The Pandemonium

The creative process is different for everyone. How I think of things is not how you will at all. The following example is some of the things I see in word association.

To show what I mean I’ll use a random word generator to get three random words to start with, and try to build ideas from those words.

I got match, celery, look. Pretty darn random.

To take the words in order:

Match could mean an identical thing, a romantic joining, or a matchstick.

Celery is a lot more narrow. It’s not really slang for anything, and is a … [READ MORE]

If you’re curious, that’s my wall in the picture. To explain what you’re looking at is a story.

This one’s called ‘No Fury’ the pale yellow card is a background character who has a professional grudge with one of the main characters described on the neon orange card it’s directly above.

The purple cards are significant background characters whose actions impact the main protagonists and the world.

That white quote over the headphones is from Groucho Marx, and reminds me it’s my choice that determines how I face the day.

The big 8-1/2 x 11 piece of paper are tasks … [READ MORE]

I don’t know how someone else gets ideas for stories. I’ll guess that something triggers an idea that ‘something’ is a good story. In my case, there is a trigger. It’s not always the same. As an example, I may read an article about Fuel cells, and that becomes a cascade of linked ideas, such as a fuel cell made of paper ( don’t laugh it’s actually been done) which grows to what about making a paper airplane with whose kind o fuel cells, which goes to why not a regular plane, or a dirigible which uses humidity in the … [READ MORE]

Collaboration is one of the most fun ways for me to write. I like the sharing of ideas, and story. It’s a good way to make characters unique, as your writing partners each have a unique style and voice to bring to the project.

The down side is if there’s a delay, you’re either stuck waiting, or stuck feeling like you’ve let your partner down.

I’ve tried two styles of collaborative writing, and each has pluses and minuses.

The first style is where you trade writing chapters. This works well for plot and storyline, as doing a complete chapter, including … [READ MORE]

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“We”, Summer and Winter said in unison, “want to ask if you’re ready to make a choice.” They looked at him steadily. Wally returned their calm gaze.

“You asked me that before. My answer’s the same now as it was then. No. I’m not going to choose a side.” Pain flared suddenly in his chest. The searing pain cut off as both Summer and Winter stepped to him, and lay a hand on his shoulders. He could feel the pain roll out of him to them. Their faces showed no change, no reaction as they took the last of the … [READ MORE]

O’Malley shrugged his shoulders, and Roger smiled thinly. “Barbeque. Zombie flambe’.”

“Ewww.” Marian looked around. “Anyone hurt?”

“No” answered O’Malley. “Roger fried them before anything got out of hand.”

Marian nodded then glanced back a Wally, who was leaning against the car. “I had to pick up Wally today. Cops said he’d fallen down, and when I got there, he said he’d had a pain in his chest. Like some weird burning sensation.”

Roger raised hies eyebrows, then peered at Wally Allen. “He doesn’t look hurt. Kids like him have all sorts of things pushing them one way or another.”… [READ MORE]

Roger finished the circle, then bade O’Malley to step back to a corner. The stocky Irish cop nodded, and moved to the corner closest to the hall opening. As a precaution, he pulled his .44 magnum, flipped open the cylinder to check that all cartridges were loaded, then snapped it closed. He lowered it to his side, ready for use I something bad happened. As he’d seen before, bad things did happen often enough that he wanted to have his weapon to hand. Roger began chanting, holding the hairs he’d collected from the bedroom.

His trace spell began to take … [READ MORE]

Marian Kolchak gripped the wheel of her car, and gritted her teeth. It was bad enough that her editor Updyke reassigned her to ‘social events’ from the ‘Crime beat’, he’d added insult to it by assigning the new guy to that position. How is it that he just walks in and gets the Crime beat when I’ve been working there for two years and have given Up-tight the scoop on so many important stories? She looked over to the passenger seat, and her uncle Carl’s old straw fedora resting there. What would he do? Uncle Carl would have stolen copies … [READ MORE]

Wally Allen, aka ‘Rapidfire’, streaked towards downtown Boston. His red suit with a white boxing glove on the front announced to the world who he was. It that didn’t, the red streak of his passing did. His mind wasn’t wholly on running at the moment. He’d gotten home from working as a security guard, and collapsed just after he made it inside his home. Wally fell, and threw up as his vision danced and swam so badly he didn’t know if he was on the floor.

The colors suddenly were glaring, painful to look at, closing his eyes did nothing … [READ MORE]