What better way to kick off the new year (I realize that isn’t until tomorrow) than by actually writing something in the online journal that I’ve largely neglected? I haven’t been updating this site with a great deal of consistency, but I have indeed been writing. My newest piece is a short story titled The Stamp, and you can check it out by clicking hither. Naturally, given the fact that the by-line includes the words “Christopher,” and “Brown,” the story concerns evil. You may pronounce that eeeee veeeel if you’d like. I certainly do.
It’s a little lengthy as short stories go (21 pages, single-spaced), but I think it turned out well enough. I’m usually not at all satisfied with my writing, as the stories often do not come out exactly how I had originally envisioned them, but this story is the exception. Before I typed out the first word, it had been completely written in my head.
I’m working on a few other projects at the same time now that The Stamp is finished, and one or both of them will hopefully turn into full-length novels once I have the concepts and characters hashed out. The short stories are basically just proving grounds for each of these ideas. With any luck they’ll turn out to my liking and go on to bigger and better things. Well, bigger anyway. Can’t promise better.
I’ve also been doing a lot of reading lately, including works by the likes of F. Paul Wilson (thanks for the book loans, Carey) and Robert Ludlum. Each of these men serve as major influences for me, as they both specialize in the sorts of stories that I hope to one day write. Wilson writes a series about a character named Repairman Jack who fixes situations for people. He’s more or less an extremely proactive private investigator who doesn’t just get to the bottom of a mystery – he does away with the problem that lies at the root of that mystery. What sets Wilson apart from so many other authors of action thrillers is his inclusion of supernatural themes and villains. Ludlum, on the other hand, specialized in conspiracy thrillers. He authored The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, etc. – along with numerous other titles that also fall within the conspiracy thriller genre. Regardless of who you ask, Ludlum will be mentioned in the top five of the world’s most gifted authors in this genre. If anyone has ever been a guru in that field, it was Robert Ludlum.
It’ll be quite some time before I’m capable of writing anything as complex as the works created by Ludlum, however. Conspiracy thrillers, at least those written to follow real-world conventions and maintain a basis in existing situations, require a level of organization, research and subject-matter expertise that I’ve not yet attained.
Sure, I could take a shortcut by focusing on subjects that draw directly from my eight years of experience as an intelligence analyst in the Air Force, but then I’d have to submit everything I write to certain authorities before making it available online or in print. Thanks, but no thanks. I’m already paranoid enough.
Anyway, short entry today. I hope you all have a happy, prosperous new year!
