional people are the likes of Josh Whedon, George R. R. Martin, William Shakespeare and even—if you think about it—J.K. Rowling.

Death is, and always was, a massive part of fiction. Because there is no more basic, primal fear than death. And damn is it good to create drama.

And while there might be plenty of lists online talking about why you should kill a character, and why you shouldn’t sometimes, I am going to talk about something different. I am going to tell you about how you kill a character. What you should at least consider when you decide that Joe Protagonist needs a spike through his head. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 2, 2016

Posted under

Micro Fiction, Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Microfiction: Listen To Me

“Stand still.”

Of course I do. It seems the most obvious thing in the world. My muscles lock up so tight I can’t even bend my tongue.

“Oh, where are my manners? Breath.”

The air is cold and sweet when it rushes down my throat. My dog, Skipper, whimpers next to me. He sounds scared. But the gentleman keeps on petting him, running painted green nails across Skipper’s fur.

“Do you understand what’s happening to you? Answer and then say nothing more. I forbid you to scream.” Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 30, 2015

Posted under

Books, Lists

Comments

Leave a comment

New Year’s Book Cheers!

As a writer, I read a lot of books, not as many as I’d like, honestly, but still quite a few. And since the year is closing out, I thought I would give my recommendation of three books I’ve enjoyed during 2015.

1.) “The Rest of Us Just Live Here” by Patrick Ness

In a word: Poignant. In more words: The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a book that is not what you probably assume going off its synopsis. I picked it up thinking it was going to be a somewhat black comedy dealing with the people on the sidelines in a chosen one narrative. And while that second part is true, it is not a comedy. This is a bleak book. Full of relatable, if horribly broken characters. It tore me up inside watching people younger than I am deal with this…well…life shit. It is not a book to read if you’re in a good mood. But it is excellent. And I have to recommend it. It is just too artistically clever, and downright human not to tell you to read it. Continue reading →