Aaron Polson's Blog, page 69

WIP Wednesday: This is Me

Today's WIP Wednesday is about honesty: a final tribute to the shifty Richard Ridyard.

Aaron Polson is my real name. I understand the need for pseudonyms. I respect most people who use them. Tricky Dick Ridyard, I do not. The "Aaron Polson" on Facebook from Australia is not me. There is a small town in Montana named "Polson" and a former liquor store in Manhattan, Kansas named Polson Liquor. I have no affiliation with either. The surname Polson is Scandinavian, meaning (at some point i...

I've Been Violated (and so have many others)

So there's a plagiarist afoot who calls himself Richard Ridyard. It seems Tricky Dick tried to pull the proverbial wool over some eyes at Shock Totem by subbing a little changed version of Stephen King's "The Boogeyman".

Um, Dick? Here's a clue: the editors at a pro-paying horror mag have probably read everything by Mr. King.

Stoooopid.

But wait...there's more: Check out Angel Zapata's blog for all the gory details. It seems Tricky Dick Ridyard has been up to a lot of "tricks". And guess what?

Tr...

A Peek Inside

My "process" (nod to KV Taylor, Danielle Ferries, and Cate Gardner among others for going before):

1. Are you a "pantser" or a "plotter?"

I like to know the end before I begin, but I generally let the story and characters write the rules as they go. I've flirted with plotting, but it all crumbles in the process. The end is a destination, but the journey to the end is the story.

2. Detailed character sketches or "their character will be revealed to me as a I write"?

A little of both. Some characte...

Tending the Garden

A word of caution...this one isn't for the kids.


John Wilton found himself in his sun porch clutching the handle of a stirrup hoe. Rain had soaked the yard for the past few days, and he knew—following Karen's example—that the garden would need a good weeding. It was her garden, suggested by her therapist, a hobby to occupy her troubled mind—something living to help her forget the baby.

But Karen didn't forget. With her in the hospital, he was left with the house and the garden to tend, alone.

He...

Glorious Weird Insect Deaths

After yesterday's Zombie Snails, I couldn't help posting this:



Some of the most gloriously weird insect deaths caught on film.

WIP Wednesday: Zombie Snails!

How could I watch this video about zombie snails and not be inspired to write something?

I call my take "Guided by Wire" and it will appear in a future edition of the new Night Chills magazine. A man who eats of the snail that has eaten of the worms...

Okay, so what am I working on, now? I finished "Tap, Tap" last weekend...it needs some significant edits, but I do like the ending. Nothing is more important than the end of a short story (only if nothing is another name for the beginning).

I'm...

What was I Going to Write About?

So I wake up this morning and Cate Gardner has declared herself a member of the Aaron Polson Fan Club.

Me: shocked. Humbled. Thrilled somebody reads my words let alone enjoys reading them.

Thanks, Cate.

I had something to write about...what was it...yeah:

Arwiculate: A word of the day game for Twitter.

Being a reluctant Twitter user and English teacher, I thought "Wow: something I can actually use in my classroom that makes use of one of the fastest growing online social networking tools?"

Ch...

The Sacking of the Public Domain

I've not read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ; I barely read the book without zombies. I laughed at the trailer for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (Carrie Harris posted a link on her blog today). Other titles from the public domain that have received a recent mash up:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...War of the Worlds...The Wizard of Oz...

But I'm done.

Really.

Write something new, okay?

Or, at the least, take an idea and make it new instead of inserting bits into a time-worn classic. ...

Ghostbusters Scandal!

Plagiarism afoot? Duh...no. It's damn funny though.

Make sure to head over to Fifty-Two Stitches and read "Cat-Napped" by Paul Milliken.

I Smell Smoke

"How to Burn a House" is up today at Every Day Fiction.

Make sure to check the batteries in your smoke alarms and lock your doors.