C.D. Bennett's Blog, page 2

What Happened to Horror?

I’m sorry but I’m old school. I don’t think comedy belongs in horror. I know some people say it “lightens the mood” but that’s not what horror’s about. Just bugs me. Can vampires and werewolves and demons and all that just get back to killing people already? LOL

"At night, when the objective world has slunk back into its cavern and left dreamers to their own,..."

“At night, when the objective world has slunk back into its cavern and left dreamers to their own, there come inspirations and capabilities impossible at any less magical and quiet hour. No one knows whether or not he is a writer unless he has tried writing at night.”

- H.P. Lovecraft

I was just reminded that I’ve been neglecting my Tumblr. I’ll try to fix that.

I was just reminded that I’ve been neglecting my Tumblr. I’ll try to fix that.

"We’re too much ourselves. Afraid of letting go of what we are, in case we are nothing, and holding..."

“We’re too much ourselves. Afraid of letting go of what we are, in case we are nothing, and holding on so tight, we lose everything else.”

- Clive Barker, Imajica

Fading

There was a time I would have given you anything. My heart. My soul. My life. You were my muse, and our own story was merely beginning. There was nothing, no earthly desire that could have swayed me from your side… and you knew it. You still know it. Yet you walked away.

You expected me to wait around for your “someday,” to stand by and watch while you loved someone else, however hollow your efforts seemed. And for a time, that’s just what I did. I waited, loved you from a distance, and suffered in silence. Before I knew it, weeks turned to months, and months to years. I left that road a long time ago, and my memory of you now is little more than a shadow upon the wall. It’s times like this when I look upon that shadow and realize that our story ended long ago, and I see things now with open eyes.

All I was, was never enough. All I am today, you’ll never know.

Finding the Profound in the Profane

I am not a devil, but certainly no angel. I’ve never believed that a writer should censor themselves for the sake of a kinder review or the hope of a fatter paycheck. Writing, good writing, is an art… and sometimes art is dirty. You have to be willing to get your hands bloody, and not be afraid to sweat.

I’ve recently begun a new novel, and with it I’m embarking on a road that I’m sure will surprise more than a few of those who know me. But it’s something I have to do. Something I must do. There will be blood on the page and tears will be shed. It’s a delicate dance to skirt the line between the profound and the profane, but in the end I hope my readers will enjoy the ride.

The writing world is full of babbling hacks choking on the same tired clichés and uninspired bullshit. The sad truth is more than a few of those make their way into the bestseller list year after year. It’s easy to blame the consumer for their lack of taste but in truth it’s our own damn fault for leading them to believe there’s nothing else to look forward to. Every once in a great while a story or film comes along to buck the system of its mediocrity and gives me hope that somewhere out there the winds are changing, and perhaps the written word that I love still has a breath of life left in it. Sadly, those days seem farther and farther apart these last few years.

For those of us who have the writing bug, we really have only one option. Write. Every day. Hone your prose into a lyrical weapon, and if the audience wants blood, give it to them. We all fall victim to lazy nights and dreary days; I’m certainly not immune. But it’s important that we never lose sight of what we’re aiming at…

And strike for the heart.

— C.D. Bennett

Thorns

Though the heart may sow the seeds

it is sorrow that tills the soil.

If ever a rose could flourish there

if ever its thorns find its soul.

— C.D. Bennett

"You are the music while the music lasts."

“You are the music while the music lasts.”

- T. S. Eliot

"Open are the doors to the Deathless to those with ears."

“Open are the doors to the Deathless to those with ears.”

- Buddha