Posted inDictionscary

Asphixiation

Try saying "asphyxiation" five times fast. You will know what it means from experience. But if you survive, read on... You probably know the term refers to "choking to death" and that it is the fancy pants medical name for strangulation. But did you know the term derives from the Greek, meaning a- ("without") + sphyxis (a "heartbeat")? If you thought it had something to do with the Egyptian term "sphinx" (which I think means "without + a nose), then you were wrong. (To "asphynxiate" actually means to turn into a giant cat with wings and tell riddles till your…
December 24, 2013Posted inDictionscary
Posted inArnzen News Instigation

THE RESOLUTION: A Twitter Story Contest – Sponsored by AuthorBee!

ANNOUNCING A NEW YEAR'S WRITING CONTEST in the Instigation Playground at AuthorBee Deadline for entries is 12/29/13 at Midnight est. WIN AN AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM OUR HOST, @AUTHORBEE! Let's write a twisted tale together to ring (or is that "wring"?) in the New Year! The story is called "The Resolution." And it all begins with the following line: You're bound. A TV shows Times Square. "What's your resolution," a man holding a knife asks, "for the afterlife?" Consider yourself "instigated": YOU GO NEXT! You simply need to be a member of twitter to play along (it's free -- check…
December 20, 2013Posted inArnzen News, Instigation
Posted inInstigation

Twisted Prompts for Sicko Writers (32)

+ Santa goes down the chimney...and enters hell! Script a dialogue between Santa and Satan. (xref: Instigation Playground) + Describe an incident with the border patrol at the edge of an otherworldly portal. (xref: Instigation Showcase) + Dramatize your own funeral (and/or wake) from the viewpoint of the person in attendance most likely to be bored by it all. (xref: Instigation ebook)
December 19, 2013Posted inInstigation
Posted inData+Errata

ATTENTION: The Former Goreletter Server/Archive has Moved

On Halloween, I began using a new mail server to design and deliver The Goreletter, which includes fancy HTML graphics and more options. I have also now removed previous newsletter server pages for The Goreletter -- which means that more than a decade's worth of former archives are also no longer accessible and any links here and abroad that referenced a "cgi" directory are no longer valid and will probably take visitors automatically to an error page or a dead end. I am presently rebuilding the former archives (and eliminating all old dead URLs from them) in a fancy, new…
November 26, 2013Posted inData+Errata
Posted inArnzen News

Special NaNoWriMo Offer on Instigation

ALERT, HORROR WRITERS! For the rest of November, you can get my creative writing helper, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side at a 50% discount (just $1.99) if you order directly from Mastication Publications. Available only on the Mastication Publications weblog. [Sorry...special offer period has ended. But you can subscribe to the Mastication Pubs newsletter for another opportunity to get Instigation at a discount!]
November 9, 2013Posted inArnzen News