I started to comment on a story that I listened to recently on the horror podcast Pseudopod. As my post became longer and longer however I decided to just type it all out here and link it over there.

Pesudopod 111: Radiodemonology by John Medaille:

I really enjoyed this story. The imagery used throughout was wonderful from the description of the human soul to the god-fish towards the end, I loved it. I thought the first part was excellently written, the perfect blend of dark sarcasm and wit that a horror story calls for. Alasdair Stuart added exactly the right touch of snarkiness to the reading. The latter part of the story was chilling and gruesome, leaving me horrified and wanting more (this is actually the first of these podcasts that I've listened to more than once because I enjoyed it so much). Addressing the negatives that people have pointed out in the podcasts' comments I don't see the writing as thin. I feel like the world and main character could have been better fleshed out but I feel that if Medaille were to do that, this would have to become a novel and not a piece of short fiction. As it is, I'm left wondering about the world in which this story takes place and craving more from the author. Any story that can do that in under 20 minutes has got to have something going for it. As to the story being predictable, it's addressed. Of course you can see the ending coming because the main character sees the ending coming miles away. He tells the audience halfway through 'you know what's coming, you know how this is going to go'. Yes the good guy has a tiny soul and the bad guy's soul is huge, but I don't see this as groanworthy at all. I fell like the narrator isn't pointing this out to surprise the audience, more that he's saying it takes all kinds. I'm sure he's also seen bad people with small souls and vice versa, he's just pointing out that there's no rhyme or reason when it comes to the size of a person's soul.

Anyway, that's all for tonight. I loved the story and love Pseudopod. If you enjoy horror fiction at all you should check it out.

Stories

It happened again last night, only I scared myself. I lay in bed, thinking about my stories, thinking about the suspenseful one this time, the one where the main character may or may not be Schizophrenic (I'll ruin it for you, he/she's not) and talks about all the things she can see just beyond the curtain of the "real". I kept thinking about which times to add in and I know that I want:

- The guy in the raincoat, hat, and umbrella who stayed in shadow as he walked in front of a light.
- The cars being arranged in such an odd fashion that it seemed they must have been set up.
- The time at the warehouse club where suddenly there was no one else in any of the aisles and several of the freezer doors were opened, seeming again, to be in some sort of pattern that was just beyond comprehension.
- The friend who saw "Shadows" and mentioned that with him at least, it's usually contagious (This is background most likely, not the beginning).
- One day stepping out of the car to come home and things just don't seem quite right. A beautiful sunny day where something is just off. (This may be the beginning since it's when I first thought of it).

I'm not quite clear on the overall story yet or the order in which things happen but I know I can connect this all appropriately. Maybe it's a mystery throughout the thing whether or not the main is schizophrenic but that doesn't feel right and I'm not sure I could pull it off as well as I'd want to.

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Keeping me up

It wouldn't let me sleep last night and I knew I should have just gotten up and put it down then. Whether it was fear or simple laziness I don't know but the result is the same, I've forgotten the good parts. A story about a boy and his girls. A story with big L lies and little l lies and when and where the difference matters. A story about big L Love and what it does to all those L's. First write what you know. I don't know how to write it but, I've got to start somewhere or none of my stories will get told.

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Also, I want to look up the etymology of the word Pedophile for this.

Opening night

Creative collaboration, with smart people, really is one of the greatest things. Whenever I experience it, even as an outsider just watching it happen it just inspires me to do my own things. I've got ideas to put down but I've been putting it off for quite some time now. I'm starting to worry that I'll forget if I don't do it soon. So here they will go.

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