Category: Workshop

Non diagetic posts.

From the Writing Desk – 2/14/26

Hello again.

Recently I’ve been thinking about sin.

I wonder if people really are all born with darkness in their hearts, or if there are those who are born without that little pinch of shameful truth. I only know that there’s no chance of absolutely everyone being perfectly pure, because I myself am not. Sorry to drag you all down, folks. But then, I don’t reckon everyone who’s been executed for murder is pure of heart either, so, that’s reassuring.

I jest, of course. I’m not so silly as to think myself on par with those hearts of black desire. I just happen to be acquainted with my own shame.

I once was told of a particular piece of my writing that the narrator carried too much self-loathing. I don’t know about that. Such people exist, surely. Perhaps it’s not entertaining to entertain such a thought process, but I felt it was worth writing about.

I wonder what it would be like, to be a soul clean of sin, and realize that the person you’re talking to is anything but. Would you envy them? Fear them? Respect their stalwart efforts in self-denial? I have to doubt envy or fear could occur, because these themselves speak to some moral corruption. Maybe not fear. But fear suggests a lack of trust, and I think trust is a powerful indicator of good in a person.

Is doubt a sin?

Anyway, I’ve uploaded a short story today. I rather like it, but I wonder if I shouldn’t have trimmed it down. In school, I always felt that I didn’t write enough when answering questions for assignments. I try to resist the urge to trim now, but perhaps I should invest in my own brevity.

Maybe I could appear more mysterious that way.

So long for now!

Ruminations – 01/02/2026

Hello!

It’s been a while. A lot has happened. The holidays have come and gone, and it’s 2026 now.

I’ve been very busy, just not with the things I might’ve hoped. But I’ve been making time when I can to keep up reading and writing. I think its too easy for those to fall by the wayside today. Videogames, movies, tv, work, school, manga, people. All things that can draw you in and waste your time if you don’t plan for them. But making time for one thing means decreasing time that is free for everything else. Like sleep. I sleep for about 6 hours a night, from 6PM to 12AM. I don’t recommend it, but there is something nice about how empty the world is at those dark hours in my morning.

I don’t think of myself as a lonely person, considering how much I like to be by myself, but I also don’t think that should be standard. The modern world was built by people working together. Well, some of it was built by people exploiting other people, too.

I read Albert Camus’s The Stranger Recently. I really liked the second half. It made me feel things and think things, which I always like from a book. I like feeling things more than thinking, sometimes. I recommend the book, but only if you’re sure you can handle a little sadness by the time its done.

I’ve started reading Brave New World in the meantime. I’m not very far in, but I’m very eager to learn more about the setting it takes place in. After I finish that, I plan to read Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky. When I told some of my friends from college about the books I chose, they expressed some concern for my mental health. One said “I see you’ve chosen the path of Depression.”

I don’t know about that. I certainly tend to shy away from giving my characters completely sad endings. I don’t think I wish myself unhappiness. I think maybe I just like seeing into the darkness to appreciate living in the light. Of course, Some days I think we all live in a very very dark forest.

Since my last upload, I’ve had another short story I’ve been meaning to upload for a very long time, but I keep second guessing it, and trying to get a second set of eyes on it to see if its any good. It’s been waiting for so long though, so maybe I’ll just upload it anyway.

I’ve been contemplating my writing style. Can villains be protagonists? Sometimes a guy says he has plans for the world, and a lot of people will suffer if he pulls it off, but I can’t help but wonder, “What if he got what he wanted? Could he do it?” and next thing you know, I’ve got ideas for the next thing I want to write. I don’t think I care much for the traditional plot line. I know the Hero’s journey is tried and true, but most of the books I really like don’t make sense in that context. Besides, could you imagine trying to retell history like that?

I think I’m not totally alone.

From the Desk: 06/02

The final chapter of Incarnate is uploaded.

It feels like an occasion, a cause to celebrate.

