CHRISTOPHER RIDGE

 My new collection of demented tales has been out for a few weeks now.   If you like bloody and gory tales you may be interrested in this one.

 Ray Bradbury said in one of his lectures that it is impossible to write 52 bad stories in a row and encouraged writers to write a story a week for a year. He is exactly right. I mean it's Ray Bradbury who wrote well over six hundred stories before he got his first acceptance. Yeah, not many people know about that. If you want some interresting reading google writer rejections and you will learn a thing or two. I'm going to do this challenge plus I'm going to publish the story at the end of the week. I indie publish everything I write for the most part. Though lately I've fallen short on the publishing thing. I've got stories written now that are just sitting in my back log. Does nobody any good that way. To add to that I'm writing two stories a week instead of that one. One story doesn't seem enough to me so I'm adding one. Plus I'd like ot have a hundred stories up by the end of the year and add in small collections. I have to get as many stories u...

 Wow. Been a while since I wrote about anyting on here I see. Been one of those things I've been meaning to get to but seem to never do. I think this time around I've just allowed too many things to get in my way. So I'm going to be positng here more than usual from here on out. There have been times I've wondrerd if I'm writing to anybody at all but it seems there have been a few people following this and frankly it kind of shocked me a bit. I've lerned just becasue people aren't commenting dosen't mean thery're not watching. I did write a few short stories which those will be up soon. I'm also going to step away from writing the more extreme type horror. I feel I've plunged into a territory I shouldn't be in to be honest. I want to write stories that people like to read and to me from what people tell me extreme horror has a very low market. I want this journal to share the day and life of a writer that is working with full time job and...

So, story a day in May has begun for me. I love it every year when this challenge comes around because it is so much fun. This year I'm adding to it though. This time I'm publishing everything. I write it it goes up. Not the same day but a day or two after. So, if you're wanting to follow along where I'll be talking about my challenges and what I've done for the day and how I did it. Story one and two are finished and will be going up soon.I'm practicing the Ray Bradbury method where he intructs you to just sit down and write about whatever comes to mine. Shocking what I come up with at times when you do this. He states you are a much better writer and are more original when you sit down and blurt it out. That's right. Just blurt it out. To do this you really have to trust your sub-conscience which I do and leave that critical voice locked up tight in a room where he can't get out. Which I have. The covers for the stories are going to be the sam...

Wow, have I lost my writing flow within these last couple of months. Not good but at times it does happen. Seems I allowed this whole virus thing get to me more than I thought. I just feel like I'm not producing near of what I'm capable of. So, what does a writer do when that happens? Restart. It just so happens that I recently received a reminder about Story A Day In May coming up so this will be a great way to jump back in. I'll end up with thirty-one stories by the end of the month and that is great You'll be able to follow along here as I post. Till then, see ya soon

If you haven't checked out my latest article at prowriterswriting.com you may want to give it a quick read where I talk briefly about the story, Guts by Chuck Palaniuck and how people fainted during the reading. Very awesome to read a story that is known to make people faint.Fair warning though, this is not for the faint of heart. I've included the link to it here if you have the guts. http://prowriterswriting.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYHLpEEz_8g

So, It's been a while since my last update so way over due. I think this whole virus thing going on had derailed a few things. Regardless I should be udating more than what I'm doing. Going out there squirting bugs and killing mice seems weird with everything pretty much shut down except for fast food drive thrus. Kind of creepy really and has an apocolypse feel to it. But, we shall get through it. Been working on a story for an anthology I'm going ot submit to called 'Evil Cookie Press' The name of the anothology is called Brewtality, so we'll see how that one goes. Just finished it last night and today I have a few touch ups I'm going to make that my creative mind came up with so I'm going to add that in. Very rarely do I take anything out, usually I add. I don't mess with what is already written down unless it's an obvious mistake. I fix errors and leave everything else alone. Also you should check out the new series on NetFlix called Bl...

Hey ya folks, Just letting you know I have a new collection of gruesome and gross horror tales coming out at the end of this month. Here is a quick peek at the cover. In this collection I took a dive into tabboos of the worst kind. Read these at your own risk and definitely not for the faint of heart. My next project I believe I'm going to write a novella. I've been itchng to write one of those for a while now.  I'll be letting you know when that one comes out. Till then, happy reading.                                               OTHER INTERREST IN GRUESOME TALES You may want to check in on this guy. Jon Athan. This guy can write some good extreme horror. If you found your way here then you will like him.. http://www.jon-athan.com/

New year. New beginning.  Just been a while since my last post. This should be called the every now the every now and then blog New goal is to write a short story a week for a year. I'm going to publish these once a month in a small collection. I'm  also going to write a short novel every other month. So a lot of writing going on here but all very possible to do. This month's stories will be coming out this week. I'll be posting here regularly for those wanting to follow along. I'll be posting about my ups and downs as a working writer as I show you how to do this while working a regular day job. I'll be sharing my experiences while working for the big C. Corporation, which is about as corrupt as politicians. Also I'm not going to be politically correct here either. These are my opinions and are the opinions of several others as well. More to follow. This is going to be a blast.

A little late on the update on this one. Honestly, I forgot to log my latest story. Story 8 is done I just haven't made any changes on it yet. Soon I'll be compiling those into a small collection. This weeks story has been started and will be done soon. This one is a practice story from a prompt from my short story writer's group where I write an entire story in dialogue. Yes, it will still have my usual blood and guts. Stay tuned.

