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Serial Finale: Class Dismissed

It is that time once more. It's killing time. Killing Time - Horror E-Rag Issue 3-2 has landed in the Battered Spleen Productions store. I hope everyone's been able to patiently wait until now, with a minimum of bloodshed--after all, that duty falls to the E-Rag. The wait is worth it. Don't let that page count fool you. Yes it's about the size of the very first issue, but look at how well that turned out. The first story is titled "Snowfly" and you won't know what you?re in store for until you read it. It's the oldest story to grace the pages of Killing Time. The second story is the second instalment of the new serial story, "Sun Cycle". It is titled "Powerless at Midday" and it keeps the hits coming from last time out. Then I have what you have all been waiting for, the thrilling finale to "PSY3007". It's the final confrontation between Ben and the forces of evil.

On the article front we have "Ghostly Illumination #2" and its look at the man that likes to make you scream and gives you nightmares, Wes Craven. This issue brings you the poem "Constellations" and that is all I going to say about it because you just have to experience it for yourself. "Sommatoria #2" ties all of the portions of the issue together again. Just as I initially did in the first short issues, there is some additional full-page art. Eventually it will make its way into the Grotesquerie, but until then it is only available in this issue. In the midst of the chaos that is putting together the final touches on the PDF and the website I came upon an idea. I'm not ready to unveil it yet, but just watch this blog for it. It's small bit of added fun and I've said enough. You may now go buy your copy of Issue 3-2. The next issue will land on a more regular date, March 18th.

• Tags: art, Battered Spleen Productions?, evil, Ghostly Illumination?, Grotesquerie, Killing Time - Horror E-Rag?, PDF, poetry, PSY3007, Sommatoria, Sun Cycle, Wes Craven.

Hello and welcome to a special edition of Inchoate Ascendant. Today I have a special guest blogger: Neil Colquhoun. Neil is a Scottish writer of hybrid horror/thriller/sci-fi tales and creator of the "Frank" series. "Frank ? Vol.01: Boiling Point" is available in podcast format on Neil's website. Please check out the links at the bottom, after Neil's post, including an MP3 promo. I'll let you have at it after these brief words. Thank you, Neil, for graciously sending this great bit of ascendance.

Evolution and Creation
by Neil Colquhoun

A single cell is formed and can evolve into something else entirely different; multiplying, dividing, living and dying. The end product takes up space in the world and can sometimes be held in awe and wonder but, at other times, has to be destroyed and rebuilt.

Writing is an art, and like all things that are created, it needs to be altered and mistakes rectified until the creator is satisfied that he has produced something worthwhile.

I always have written. There have been long periods of inactivity for various reasons and there have been similar times where I have been amazed at my productivity. And I am going through a phase at the moment where I need to organise the thoughts and ideas into some coherent form, creating a product that people will look upon as worthwhile.

I feel that it's not enough for the story to be written. It needs to be out there, infecting people, making them want more, their desire consuming them.

And my desires consumed me. Bitten by the podcasting bug after listening to the usual round of 'veterans' like Scott Sigler (the Master), J.C. Hutchins, Seth Harwood and Mur Lafferty, I started exploring the idea of pushing my fiction down that route. I asked a few others, Paul E Cooley and Jake Bible, for advice about microphones etc and they duly provided the information.

So armed with my Blue microphones and Garageband already on my Mac, I jumped in and recorded my novella, "FRANK - Vol.01: Boiling Point" then released it in weekly instalments.

Exposure is the key, and while creating the files can be time-consuming, once the product is available for others to listen to, it then becomes a worthwhile venture.

What is worth creating is worth sharing, for isolation and anonymity is not natural; the natural instinct for man is to be noticed, appreciated and considered to be part of the human race.

So I create and I share. And people listen and read.

I want them to read my material so I build little worlds in which they can immerse themselves. I gave them chances to be part of that world by becoming members of the Infected Legion.

There's been mistakes, there's been failures, but I'm a one man band and I just keep pushing. I try things out, in particular with the voices - some fitted, some didn't work - but it can be nice to have a little colour to your creation, rather than it being bland and uninteresting. Plus, being Scottish adds another flavour to the mix!

My current project is FRANK and I feel that his stories have to be told. People will want to know about the bounty hunter and why he is chasing down the minions from hell. They will also want to know about the unorthodox hit-men paired together and wonder why the Devil is making a move on Earth.

It started as a single idea about a name, then grew from there. As all things evolve, some areas were more suited than others, as is the order and way of everything.

It's natural selection process that is what keeps things moving forward. To stay single-celled means that advancement is not possible.

Everything comes from one idea, one spark, one thought, one word, one scene, one gesture, one mind: it's what happens after that is more important.

• Tags: audio, consumption, creation, desire, The Devil (figure), infected, Neil Colquhoun, podcasting, writing.

Not Enough in a Day, Eh?

Time flies when your having fun. So they say. Time flies when you have a lot of work to do. Boy, does it fly then, so that you're on deadline and rushing to get things done. Sometimes you leave things for later. Later comes way too soon and again it's the rush to get on things. Then you have work piling up and soon It's way out of control and you just have to pull things off of the schedule or find a way to pull off everything in a quicker fashion. It's always hard not to let quality slide and cut corners to squeeze it all through. If this is the normal progression of events then what happens when something disruptive comes along and throws it all out of whack? That's a rhetorical question. As loathe as I sometimes am to do it, I will cancel updates on sites. I certainly did it to make time for the magazine. I do it two different months in the year too, just to get certain work done, and of course have some time off--though of course I just work on different stuff then.

Scheduling has been on my mind a lot lately as I try to bring new projects online and release additional items in the store. I'll even admit that I've been a little lax on the back end of things, and that only does my schedule more harm as suggested above. The thing is, it's also me that is missing out with what isn't done. The reason I do the tags, and even over-tag as some might suggest is because I want handy reference to what I've put down on any and all given topics. It's helpful on both sides of the fence. Back to schedules and failing them, I don't like the idea of messing with release dates, so those projects get priority. Sometimes it seems like all sort of products from other companies get delayed. For some companies it's par for the course even. A lot of people don't understand how it can happen, but I do, even if I push hard not to be like that. Then like that, something is ready for ascendance... like this entry I wasn't sure I had time to do.

P.S. Don't forget to come back next week for guest blogger Neil Colquhoun

• Tags: blogging, causality, character, concept, consequences, demographics, disclaimer, factors, focus, inferred, proclivities, Rob Zombie, R.G. Male's Dark Corners, unintended consequences.

Causal Disclaimers and Inferences

I wanted today to talk about "The White-Trash King", an entry that I posted at R.G. Male?s Dark Corners. At the last moment before posting it I added a disclaimer. With that title and the likely content, wouldn?t you put one in there? There are things that you write in fiction that are accepted because you are portraying it, but when you analyse it, you lay it bare, and step into the kind of territory where people take offence. This isn't to say you can't just let people think ill of you, or rather that you are thinking ill of certain people. There's always that assumption that if you focus only on the negative qualities of any group of people you are ignoring what makes them worthy of being treated equal to everyone else--which just makes you look bad. This is especially the case when the group you are looking at it is often identified by a second factor--beyond whatever undesirable penchants they have--that is beyond their control such as their economic status. The readers will assume some sort of causal link that you do not intend.

Causality or a causal link is when one thing is the result of another. Take the example of lighting a pile of papers on fire that has the consequence of setting the room on fire. There is a causal link between the burning papers and the burning room. If however the papers burn out quickly but the fire does not spread, yet faulty wiring in the room causes the room to burn then there is no link between the two fires. Say then, there is little investigation and the assumption is made that the burning papers led to the room fire. Someone has made a false link because it seems to be the most likely chain of consequences, if the matter isn't looked at deeper, or in our case a disclaimer is made.

There was a second matter regarding this blog's entry about which I wanted to ruminate. I raised the question of why someone might have such a solid grasp of the lifestyle and the proclivities of a much looked down upon group. The obvious answer is that the person belongs to that demographic. However is this a false causality being implied? What if it is, and the person belongs to a completely different group? What if it is a group that only shares some of the same qualities making for only tangential inferences? Finally, what do you make of my professed lack of grasp on such characters? I certainly wouldn't want to provide only the most derogatory stereotypical broad strokes, because this is not what it is a matter of in the first place, but creating full nuanced fictional examples of these people.

• Tags: blogging, character (quality), concept, consequences, factors, focus, inferred, Rob Zombie, R.G. Male's Dark Corners, unintended consequences.