But I’m not great at sitting still or accepting “done”

Done is a way to get steak, not a state for a work to exist in. The closest any piece of art comes to being “complete” is satisfactory. That’s not to say no artist ever finishes their work. But I feel that anyone who operates as I do does not spend much time considering what they have put an end to. If the story is over, the book can always be read again, when you have changed as a person. Sequels defy endings.

I cannot say I will never return to incarnate. The characters still have their depth, and the universe still holds intrigue. As I have said once upon completing the draft, Ideas exist within me for such things as sequels, prequels, and companion pieces. What does the future hold for such a maligned existence?

Already ties exist between it and other works. But performing a crossover is something I am reluctant to attempt: If something has become clear in 2025, it is that tying two pieces of media to tightly together has the risk of pushing away your audience. I try not to demand more of my audience than I might ask of myself on a difficult day. Today is something of a difficult day; I happen to be physically unwell.

But then, my worst days are the ones I tend to produce my best work on. While I shy away from outright tormenting myself in the name of creativity, it is certain that when I am confined to do very little that pleases me, and my environment is unpleasant at best, I burst at the seams with a creative energy.

I have ideas. they all vie for my devotion, insisting upon their depth as more than curiosity. I think it may serve to, for once, make use of social media to attain external input, to see what is wanted of me.

But, imagine my frustration and embarrassment, should I create a poll and find that there is no overlap between those who consume my work, and those who engage with polls on secondary sites.

I am vexed.

But, in the end, I have offerings due to arrive.

Next week I will take a break from posting. After that, my current project shall begin to release.

From the Desk: 05/18/25

Bonjour and happy sunday-

First of all. Incarnate 5.3 was not correctly categorized on release, and is now where it should be. 5.4 has been scheduled, but looks to be a particularly short release.

As the story enters its final chapters, There is less to say. 5.5, the ending, will be of a better size, and after that will come the epilogue.

As the project that initiated this website, ending it is a frightening prospect. But, after a short break, my next project will be on the block for upload. From there, I’m not certain what comes next, but I have a number of short stories in storage that I’m considering releasing during slow days.

I want to take a moment to appreciate those of you that have been along for the ride this far. I know there are few of you, but your constant presence means much to me. At the end of the day, the person I write for first is myself. That others have the investment to stay up to date is frankly, incredible to me. I hope I continue to earn your interest.

The next project, which I have continually hinted at, is one I am intensely proud of. It is a fair amount different from what I have worked on thus far, but it also has appealed to me in ways those works have not.

I hope you will enjoy.

Short update

Two new projects underway. One is on the shorter side, and should soon be ready for release, once the more extensive editing is complete.

The second project is scarcely started, but is to be much more intense both to make and to experience. Without giving away too much, and raising expectations too high, this will be an ambitious work. It will have ties to another work I have endeavors to upload here, and will be very different from most of my other uploads.

My work flow has recently been disrupted by life events, but as those interruptions cease, I should find my footing anew. Hopefully the regular uploads are evidence of my reliability. But actions speak louder than words, so in lieu of empty promises:

Missive from the writing desk: faltering

Today’s post was especially short. My apologies. In order to compensate, some updates.

I ddo have another project in the barrel, but I wish to carry out some more extensive edits before I begin posting it, as it is a far more delicate piece than my typical work.

Life has had much involvement this past week, so I have done very little writing.

I’ve been revisiting some old influences lately, reminding myself how I became myself. A person is frequently little more than a composite shaped by experiences.

Perhaps I seek to reaffirm what has become blurry.

Perhaps I dance on a stage alone, ad-libbing my lines.

Hoping for a return to routine,

Pom.

On self-inflicted wounds

Recently, I have begun a new project, one that I would classify as a comedy with psychological horror aspects. It is told from the perspective of the source of all the horror in the narrative.

An unusual repurcussion has occurred in the course of working on the aforementioned project: my own mental state, without any bidding from myself, has taken a turn for the worse. I care deeply about the project, but must admit that I am wearied by it. The thought that something I write can have such a profound effect on its own creator is both alarming and encouraging. In the past, I have typically been most productive when my mental and emotional state drive my writing.

