Wednesday, August 29, 2007

A Good ol' Fright

Okay, I haven't written in this for a long time and I haven't posted any short stories. Many reasons for that and they all seem like excuses.
I disconnected my internet, its back on again but with another company. It's probably best not to go into details but, oh my god the nightmare!!!
But that's not really the excuse. I can always manage somehow to get writing on the internet.
I have actually written several short stories and afterwards none of them seemed good enough. A lot of my time has been taken up writing my new novel. It's a large novel and I'll write ten or fifteen thousand words and then burn out a little. I like it, it's harsh and dirty yet kind of humorous.
What I need is a good scare and I think I got it.

You see I write horror, well horrorish. I don't really classify myself as a writer because the theme on my work is really based only in one direction. Writers can diversify, I can't.
I think writers and horror writers should be two different occupations. You read memoirs from horror writers and they all talk about simular things and these things I can really relate to.

a) Suddenly finding for no good reason you have a whole novel in you that you were not aware of ten minutes ago.
b) Having a dream or nightmare that has a need to be placed down.
c) Feeling you are driven by something that has happened to you in the past.

It's all a bit more complex than that, sufficed to say that from what I've heard from other horror writers, their talent tends to stem from more a compulsion than anything else.
Thus I love to be scared.
I have a fear of aliens, in particular alien abduction.
There are nights when I cannot sleep, I've turned on all the lights, trying desperately to keep my cat close, clutching at one of my bears and all I can do is stare at the bedroom door.
I love those moments. I adore them.
Yes, and you did hear correct, I have a collection of teddy bears.

At the moment I'm covering for someone and doing the nightshift. I started at this job on the nightshift. It's what led me to write one of the novels that I hope one day everyone will be able to read.
That eeriness of being the only one in the dark building, it's like visiting an old friend.
In the silence my ears are always thinking they hear music, I can even hum along until I realise that there is no music, it's all in my head. Out of the corner of your eye in the darkness you catch a glimpse of a moving figure. I'm imagining it of course.
I love it.
The last week I got a little bonus.
Went out for a cigarette, there was a figure at the back door of the next building. I thought security guard, he turned to me and I thought opps, time to go back in.
I turned off all the lights and tossed through my mind calling the police. We are on level 1 so I looked down on where I'd seen him. He wasn't there, I though phew I don't have to call the police. Then I saw a man walking around and I wondered what I was looking at. I was looking at the reflection of our building on the windows of the building next door. The man was trying to break into the door I had just gone into. When I thought about it I rang the police. I mean the man saw me go through a door and then proceeded to follow and try to break down that door.
After I got off the phone from the police I decided to go downstairs and see if he was still there. I could not see him in the reflection anymore.
Went down stairs, looked out the door, looked out a window. I shrugged and turned to return to work. There he was standing there at the other back door, waiting, grinning at me.
Inside I got quite a fright but all I did was murmur, well that was quite a shock to myself and then moved on, quietly back upstairs. By the time the police did the rounds he was gone.
I was as happy as Larry, the look in the guys eyes, the grin and the way he just waited it was pure madness.
I'll at least get a short story out of it. I was hoping for a nightmare but you can't get everything you want.

Oh yes, that competition I entered the story abandon in will get judged in November.