Writing a story is rarely ever a linear process. Some writers will plow right through and get a first draft done and then its off to the editors. That seems pretty linear, until the edits come back. Some writers edit as they go, changing this and changing that until it’s time to rewrite the whole damn thing because too much has been changed. This is not uncommon, and something few will candidly discuss unless it’s with other writers. Most writing, however, happens somewhere in the middle of all of this. Ideas arise during the process of writing a first draft and can often be implemented without too much trouble. We’ll be diving into this in Under Construction with a discussion on the future of A Vampire’s Vengeance.
In our classic horror series, Mad Alex Presents, we bring a sordid tale of a murderous table. And no, that’s not a typo. You’ll have to read it for yourself.
Horror cinema has its ups and downs, with horror haters abusing the downs as representative of the entire genre. While this is a bit extreme, it is easy to understand why some horror gets a bad wrap: bad writing, bad choices, bad characters, bad decisions, bad bad bad bad bad. This week’s Calamity on Cinema dredges up three fucking terrible films to both drive the point home, and also for your supreme entertainment at the expense of them.
We top it all off with this week’s installment of Bus Driver. There’s lots to see Backstage! Let’s get into it →
No story is perfect the first time it’s written. Anyone who tells you it’s perfect is either lying to you or has something to sell you. But I digress. I bring this up to address some major changes we shall see in A Vampire’s Vengeance over the course of the next few weeks:
First of all, Edgar and Isabelle are too flat. It’s early in the narrative, true, and not much has happened to pull them out of their shells. Still, they could exhibit characteristics far more indicative of their vampire nature. So we’re going to make them more murder-y. But without the murder at the moment, because, well, there’s no one to murder yet.
Actually, I think that’s it. One major point to be implemented in the current narrative to help shape the rest of the story as it unveils. One rather important point of departure, however.
Normally, for something like a serial in progress, I would not be so rash as to introduce edits. Notes are made throughout the publication of the series, and the edits applied in the rewrite once the story’s run is complete. Not so here. This particular change is necessary and will happen in mid-print. Expect to see changes beginning in next week’s installment.
There’s something interesting that happens when you’re reviewing work currently in progress: you recognize innumerable ways to improve the work. Or at least change it so it becomes something … else. Next week, a draft may be released to rewrite the general temperament of our beloved vampires, so they’re more, well, vampire-y. In the meantime, enjoy this latest installment of A Vampire’s Vengeance:
They say possession is nine-tenths of the law. Now, does that work in cases where a human possesses an object much like a demon possesses a human? We have no idea. However, you don’t need to know the answer to that in order to enjoy this rather strange tale from one Elliot O’Donnell:
One sure-fire way to survive a horror film, or at least enhance your survivability, is to make sure your predator is dead if you have the opportunity to take them down. Or, if you’re not going to kill your aggressor, at least make fucking sure they can’t get up and keep coming after you. Leaving them alone without taking the time to destroy them, or at least bind them, is just plain stupid. Which brings us to this week’s cinematic list: three films where the main characters are just plain stupid:
on sale now
A traveling merchant finds himself in quite the predicament when he manages to win a duel, leading him down a dark path. A tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
Welcome back to another installment of Bus Driver! When we last spent time on the bus, we were watching rockets sail over the portion of the highway cutting through Victorville. You can catch up with Part X here. What was that all about? Perhaps we find out right now:
