How are the WIPs going?
I got some work done on my dragon hunters story this last week. It wasn't as much as I wanted, but it was better than the week before. I was hoping I would break 10,000 words, but that didn't happen; however, I'm only a few thousand away, so, God willing, I'll pass that first milestone soon.
I picked up The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker this last week. Made it a little more than half-way through. To be honest, it was getting close to a "Did not finish" for me. I love Barker's work. The Hellbound Heart was instrumental when I was getting through my depression, and I remember the Abarat books fondly. That being said, I found the Books of Blood maudlin nonsense with maybe one redeeming story within its pages and a whole lot of "ew."
There was a whole lot of "suck" at the beginning of The Scarlet Gospel, but yesterday, the book finally drew me in. I was talking with my mom, trying to figure out why I went from, "I can't care less about what's happening," to "I gotta know." Then, as I described the point where I started caring, I realized what the answer was, and so did my mom, who vocalized it before I could.
While trying not to give away any spoilers, The Scarlet Gospels became interesting at the point where the heroes sacrificed themselves for another. It still has all the problems of the earlier parts of the book, namely that the characters are passively thrown into situations they can't hope to survive only for some deus ex machina to pull the rug out from under the stakes at the last moment. Yet, once the heroes choose to face these horrors for the sake of someone they all love dearly (and Barker impresses the humanity of this fictional character on the reader) the rest of their passivity and the eye rolling series of Hail Marys that moves the plot forward cease to be a problem.
I also watched an old movie called The Stone Tape this last week. It was very good, and if you love crafting horror and sci-fi together, you'll probably love this Lovecraftian nightmare. However, I found myself losing my investment a bit when the monster came on screen. By the nature of the story, a lot of aspects of the imagined haunting had to be left unexplored as the characters were only looking for things they could exploit. This created a wonderful background tapestry of unanswered questions that anyone who wasn't such a bastard as Peter Brock would have been interested in. Yet, this vagueness handicapped the monster's reveal as I found myself more confused than afraid. Still, a wonderful story with a sort of vague ending that works, even though I'd personally like a few more answers. I'd also like to see Brock get hit a few more times.
Anyway, this last week was still more about recharging for me. I made myself focus more on taking in stories, either reading or watching, instead of making my own. Also, trying to make sure I actually sleep, which hasn't been easy.
Alright, there's my last week. Let me know what your thoughts are on audience investment. What have you been working on? Have you ever seen The Stone Tape? What are your thoughts on Clive Barker's work?
