Tag: short story

Emergence Collective · Horror · writing

Monthaversary!

Joe Hallett2 Comments

So it has been 1 month since I started this blog. I’m going to give myself Kudos for Sticking with it! I tend to start a lot of projects that I soon abandoned. Short attention span, ADD, get bored with it, all the good excuses to move on to the next thing. But here I am, still trying it. In retrospect, I should have started blogging years ago. I discovered that blogging is actually fun to do, and it has done a couple positive things for me. For one, I am meeting a lot of cool people. I enjoy the community and interactions I am having, reading other blogs, getting improvement tips. Also, It keeps me in a creative mindset. So far …. no haters. Wow.            

I started this blog primarily to promote my Book “Emergence Collective” and other writing projects. But it is also turning into its own creative outlet. So a big thank you to everyone who has checked it out, especially those who choose to follow me. Your time is precious, and I sincerely appreciate you spending some of it here.

For those who haven’t been here before or have only read a few of my posts, I suggest you check out some of my earlier posts. May I recommend my Character snapshots of  “Emergence collective.”

Character snapshot: Barney Derrick

Character snapshot: Frank

Character snapshot: Willy Winston

Character snapshot: Mark and Trina

Character snapshot: The hole

Or if you like Horror, maybe check out “Alone.” It is a quick read, only 21 pages.

Thank you everyone who has checked out my blog!

Emergence Collective · Horror · Uncategorized · writing

Write as if you are an orphan.

Joe HallettLeave a comment

I can’t remember where I heard that, but I think its harder than it sounds. Even though I write for myself, because I am compelled to, I think about who is reading it. Friends, family, strangers. But I think it inhibits the content of my writing, as I am always easing off the gas when it comes to graphic scenes of violence and sex. I, however, am an unabashed reader of those things, so Why can’t I write it? I sincerely applaud those that are brave enough to navigate those waters (as I stand on the shore looking on with envy). Maybe I will be brave enough to let loose a little one day.

Horror · writing

Work shoppin’ stuff

Joe HallettLeave a comment

I mentioned before about writing long-form vignettes (If that’s what they are called) as inspired by “Bloggin’ about Yaudi” a blog I read. So I am going to give it a go, and just workshop a little scary story idea I’ve had creeping around my noggin… I do want to expand on it, not to novel-length but flesh out more of it, but here is the gist…

Phantom Black

The beam of light pierced the veil. Like an ugly knife wound tearing a rough, misshapen hole in the darkness. The light touched a tentacle of the creature, a warm tingle drawing its attention. Confused and curious, it extended its tentacles, reaching, feeling the jagged edges of the opening. It wrapped its tentacles around it with more confusion about the nature of this new thing in its world, then examined the edges, feeling its solidity. Reaching in and gaining purchase on the inside surface, it began to pull itself through, marveling at the warm tingly, yet slight stinging sensation on its skin.

                The scientists fiddled with the device with excited banter, enthusiastic about their apparent success. The device looked like an over-engineered paint spray gun. One of the scientists adjusted a setting on the machine, causing a pleasant harmonic tone to emanate from it. The other scientist poured a black viscous liquid into a small vat attached to the instrument with tubes, hoses, and electrical connections. The first scientist starts speaking into a recorder, taking verbal notes with a shaky, excited voice. “four-thirty two hertz to four forty hertz seems to be the correct resonant frequencies to properly align the filaments. We have achieved approximately….” He looks up at the other scientist and nods his head slightly, prompting the missing information.

                “Ninety-nine point nine, nine percent.” The other scientist reads off of a computer monitor in a matter-of-fact tone.

                “Yes, right. Ninety-nine point nine, nine percent of photon absorption.” He continued, “We have found with the increased amplitude and voltage, the harmonic frequencies will correctly align the carbon nanotubes vertically; gave us an additional twenty percent efficiency.” He said, his voice still quivering with obvious exhilaration.

                Tentacles wavered through the opening, touching the air feeling the strange tingle of the light. As it pushed deeper into the new expanse, it could feel a vibration of sound emanating from inside this new space. It waved a tentacle sniffing the air, searching for the source of the vibrations. With so many new sensations, the creature grew eager and more curious. It pulled itself through the hole, sniffing and feeling.

                With their backs turned away from the black painted surface, the scientists quickly prepared their device for the new round of testing; the creature probed a tentacle towards them. The probing tentacle extended toward the sound vibrations and detected a unique sensation that triggered a biological response; Hunger.

writing

Back burners

Joe Hallett1 Comment

Don’t forget to check on those things you put on the back burner every now and then. I have enough plans on the back burner, It looks like Hells kitchen. My process (do I have a process?)  is that I am thinking of different projects and story ideas all the time. Sometimes I jot down an idea about one story then immediately start thinking of another, building plots and motivations. I’ve been doing this for a long time; if I was disciplined, I would have several books by now. Only recently have I actually started making it a priority (This blog is helping with that too.) 

There is an indie author I really enjoy Phil Rossi, he wrote a bunch of short stories based on the world he created. Like long-form vignettes. I like that idea for two reasons; one is that it keeps you writing and adds content, and two, it expands the world-building and gives possible new material that you can use in your main storyline. Callbacks and references can be Easter eggs that are nice little treats for fans that are in the know. I think it’s a brilliant idea.

In addition to writing vignettes to add density to my world-building, I have several stories brewing in my head; I am not sure if they will become novels or not. A couple of them I am particularly excited to start fleshing out. After I finished “Emergence Collective,” I planned to do just that, but I got distracted with the second book and started writing it. Pushed back onto the back burner, but not forgotten.

“Emergence Collective” went in a direction that I wasn’t really aiming for, and I actually surprised myself that it did go that way. My next stories are less scifi fantasy spiritualism and more horror. Which is honestly one of my favorite genres. Hardcore science fiction and horror are my “go to’s.”  Hopefully, I can do the genre justice. (Stay tuned for that!)

A blogger SMVLTUDEAU “Bloggin about Yaudi,” gave me an idea I am considering about workshopping stories on the blog.  I think it can build interest in the stories and you could crowd source feedback. I will have to give it some though about if it will help or hinder the story progression.

Uncategorized

My thoughts on “Alone”

Joe HallettLeave a comment

Ok ok, I will eventually draw a cover for this short story, but don’t judge a book by its cover right? Alone is a short story that kinda hit me out of the blue as I was going to sleep one night. really it was an image in my head of conjoined twins holding a bloody mallet. Originally, the story was too big to be considered a short story, If I remember correctly it hovered around 13000 words. I listen to a lot of podcasts and one of them I was listening to at the time had a horror story contest. I had already wrote most of “Alone” and decided to trim it down and see how it would do. Really, Alone was my debut into the writing world. No one except a very select few had ever read anything I wrote. So I Trimmed it down and sent it in. It came in first place! That really boosted my confidence to keep on at it.

I am a horrible record keeper, so my original file of the story is lost in the ether of the dataverse. Though this version of Alone is technically complete I am considering rewriting it, to add back the stuff I trimmed out of it for the contest. The story in my head is a lot deeper than this version.

Emergence Collective · writing

Emergence Collective

Joe Hallett3 Comments

Two teenage lovers on the verge of adulthood suddenly find themselves in a fight to save humanity or even reality itself after a megalomaniacal Airforce officer discovers a source of unimaginable power.