October 2015

Inspiration Tuesday: Soulslumber by shende-bende

I went looking for a heroine and found this piece by shende-bende. While not exactly what I was searching for, the art sparked a scene with Chuck Garcia, an undead enforcer of sorts.


Like the Syrup and Butter private conference halls attached to The Big Biscuit Night Club, the Gravy hall was large enough to comfortably hold a five hundred person event or—if the center tables were removed to make a dance floor, mosh pit, or whatever—it could hold a thousand in a standing room only fashion.

The Gravy hall still sported the wedding set up from the night prior. White folding chairs crowded where left around round white wine-stained satin bunted tables. White lace strewn from the rafters in a complex braid and the white trestle, also braided with white lace, still stood on the wooden platform at the front of the room.

Standing door guard at the green room North Lord Maze was using to hold private meetings, Chuck Garcia kept steady watch over the fifty-three vampires still in the main room. Most gathered together in small clicks peering at the other small clicks.

Chuck sneered. Their posturing was like that of “cool kids” trying to out cool the others.

A few younger vampires, no more than a decade dead, tried to curry favor by running messages between the clicks as they power-played in innuendo; jockeying to control what part of the city Lord Maze declared public.

The only sound breaking up the whispers came from an obese, newly turned vampire. Oblivious to the others, she went around the tables desperately clanking lids away from plates with remaining food. Feeling starvation, she kept trying to eat. No matter how finely she chewed the food, right after she swallowed, she’d heave it back up, and would move on to the next plate or the next table.

Chuck had done similar when he was turned, but having been a raging alcoholic, it was booze for him. He couldn’t keep anything down and now, could only get a drunk-buzz by drinking from someone with a .4 BAC.

Any sympathy Chuck would’ve had for the woman unable to scratch her jones had been lost hours ago when the waft of uncovered day-old fish permeated the room. Her regent, a slightly larger man standing near two other rotund vampires, kept a lazy eye on her like a jaded parent would a toddler exploring a child-proofed house.

The smell didn’t bother the sloths, but everyone else—too cool to cover or throw away the spoiled food—spoke through crinkled noses.

Chuck would’ve done it, but he was on door duty.

For someone of Chuck’s prowess and skills, it was a simple job really. Don’t let anyone in that North Lord Maze didn’t specifically call for. A battle-tested veteran, he could single-handedly beat away any of these sissified cliques if they tried to force their way in. But, when Carolynn Crimson walked in, if Chuck could still sweat, he would’ve.

© Ezekiel James Boston


shende_bende-soulslumber_by_shende_bende-d6pvdkl
©2013-2016 shende-bende
You can fine more by shende-bende at:
http://shende-bende.deviantart.com/

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Recap + CVS Technique – Three Assassins

*Jump to the assassins: 1, 2, 3.*

At the beginning of August, I created a hidden part of this blog to use as a journal with a way to show only one entry at a time. A place where I can share a bit of myself and my journey with friends without it being readily accessible to the public.

The first post set the categories that wouldn’t be visible on the front page or the blog. My next post, on the third, was to be a welcome to the story market gauntlet that I tend to use to submit fiction — in near precise order… And this list has pretty much been untouched since its creation.

Life got hectic.

Well, work got hectic and I devoted just about every waking moment to getting the flood of work projects squared away. For the first time, my job workload overflowed into my vacation time; into my workshop time.

Without a doubt, it was my worst showing to date. Didn’t get a majority of the pre-reading done. Didn’t get the first story in. While there, received several calls about several urgent projects that needed my attention…and they got it. I missed most of the techniques. Didn’t even get to think about the novel sketches…

Yeah, bad.

Each time the fires at work seemed to be out, another project hit my email. Whack-A-Mole with high stakes and for keeps.

In the end, I completed three stories (two of which are flash) and two (and a half) techniques. Though it felt like Hell at the time, it feels like victory now.

Through the work-madness, I buckled down and wrote.

Oh, there were more projects to work on (and there still are more now), but I re-prioritized. I lifted my head from the water and cleared my vision.

I took a breath. I did a technique.

Recalling that feeling. I took the time to submit one of the workshop stories to a market. I took the time to write this post, and–since I’m sort of on a roll–I’m going to share my Character Voice and Setting technique. Any story that I might write with these character orientated openings is a ways off and will most likely be redrafted.

This particular technique marks a growing comfort with my craft.

You see, with all the learning I’ve been doing, my creative words per hour plummeted to 200. A speed much lower than at any point in my writing-life. But a speed at which I’ve been able to write fiction that (frankly) pleases me.

Though I wasn’t happy with my speed, I’ve been rather satisfied with the quality of fiction. I acknowledged the drop, but never fretted. I know myself. I knew that speed would return once I got the improved craft into my skull. Though I’ve tried to unleash my fingers, they kept plodding along and I remained content.

This workshop–this crucible–found my fingers moving at twice their formerly normal speed.

Furthermore, at this speed, the technique received better marks than the one I had sluggishly finished before work started pouring in. The assignment, simplified, was to write about three assassins each, separately, experiencing the same setting.


[ *Redacted* ]

PS. Don’t be surprised if these eventually show up for flavor text on my Inspiration posts.

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