Inversion

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Sheldon@TaleTold

November 27, 2023

Inversion

Driving off toward what I humorously call the old family seat, I passed a number of churches, and even saw a group of Jehovah Witnesses who'd set up a stand at a rest-stop. Seeing these religious institutions and noticing one, a presbyterian advertisement, a cross emblazoned with a simple design of orange flames, my first connection was to the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, but the next logical connection, perhaps to the burning bush, was interrupted as thoughts of other burning crosses crossed my mind like a shadow. As this dark pall passed, it brought in its wake reflections of a certain, infernal pattern.

The flaming cross was just a recent and perhaps merely local perversion to be classed with the inverted cross, the pentagram, the All Seeing Eye, and the "as above so below." Each in and of themselves were symbols of Christian truth that had been inverted. The flaming cross which, perhaps predominately, alluded to eternal life and resurrection had become a symbol of murder. What alluded to the mending of the divisions brought about at Babel was raised to enforce them. The pentagram, like the inverted cross, merely took a holy symbol of God's throne and redrew it upside down. Both Saints and Satan held up one hand and lowered another, both Christians and diabolists might say, "As above so below," while meaning precisely the opposite sentiments. One means "…thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," while the other "I shall make a heaven of Hell." One wishes for Heaven to condescend to Earth, while the other for Earth to descend into Hell.

I myself love a good, healthy fright, and often overlook the shallow symbolism used in horror stories, but it sometimes bothers me how insensible the pattern is. It is done, seemingly, by mere routine, without really appreciating that the original apprehension came from the twisting of something good into something evil, the attempt to undermine the holy by making it unholy. The reason these symbols ought to frighten us is forgotten. This abuse can be quite effective in storytelling, but it is an easy trick—easily done, easily overdone, and, to put the nail in its own coffin, easily copied, made common, and trite.

A final point might suffice. The All Seeing Eye was once a symbol of God's omniscience. Yet, consulting the vague associations in my own mind regarding it, I find 1984, occult organizations, and shadow governments. The inversion is not immediately obvious, but it is there. God's omniscience may be an ordinate cause for fear. The near omniscience of a machine, the distributive awareness of a massive state, is also good fodder for a well crafted nightmare. But the difference comes like something vague in the distance. The all seeing state speaks first of the comfort it will give, against terrorists, malcontents, poverty, and ends in the fear that you are surrounded by informers. The omniscience of God begins in fear, in the sudden, frightful realization that nothing about you, not even your inner life nor even what might be called your subconscious mind, can be hidden, and yet it ends, not in the fear of exposition but the freedom found in it, not in the dread of being found out, but in the relief of being let out.

Have you used this inversion technique in your writing? Has it worked?
Can these polluted symbols still be used in the original, earnest way?
Do you agree with the Tolkien maxim that Evil cannot create?

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April 22, 2022

קהלת | Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

So, I tried my hand at writing my own translation of one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

1 The words of the Preacher, son of David, King in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. Vanity of vanities; the whole is vain.
3 What is left over for man in all his toil in which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation comes and a generation goes; but the earth remains forever.
5 And the sun rises, and the sun goes [down]; And to his place, there he strives to rise.
6 Going to the South, returning to the North—turning, turning, the wind goes; And over its turning, the wind returns.
7 All the rivers run into the sea, but the sea is not full.
[From] the place where the rivers run, there they return to run.
8 All these words are tiresome. Man cannot utter [it].
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled by hearing.
9 That which is is that which will be, and that which is done is that which will be done; and there is nothing wholly new under the sun.
10 Where is...

Sheldon@TaleTold

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Sheldon@TaleTold

September 30, 2025

Eclectic Updates | Poetry and the Divine

How are the WIPs going everyone?

I'm still working on my Dragon Hunters story. The chapter I'm on just keeps getting longer and longer. I'll probably divide it into two once I get to the end, but I'm just not sure yet where the best place for that division lies; it's hard to judge until I have the ending set.

I've also nearly memorized "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe. I say 'nearly' because, though I'm seemingly able to recite any one verse, trying to do the whole thing in one go is still a bit of a challenge, and the latter verses, which I haven't spent as much time on, are still a little rough. However, now I'm also working on memorizing "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by Keats.

I think more people should memorize poetry. It's like eating something. Once you get the words in your mind, they get digested and become a part of you more so than from reading it. It's also fun to recite poems, now and again, even if you're only doing it for yourself. The first poem I ever memorized was "Stopping ...

Sheldon@TaleTold

September 22, 2025

Shy of Perfection

How are the WIPs going?

I was hoping to break 20k last week in my Dragon Hunters Story. Got close, 19k rounding up. So, God willing, I'll pass that and more this week. It's a lot of fun writing this one. It's getting a bit longer than I expected it to get. I was thinking it would be divided into three sections each about 20k words long for a neat little package of about 60k. It's looking more like this first section might reach 30k. Oh well, if the book expands too much, I'll just divide it into a series of short novellas instead.