This is perhaps the first time that setup has been turned on its head.

Incarnate will continue to release every Monday until it arrives at the final chapter. Whether this project begins to come out before it ends, or indeed if it sees the light of day at all remains to be seen. My closet is chock full of pieces that compelled me at the time, but lost their glamour before their time. The encouragement I have received while discussing the idea behind the project has compelled me to give it great effort, and the moderate success of this website has meant very much to me as well.

I hope to reach many hearts, and in addition to striking a little fear, I wish to find a little common ground there. Though if your heart touches ground, you probably aren’t in good shape to do any reading.

Bereavement: Ending Sublime

Today, the final chapter of Sublime was released. As I have said before, I wrote this story some time ago, so the real achievement is in the editing and publishing.

Indeed, I edited this final chapter a great deal before it found it’s final form. In the original iteration, the character known as Ixhem explained a great deal more, creating far too narrow an understanding of the world of the story. It also did not give him the air I wanted for him.

Ixhem, like Zenith, is a character I have extreme fondness for. He is someone who broke free from misguided attempts to control him. But unlike Zenith, he does not seek a goal comprehensible to those around him. He is a mad god, a nigh-omnipotent beast.

What are these new gods? Ixhem’s “family” forms a warped pantheon, based on poisonous ideals. Each represents a facet of a core concept, which Ixhem himself embodies.

Indeed, one future I imagined for the world of Sublime was one in which Ixhem allowed each of his kin to temporarily assume greater influence than he, and cause the core behavior of the world to align with their nature instead of his:

A reality ruled by Pathogen is one of crystalline perfection. Impurities and weaknesses are trimmed away, softness is replaced with smooth hardness. Emotion is dulled, pain is quelled, and life slows as it is sedated. Time crawls in a twilight of consciousness, driven by necessity only.

A reality centered on Fortress is one of supreme efficiency, which subjugates and annihlates the lesser with cruel hatred. The weak are forced into hiding as a psuedo-police-state forms, creating a social hierarchy resembling a familiar dystopia.

Sublime in the grip of tower becomes a grim world of fear and pain, with constant exploitation and experimentation, with little actual progress. Somewhere along the way, the suffering inherent to the process of change becomes the goal.

Ixhem represents the purity of change for the sake of change, the defiance against endings. Once upon a time, a universe existed with an expiration date, a promised end in the form of a general dimming and heating up. With Ixhem’s ascension to godhood, this fate was dispensed with. Endings ceased to exist in a real sense.

This is true of the story itself. Within the narrative are the seeds of another story, a story that begins where this one ends. The toxic hell of Sublime is not content to exist, but must invade and expand outwards.

Ixhem desires to bring his creation to every corner of existence, and beyond.

No ending is absolute.

On Turning the Page

The last chapter of the second part of Incarnate has been published. Likewise, later this week the last chapter of Sublime is due to go live.

Changing gears is a process, one that demands renewed mental focus. As time passes one must adjust attitude to compensate.

My original plan for Incarnate was to see it reach this point, beyond which much was unclear. Zenith was a wholly different character in prototyping summaries, and in fact started as an entirely different character, one whose malevolence outshone their other traits by far. That he became as much as he has is a surprise, but a welcome one.

My love for this creation of mine is profound. There is something enriching about the thought of a vengeful sufferer. When haven’t we lusted for wrath in the wake of pain? So often are we expected to be the bigger person. Are we wrong to wish ill on those who misuse us? Is there no justice in revisiting the trouble they cause upon them?

It iis frustrating to be told that we must rely on the power and authority to right wrongs, when we know that power necessarily corrupts, and those who seek authority are often corrupt in the first place. And what of the scenario in which it is the authority itself that has done us ill?

Gratification is rare. A mind does not find peace, but imbalance in retribution. Nevertheless, the call to be avenged is irresistible. To destroy and self destruct in the process.

Letting go is typically the healthier choice, but can hurt regardless.