This is the page where I post all of my various short and long story work. The stories here are in varying forms of quality; some have been edited fairly closely and planned out well, whereas others are little more than a rough draft. Each story is available in three different forms: in-site HTML (which is, without a doubt, the hardest of the formats to read), and then in MSWord DOC form and PDF. I’d say that the DOC file is probably the easiest to read, but that’s just me. This page will get edited whenever I have something new to post or update. For certain projects I will also upload every draft that I have saved, but these will only be in DOC form, since I don’t really see the point of making a big and pretty show for something outdated.
If you have any comments or questions regarding anything on this page (or site in general) please feel free to e-mail me. I’m going to work on getting some comments setup for this page, but in the meantime the e-mail thing should work just fine.
Warning: The stories on this page may contain violence as well as harsh language, so keep that in mind.
Paradise
- Introduction (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — The newly-rewritten introductory chapter for the book. Nothing like a quality Thanksgiving bomb scene to really start the book off with a bang. Or a boom. 4/20/06.
- Chapter 1 (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — This is where the actual story begins and the main character, Adam, is introduced along with Seth who has red hair. Thrilling. 3/1/06.
- Chapter 2 (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — This chapter picks up the day after the first one left off. The main issue from that is covered fairly quickly, but in doing so many more problems are discovered. Throughout the course of the chapter there are four new characters (at least one of which is a secondary character) introduced and the reader learns far more about Adam in a general social and psychological sense. 4/5/06.
- Chapter 3 (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — This is a fairly short chapter, but an important one all the same. Plus it has a sappy flashback. Points for somber romance! 5/15/06.
- Chapter 4 (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — A lengthy chapter which covers a whole crap-load of stuff. A major plot point is revealed that will launch the story into the main, over-arching conflict that will run throughout the rest of the book, and a lot of history on Adam is revealed while simultaneously introducing a very important main character. The flashback style that was introduced in Chapter 3 is brought back again for this chapter, so yay for more sap! 5/28/06.
- Chapter 5 (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — A relatively monstrous chapter that covers a whole lot of ground in terms of overall plot. More romance, more drama, more hilarity, more more. Or something like that anyway. Personally, this is my favorite chapter of the bunch (at the time of publishing it, anyway), but I’m not sure if that says much. 7/4/06.
Short Stories
- Brown-Haired Girl (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — A short, first-person story. This was the first story I had ever written for an actual class and ended up being more autobiographical than anything else. After I got some feedback on this I completely rewrote most of the story (about two months after I had originally written it) and came up with a second draft that could hardly even be considered the same story. This story is the last real attempt I took at writing a “realistic,” first-person story. If you read it, you’ll see why. 3/04/05.
- Jack and Jill (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — This was my first attempt at writing a dark, non-humorous story — which is kind of entertaining if you think about it, since it is based on a classic nursery rhyme. It was also one of the first, if not the first piece I had tried writing from a third-person perspective. I got the idea for this one day, randomly, while I was taking a shower (which, thankfully, happened about a week before it was due) and I really quite like how it turned out. In retrospect, I believe that this was the story which really made me want to actively pursue writing. It gave me hope after the mess that was “Brown-Eyed Girl.” 3/18/05.
- Retribution (HTML, DOC, or PDF) — This was my final project for an introductory Creative Writing class and I think it turned out fairly well. This, along with Jack and Jill, really helped me realized just how much I enjoy writing really dark stories in third-person. I’m not entirely sure where the idea for this one even came from in the first place, but I believe that one of my friends was doing research on something loosely related to stigmata (though not directly) a few weeks prior to me writing this. I guess the idea just kind of stuck with me when it came time to work on the project for this class. I believe I actually spent a single day working on this story; half of it was devoted to research and the other half to writing the first draft. After the story was reviewed in-class I got a lot of positive feedback and for the second draft I made a few general changes, but the main thing that changed was the orgination of the ending sequences. Good fun. 4/04/05.