In other writing news, I'm slowly working through my draft for Eden's fourth part with a red pen in hand and a depressing playlist in ear. Make of that what you will. There are some really moving parts to The Crimes of Rick, but if I can't write part five, I don't think I'll publish this; I wouldn't want to leave the series on the same note as Mostly Harmless, the trilogy's fifth installment, left The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Let the reader understand....

Sheldon@TaleTold

September 15, 2025

Distractions?

How are the WIPs going?

I admit, I let the news about Charlie Kirk become a sort of time sink for me that ate into everything, including my writing time. I did write a little, but always incredibly distractedly. I couldn't think about anything else. So, I focused on revisions and polishing.

Strange thing is, I was never a Charlie Kirk fan. I'd heard of him, vaguely knew he was a conservative, and that was about it. Still, the death of this complete stranger has gripped me in a way I can't explain. I don't think I had ever watched a single video of him until now.

In less depressing news: I almost have the cover locked in on Storm of Monsters. Another proof should be arriving tomorrow, and I'm hoping I can give it the go ahead. Also, while skimming through a copy of While the Elephants Danced, I found more typos. How they keep appearing, I don't know. I have hired editors. I have read through these pages more times than I know. Still, I always miss something. It's very frustrating....

Sheldon@TaleTold

May 19, 2025

A Bit of My Writing Process

How I Outline

How are the WIPs going?

I have, over the past few weeks, been working on a pair of short stories I hope to submit to a horror podcast, The Other Stories. They want cosmic horror. On a day off, I wrote one in a single sitting, but felt there was another story there. When I saw that authors were allowed to contribute two stories per theme, I thought I would bide my time and see if I could write the other, more ethereal story that I sensed was there.

Now that I have written this second story, at least the better part of it—it wants a stronger ending—I feel there is still more to be written. A series of these short stories might make an interesting read, perhaps even amount to a novella. Who knows? However, now and again, as regards my posts here, I sometimes think it would be a good idea to share some of my own writing/outlining methods.

One of the things I do when I see a project developing like this is to ascertain what patterns are showing themselves. Very often, when I'm writing poetry, there is some line or couplet that appears to me, and the rest of the poem pours out of that initial inspiration. I study what I have been given and ask myself: What are the patterns inherent in this and where is it going?

So, if I were to do that with this pair of stories I find a few patterns/themes:

Horror stories revolving around one POV
Retrospective
Themes of Love + Death
Themes of Chesterton's God, the gods, the philosophers, and the demons
1. God: Padre C
  Believes in a purity of original uncreated/being
2. The gods: Giovanni
  Paradoxically believing in everything and nothing
3. The Philosophers: The Doctor
  Believes in Death
4. The Demons: Jasper
  Hail Satan
Nyarlathotep vs Hastur :: Satan vs Death
1. Order vs Chaos
  1. Nyarlathotep's schemes vs Hastur's madness
  2. Nyarlathotep's temple vs Hastur's decay
2. Weakened will (seduction) vs blackmail (threats)
3. Contract vs Betrayal
4. Human sacrifice vs suicide

Anyway, That's just a quick riff. I don't always write these things out; often, I just think them through. The next question would be where the meta story is going, that is, what is its endpoint/cathartic moment. Now, I have one hint as to the next step, to follow the doctor character, who seems somewhat suspicious, and also to fill in the Chesterton pattern. As such, two more stories appear, one following the doctor and one following Jasper.

So, that's just a little insight into how my thinking process works. I don't know if I'll pursue this possible story or not. Either way, let me know what you think, what you're working on, and what your writing process looks like.

Keep writing.

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Sheldon@TaleTold

October 24, 2023

Writing Prompt: Lovecraft

After my disappointment with The Lovecraft Investigations, I thought it would be a good idea to write our own Lovecraft inspired work.

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Sheldon@TaleTold

August 07, 2023

My (Insane?) Plans

I saw an interesting question posed on twitter: Would you write an entire book series and not publish a single book until it's all done? Now, that is precisely what I've been doing, or, perhaps I should say, what I've been planning. Right now, I've somewhat given up on traditional publishing, partially as it seems like traditional publishers want me to do the marketing as well as the writing, and partially because it seems like most forms I fill out ask me how well I've self-published my own work so far.

So, I started to consider whether to self-publish the book I have written, and it seemed to me that since I had already organized it into three major sections, each about the length of a short novel, it would make sense to self-publish it in those organic pieces. As my original outline extended beyond this book, I figured I ought to finish writing to the end of my outline. That should make a fourth part. Furthermore, when I finished that outline, I jotted down a few notes for a continuation of the story. I've been working on a new outline, off and on (mostly off), and hope to finish it and add it to this possible series, thereby reaching a total of either five or six parts.

Now, why do I want to chop up my story like this? For one, I think these breaks in the story make sense. Also, one piece of advice I've heard about self-publishing is to keep a steady flow of work coming out. So, before I self-publish, I want have a ready well of titles to publish at regular intervals. My overarching plan is to, over the next two to three years, get ten titles ready, half or so consisting of this series and the other half based on a few short outlines I've jotted down here and there throughout the years. Then, take the leap and self-publish.

Am I being stupid?
Would you try something like this?
Have you written any series?

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