The Mark Williamson Creative Universe

Parts of Perdition.   There are trading card games where a single creature is spread out across multiple cards.  Examples include Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic the Gathering. I started a similar project for my clay figures.  I didn't get around to shaping all the pieces, but there is at least 5 parts of the monster only known as the "Looming Destruction". Piece 1: Mouth Piece 2: Left Eye Piece 3: Right Eye Piece 4: Left Horn Piece 5: Right Hand

Every day gets its mark.   To build a habit of writing consistently, I roll with the Calendar Method.  As far as I've heard, this method originates--or was popularized--by Jerry Seinfeld (you can learn more here ). How does it work?  Get out a calendar Get writing done for the first day Put a big X on that day Keep going, making it your mission to not break the chain of X's That's it. My personal writing goal is 30 minutes a day.  Only after 30 minutes do I get an X.  I take Sundays off because I want to rest on the Sabbath and one day a week off of writing is recommended anyways. Here is what my first month's calendar looked like. Not bad.  Starting on the 14th, I managed to hit my goal every day. What about month 2? Barring a total failure tomorrow, I've managed a whole month outside of the 18th.  To be fair, the 18th involved a half day of frantic work, a five-hour drive, three hours of attending to two large dogs before their sitter got home, an elaborate strate

 

Fastest Gecko in the West.   In an acutely underwhelming assessment, Wordle is a popular game.  It is also a literary goldmine for writing prompts.  Therefore, I'll use the words from a few weeks ago (May 9th-13th, 2022) and turn them into a 10 minute story.  As before, I will ideally write for 5 minutes, pause to assess, write 5 more minutes, then edit that writing (disclaimer: it takes me longer than 5 minutes each time).  In addition, I'll start with the LOCK system . Let's see what I can accomplish. Prompts:  SHINE, GECKO, FARCE, SLUNG, TIPSY LOCK: Lead: alcoholic gunslinger gecko.  Objective: Returning the shine-elixir of a small town. Obstacle: Faceoff against the hidden foe, Mask, who's stolen the elixir. Knockout: Shootout with beetle minions. Gecko defeats Mask by sacrificing his tail. Story:      Grumbles Gecko threw down his empty bottle.  It shattered, reflecting a weary, scaled face in the broken fragments of glass.  His body was a drab brown from seasons o

May the road rise up to meet you, literally.   The ground you walk on, the water you ford, and the mountain you climb; they're not going anywhere.  Or are they?  Here are several living landscapes. Geo-gesist:   The spirit of the landscape.  Massive boulders shift tectonically to form eyes and great gashing holes open in the ground to form mouths. Wandering River:  Like some great, aquatic snake, this river jumped its banks and sidewinded away. Lurching Lake: Lying flat, it appears to be an oddly shaped body of water with small islands.  When standing, the islands are revealed to be a head and arms. Skittering Forest:  An unnaturally ordered stand of trees.  Wait, now they're legs!  Run!   Lumbering Volcano:   Lava bursts forth from a once-dormant volcano.  Upon rotation, the flowing bands of molten rock form legs.  A mound of rock becomes the head, and two palm trees make up the arms. Shuffling Mountain:  Strange projections on the leeward cliffside resolve themselves into st

Irish music for mindless iterations.     Most work tasks I perform require a focused attention.  Therefore, listening to music with lyrics does not play well.  But for the tasks that require no such focus (ex. data entry), I can safely listen to my favorite band, Gaelic Storm . For a quick introduction to Gaelic Storm, here are my top ten favorite songs (album in parentheses). 10) Don’t Let Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story (What’s the Rumpus?)  9) The Night I Punched Russell Crowe (What’s the Rumpus?)  8) Rum Runners (Cabbage)  7) One More Day Above the Roses (Chicken Boxer)  6) Born to Be a Bachelor (How Are We Getting Home?)  5) Slim Jim and the Seven Eleven Girl (What’s the Rumpus?)  4) Girl’s Night in Galway (Matching Sweaters)  3) Darcy’s Donkey (What’s the Rumpus?)  2) Girls of Dublin Town (Full Irish)  1) Another Stupid Drinking Song (Matching Sweaters)

Mycological mania.   Here is the last of the mushroom folk.  Will I ever throw more at you?  I'll never tell. Page 1: Battle and Baffle Mushrooms Page 2: Iconic, Demonic, and Bubonic Mushrooms Page 3: Devil Morel and Decoy Mushrooms Page 4: Exotic and Underground Fungus Page 5: Mushroom Scribbles  

Uprooted and branch-bound.   Treefolk and other moving plants are busting out of the ground and coming to a garden near you. Common Treefolk Tropical Treefolk Sapient Tree Golden Apple Treefolk Grizzled Entwalker Cursed Tree Spirit Living Brambles Walking Hedgerow Potted Bone Snapper Cactoctopus

Sometimes work is a slog.   When I struggle with finding inspiration to keep working, I turn to a very helpful artist, Akira the Don .  He created the subgenre of music called "Meaningwave" .  It combines wave, lo-fi, and meaningful lyrical content.  The lyrical content is taken from a variety of influential figures, but my favorites are those from Jordan Peterson's talks. So, if you need a meaningful hit of music to keep you fighting your dragons, I present my top 12 Akira the Don songs inspired by Jordan Peterson. 12) You Should be a Monster 11) Tell the Truth 10) Happiness is Fleeting 9) Those Who Have Everything 8) Dostoevsky 7) You'll Pay for It 6) 42 Rules for Life 5) Back to the Lobsters 4) Sleeping Beauty 3) You Can Say No 2) Make it Beautiful 1) Go After the Dragon

Red and blue to blend a hue.   Here are a short list of figures sketched in a thick, purple pen.  Monsters of one sort of another. Lophosaur Humanoid Hiddenblade Sawmask Brash Gladiator Orc Soil Horizon Titan Bristle Bounder Shielding Rakeclaw  

Get your writing LOCK-ed and loaded.   I've been working through James Scott Bell's excellent writing book, Plot & Structure .  In the first chapter, he explains the LOCK System.  It stands for: L ead: make the lead character memorable, interesting, and relatable O bjective: point your lead towards a worthy goal C onflict: set up obstacles in the lead's way K nockout: deliver a powerful and satisfying ending The system, is simple, memorable, and moves stories forward.  I've been thinking a lot about this, especially as I started my 10 minute writing attempts in an earlier post .   I realized that for my short stories, I struggle with solid LOCK system components.  Not time like the present, so let's practice.  LOCK it down. Prompts: Sugar, Circus, Napoleon Lead:  Napoleon Bonaparte (as a salt-zombie) Objective:  Needs salt to preserve himself as he stumbles through the circus. Conflict: Keeps mistaking sugar as salt (cotton candy, etc.); lions hunting him down

Lions and sphinxes, and chimeras, oh my!   I'm not lion, these mythical beasts are sure to be the mane event. Greater Beast Sphinx Lesser Beast Sphinx Solar Lion Common Chimera Double Chimera Falcon-headed Sphinx Pharaoh-headed Sphinx Double Sphinx Mutant Sphinx Mummy Sphinx Bonus: Ice Lion Cub