Aaron Polson's Blog, page 46

WIP Wednesday: Flashing

Head over to Eclectic Flash for "A Little Bit for Braz" in their September 2010 issue.

As for WIPing...I'm hammering away at the end of a longish piece, "Down There", and putting the icing on a flash story for NPR's Three-Minute Fiction contest. Sorry, the NPR contest is only open to U.S. residents. And sorry again, if you're going to write a story better than mine (which is likely), you aren't allowed to enter.

Kidding, of course.

So, in interest of the end of "Down There", which is more f...

Certain Commitments

Sometimes, I have to makes lists. If I don't, too many bits and pieces float around in the fishbowl that is my skull, and then nothing works as it should.

I've been plugging away, in the background, on this year's print version of 52 Stitches. Yes, it's coming (and I think the cover is just lovely, but I'm sick like that). On a related note, there will be no 52 Stitches next year. I've fought with this decision for a long time...I've enjoyed the run (and it may be back from the "dead" in ...

In Defense of the 1st Person Horror Tale

There are a handful of well-paying (semi-pro and up) fiction markets which exclusively publish horror tales. Go ahead and give Duotrope a good search and you'll see. Some of the best stipulate their dislike for the 1st person POV in their guidelines.

Ouch.

My favorite mode in which to write is 1st person, and some of my favorite horror tales are written with a participant narrator. Think Edgar Allan Poe here, people. Think H.P. Lovecraft's "The Rats in the Walls".

I understand why an editor w...

Five Things for Friday

Okay, so here are five bits and pieces I've enjoyed 'round the next this week for your weekend reading pleasure:

1. Jeremy D. Brooks ballsy manifesto and cover art for his novel, Amity. Check it out. (ready to download at Smashwords...other formats pending) Okay, so that was more than one thing. Sue me.

2. Not that I like the problem, but Robert Swartwood gives thoughtful insight to the Problem of Prolificity. Some sad truths in there, folks. Mr. Swartwood's perspective is always welcom...

Shocking

Pending edits..."Wanting It" will appear in a future issue of Shock Totem.

I'm sure I'll wake from this dream soon and be pissed someone gave my life such a lousy ending, but for now, awesome.

Thanks to Mr. K. Allen Wood and staff for giving the little story that could a chance.

WIP Wednesday: On Magic

Sometimes, I make up silly stories and they just don't "work". For some reason, the oddments and bits don't gel; they don't come together and construct a cohesive whole. When it does work, it borders on magic. Writers--especially those who write speculative fiction--know the feeling.

Sometimes, I wait until I arrive at school to check my email inbox.

Today, I received an acceptance from Shimmer for my short story, "The House was Never a Castle".

Today, I nearly had a heart attack in my classr...

Five Years? Really?

My wife and I had one of those talks this weekend...where do you see yourself in five years/ten years, etc? These sort of questions were all the rage when I was younger and ambition possessed me, but now, in my mid-thirties with two kids chalked up to my fuselage (yes, that was a nod to the late, great John Updike), I just don't know.

In my "day job" I suspect I'll be teaching in another five years. Possibly ten. Maybe I'll have taken a post as a school guidance counselor by then (I have th...

Because Friday is for Awesome

(Again, clicking on the title in the upper left corner of the video will take you to a better screen on YouTube. Just awesome.)

Trailer Schmailer

I've tooled around with Sony Vegas Studio a little of late, and look what popped out:



(I recommend viewing at YouTube; just click on the title in the top left of the video box.)

I also discovered The House Eaters is now listed at Goodreads. Spooky, really.

Thanks to anyone who has read the first installment of "Black Medicine Thunder..." over at The Red Penny Papers. KV Taylor has put together one fabulous piece of digital pulp.

Today, a group of consultants will film me "doing my thing" in m...

WIP Wednesday: September Wakes

The first edition of The Red Penny Papers is hot from the "virtual press" and you can read:

"The John" by Corinne Duyvis
"Pluvial" by NK Kingston
"Shaper of Dreams" by John Cash
"Postcard Wings above Blackpool Sands" by Cate Gardner
and...
"Black Medicine Thunder and the Sons of Chaos" Episode 1 by Aaron Polson

I'm a little (a wee bit) excited to see Abraham Reaver (the rather gruff looking gent on the cover) released to the wilds of the interwebTM.

Thanks to editor extraordinaire KV Taylor for the o...