The Story Ark
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August 18, 2025
Getting Invested

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?

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June 17, 2024
Proof Copy of Post Mortem

A little, sneak-preview, if anyone's interested, in my novella. Still waiting for the cover as patiently as I can. (The artist isn't late or anything; I've been going crazy since I placed the order.)

  • Are you publishing/self-publishing anything?
  • Would you, maybe, want a copy of my story?
  • Would anybody want to read my story?
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February 14, 2022
Welcome to The Story Ark community
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October 28, 2022
The Right Hand of Doom by Robert E. Howard

A little something to enjoy before Halloween.

The Right Hand of Doom by Robert E. Howard
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...

קהלת | Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
April 15, 2022
The Wind and the Trees

More Chesterton today. Another short one. Please enjoy.

The Wind and the Trees
October 20, 2025
Return of the Cold

How are the WIPs going?

Mine are moving, but slower than I would like. I at least can blame this in part on being sick. I thought I was over this cold, but it came back on me with a vengeance last week. Both my reading and my writing have stalled; words just don't seem real or meaningful when I'm like this, and I'm constantly falling into a sort of dazed half-dream that chokes out the story I'm trying to take in. Well, I started feeling better yesterday, so hopefully, this time I'm over it. Just a lingering cough.

Well, honestly, I don't have much to report. I got more done on my Dragon Hunters story. I'm nearing the end of the first part. It's actually a joy to write. I hope, whenever/if-ever I'm able to publish it, I can find an audience for it.

Alright, I hope none of you are sick, and that all of you have been making good progress on your WIPs. Let me know what you're working on. Hope you have a good week.

October 13, 2025
Spooky Books and Movies

How are the WIPs going?

I finally finished that chapter I'd been struggling with. Got most of the way through the next one as well. It seems like very little writing, to be honest, but life got in the way here and there last week.

I started reading a new book, Wake of Malice by Eleanor Nicholson. It's the third part of a series and is shaping up to be my favorite. There's a humorous tone Nicholson captures in this one that makes it a delight to read so far. I loved the characters instantly, which has been one of my criticism of the other books: I disliked the main character in the first book, and it became a struggle to finish; in the second, the character was more likeable, but annoying. In both, the author is rightly displaying a type of person trapped in a type of sin and telling a story about that person's evolution into something better. In this book, she keeps the pattern going, but somehow I don't find myself as irritated by the main character as before. Maybe that's personal ...

October 06, 2025
Endings

How are the WIPs going?

This last week, Eden got my main focus somewhat to the exclusion of my Dragon Hunters story. However, I think I did some good work on both. I wasn't quite comfortable with how I had ended the fourth part of Eden, but I was hit with inspiration and wrote two new endings for it that just manage to make the book a bit more depressing than it was before. By God, I pray I can finish this series. This is supposed to be the darkest part in the whole story, and I don't want it to end here. The next book should start to shine a little ray of hope. Maybe I'm just getting carried away by my own writing.

Oh well. I've printed out the second part of Eden—so far, I'm calling it "Stained"—and my red pen is ready for battle. This one, I fear, is the weakest part of the whole collection. It has some good bits in it, but so much of the story is just me setting things up for part three. It's been a while since I've read through it, though, so maybe I'll feel differently this time ...

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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:

  1. Horror stories revolving around one POV
  2. Retrospective
  3. Themes of Love + Death
  4. 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
  5. 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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October 24, 2023
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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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August 07, 2023
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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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