(For those who have not read it, here’s part 1)
The response took five minutes. The incoming message symbol fluctuating several times in the span of only seconds. This irked Bernard, but he was willing to observe patience if this was indeed something as interesting as he hoped.
Yeah. It is.
Under one second it took Bernard to type a response.
When and where did you get these pictures?
From a forum. Week old. Continue reading
Three of my favorite shows of all time: Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. What do these all have in common? Well: they’re damn clever.
And, as I’ve mentioned before, I try to pull off the same sort of clever stuff in my work to the detriment of my actual story. But, this is my counterargument to myself, to that article I wrote. Can you really blame me for idolizing that aspect of media when I keep seeing someone (or rather groups of show staff) pull it off like it was effortless whenever I bother to sit down in front of a television? Continue reading
In present day, technology is already changing our lives. But it can go a lot further. A story not so far-fetched called:
Part 1
Bernard Burn, resident of 1010 Parry Street, sat and glared at the string of symbols on his computer monitor. Without looking away, he pulled at the skin beneath his eyes, trying to make them less dry, and less exhausted.
The room: dark, but he did not turn on the light. If he did, the fan would turn on, and Bernard was already too cold in his house. He was never without his blue, too big for him jacket. He shivered and continued looking at the rows and rows of numerical and alphabetical gibberish. Continue reading
It’s getting cold even here in Florida, so I thought I’d write something a little joyful and a little warm.
I call it:
Being Happy In The Morning
Too early to do this, Charles concluded. Too early in the morning. But Charles would not have it any other way.
The wrapping: silver. The shape: a hard rectangle. He felt the spine underneath his fingers. Too easy. Did not matter if he was tired, he could tell this shape in his sleep.
“So, it’s a book, but which one?” Continue reading
Gerald did not know when he’d turned off the lights. He’d been sitting in the dark for a long time. The screen the only source of illumination, not even a lantern worth of light to see. His stomach curled up and hard, twisting. He closed his eyes for a moment, and breathed out, trying to force images out of his head. Faces and names and moments.
The screen showed he’d pulled up a few different chat bubbles. He’d not typed into any of them. They all had a few things in common, a few connecting features between the people presented. Girls. Women. Above his age. Never spoken to any of them. Never video chatted. Cost too much. Continue reading
It’s hard for me to tell a simple story. Goes against all of what I like about media. I love the intricacies of a complex narrative. For a story to be engaging to me, at least on a level which makes me openly happy, I need my brain tied up in knots trying to work things out—to piece together the parts. This doesn’t mean I like confusing stories, but it does mean I’m drawn to multi-layered ones. Stories with startling turns, with underlying concepts, with social and political commentary, and creative symbolism, and this…this is a problem. Continue reading
Sorry! I’m late! Thanksgiving threw off my whole schedule, and I’m getting this post out about an hour past Saturday.
Please forgive me :(.
For those who do forgive me, and haven’t run off in anger, may I present a type of story I’ve always wanted to do. An admittedly self-indulgent tale of one man, and his many imaginary friends.
I call it:
The table was so big it would not be available on the standard commercial market. It also made no physical sense. So, it was a good thing the man at the head of it, at least in this world, was a god. Continue reading
While writing in private, alone, is often a necessity, doing so in a quiet location is another matter altogether. Sure, I don’t think people write well while a television or the crackle of video games is in the background, but I know some enjoy writing with music in their ears.
And my opinion on this matter has changed over time. As when I first began, I tried not to listen to music while I was doing the actual writing—but thinking about the topic beforehand was fair game for tunes. And then, later, I came to rely on it, as my writing location got more and more distracting. I had noise-canceling headphones and a preset playlist. Continue reading
Alexander had the barrel pressed to the man’s head. Only he was not a man—not in the strictest sense. That’s where things get a tad problematic.
“Go on, do it. Come on now. You are the same as all of them. Pull the fucking trigger, I fucking dare you!”
“Shut it, will you?” Alexander said and smacked the man with the side of his laser gun. Darius fell backward, his skin broken, and the silver stuff underneath visible. Continue reading
Salina Johnson’s camera captured something. Not that she was aware of it. But there it was, hidden between the desktop and the browser. In the pixels. Squirming through the hard drive, looking out, watching, with blinking, cold eyes. Continue reading
The sound annoys. Irritates me. I can’t stand it. I shout for it to stop. I beg the air, I scream, and it does not stop. Clanking, crushing. Cracking. So much noise. It makes me want to take my skin and yank it down over my ears. Fill my drums with liquid until they pop.
I can’t stand it—I just can’t. The cabinet slamming covers the sound well enough. Back and forth under my forceful hands. Back and forth. Enough force to break something. The last push hurts too much, so I slam my hand on the side of the wood, letting the wet handprint slide down on the mahogany. Continue reading
The email looked legit.
Hello sir or madam, I am happy to inform you that you have made so many of billions of dollars. Due to a ridiculous series of tax laws and reformatting of the entire currency system, along with the rising of a dark sorcerer, you are set to receive seventeen billion dollars in the next week. We only need you to enter your bank account data to make the transaction complete. Continue reading
I’m writing this post while bored.
It’s, relatively, not an unpleasant day. I’m outside in the Florida heat, but with a breeze and a stomach full of salted cashews and filtered water.
And as I sit here, I’m thinking about boredom and creativity. It’s an easy test to find an artist: make a person bored. See what they do with what is around them. Continue reading
Though ruffled and abused, the map showed this was the place. This, at the top of the mountain, was the location I’d been told to visit. I spoke to the masters of all the arts, and they said, in one voice, to go to this spot and see what was there. That it would be the most memorable moment of my life.
It didn’t disappoint—except in almost every way possible. Continue reading
Coolerbs Writes 