Story #7 has been sent in to be looked over. Looks like I have myself a new character that makes regular appearances. It's a dog named Chewy. I thought about writing a longer work titled Chewy and me. Except Chewy isn't so friendly. He eats dogs like Marley for breakfast. He is a vicious man eater owned by two rednecks. Bet you couldn't have guessed that. Looks like I may turn this into a series of stories and publish them in one collection of gruesome tales.  I'm going to be posting some stories up here soon so you can get an idea of what my stories are all about. Think SLASH N' GASH Heavy carnage. Lots of blood and guts and wrap it all up with some sick humor and some shocking endings. I love shocking endings.

Crazy right? As if anybody really cares what I'm doing on here in the first place. Beware though. If you're not reading this I know who you are and I will find you because I have a special set of skills that allows me to inflict some serious bodily harm upon you. Love those movies Taken with Liam Neilson. I'm going to put that line right up there with Clint Eastwood in Dirty harry with "GO AHEAD. MAKE MY DAY" Best movie line ever. Week six story is done. This was more like it and I felt more at home with this one. A fun sort of splattery tale about Chewy and me. If you want to know who Chewy is then you'll have to read the story. It's going to be off to the proofers here sometime today. I also thought it would be a great idea to post my weekly stories up here as I write them that way you can read them and say. "Hey. What a real sicko this guy is" "He belongs in an insane asylum" You probably knew there was something wrong ...

Week five story is done. This time I tried a more subtle type of horror story. Not quite sure how it panned out considering it's not my norm and it turned out to be a bit unusual. Starting in June I will also be adding a novella in the mix as well as my weekly stories. Moving right along

Late post but last week story is done. I knew I would have limited writing time due to the surgery last week so I managed an additional story a few days before I had to go back to the hospital. The doctors prepared me enough for how this was all going to happen so I thought it would be a good idea to have an extra in the bank. Skin work is done and just waiting on things to heal. I do have a follow up coming up this week so with my arm wrapped up the way it is it is going to slow me down a bit. Just a tad Moving right along

Weekly story is done and I'm moving right a long and having a good time at it. I am right on track with Dean Smith's story challenge. I even wrote an extra story this week so I have one in the bank just for those 'just in case' situations. I always like to be ahead.  I'm reading a lot of different short stories in other genres. Mostly on the dark side of life. Joyce Carol Oates is really good at this. I did notice my last couple of stories are hitting on a more emotional level. Not so much action about what is happening to the character but how the character is responding to the situation. I've learned that is what really makes the story.  Also, reading some Hemingway short stories which was recommended by Joyce Oates. I took some extra time and watched a few videos of her. She talked a lot about the different types of writing, mostly styles and the importance of white space and how the reader responds to it.  Next month I am going to start writing a ...

Third story of the month is done. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to abandon the story a day in May challenge. It's just getting too hard for me to do all that writing with my wrist and arm the way it is and it is putting too much pressure on it. Some of the stories are wanting to be longer and I can't write much over two thousand words it seems. I am continuing on with the story a week though. That one was the one I started with and I am continuing onward with that. Yesterday read a couple more chapters of my Jim Thompson book. Has some funny parts to it plus I have my collection of Joyce Carol Oates stories which I am learning a great deal from.. see ya soon

Finished up the second story for May so off to a great start. This streak will gain more power as I truck along. I do have a surgery coming up, not sure when yet but I should be home the same day. Still I want to have an extra story in the bank just in case it turns into a non writing day. It shouldn't but I want to be prepared Got into a great discussion about noir fiction with a writer friend of mine today and have some good story ideas.  I'm learning to add more emotion to my stories. Emotion gives stories power. Joyce carol Oates is a good one for this. Been reading a Jim Thompson novel. I really like this guy. He has a sick and twisted sense of humor and I like how he just has characters appear out of nowhere, AFTER DARK MY SWEET . Now, what's there not to love about a title like that?  And this character has a serious attitude problem. Actually, there's not a nice person in this book at all as far as I can see. I'm loving it. Great fun. see ya soon

Okay, it's May 1 and the first story of the month is done. Also this counts for the weekly story as well. One short story a day is about all I can manage and I have to write it in short periods. Too long and my arm get really tired because of the nerves.  The doctor says they don't want me not to use it but keep everything I do simple. No lifting, no running around outside doing things. They don't want me to do anything until after the second surgery follow up then they will talk light duty until things get back to working order. This short story challenge allows me the freedom to play around. I'm trying out different things with my writing and in a few other genres. I discovered while reading some others that I really like noir. Dark stories where the protagonist is self-destructing. Not sure why I like those kinds of stories other than the fact that life tends to work that way. How many times do we find ourselves trying to solve a problem and we end up making ...

New blog. New look in case you haven't noticed. I decided I wanted to make this more of a journal type blog and didn't want to mess with all the bells and whistles that come with a regular site. Plus this is free and simple to use. I think I'll be staying here for a while. So what's new? Lots. I've started a yearly challenge of writing a short story a week for an entire year. Actually longer than that. I need to keep this streak going past 72 weeks to beat my friend Harvey Stanbrough's record. So that's a lot of fun. Of course whenever you start anything new something always has to happen. For instance I got attacked by a pit bull while I was at work and he chewed my arm up pretty good. I'm off work right now and in between surgeries,s till I manged to get my story for the week done last week. I'm OK as long as I write in short periods throughout the day otherwise if I try and do too much I get sore. So easy does it wins the race. I'm...