A Burning Damnation

     I recently wrote a poem called Listen to the Madness, about a man who burns a witch at the stake. At the time, I felt like writing about a witch, but had no idea who the characters were or how the poem would turn out until I wrote it. You may click on the poem's title so you can check it out. 
     Now, the unknown characters intrigued me to the point that I decided to use a writing technique to get to know them. What follows is my unedited dialogue between the man and the victim (witch). In the coming days I will post the flash fiction piece that was fleshed out from this exercise. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at the results. Enjoy. 


A Burning Damnation
By Nomar Knight


“It’s no use to try and wriggle free, you will burn, witch!”
“You’ve all gone mad. I am but a simple midwife.”
“You poisoned our lord’s wife. She birthed an abomination. He had to kill it. For that you must pay.”
“No! Don’t light those twigs!”
“The flames of hell will consume you. Did you not see the look on my lord’s face when he saw the beast? Did you not hear his whimpers when he was forced to stab the thing through the heart?”
“He played with the devil and lost.”
“No, you evil witch! You alone are responsible for the tragic event.”
“Please...untie me.”
“You can cough and gag all night. Your pleas fall on deaf ears.”
“Please! Mercy!”
“The smell of witch defiles the air. Compatriots, cover your mouths, lest she poison us all.”
“I swear before the Dark Lord, evil will fall upon all who misjudged me. I gave her a potion to save the child, but alas, the innocent paid for the sins of the father.”
“So you admit to sorcery?”
“Doctoring is not witchcraft.”
“What satisfaction to hear the evil witch scream! The flames of justice are beyond your powers.”
“I...curse...all...your...firstborn...deformed...faces...full...of...thorns”
“Die witch!”
“Families...will...starve.”
“Your words have no power here.”
“Starve...for...eternity.”
“Rot in hell!”

© Copyright Nomar Knight 2015. All rights reserved.

A Knight Chills Presentation.

Spice Up Your Writing: Explore Alternate Realities

Spice Up Your Writing: Explore Alternate Realities

By Nomar Knight

The concept of alternate realities actually existing has always excited me, particularly when it comes to writing fiction. When I visit one of my favorite getaway spots, I often ponder what I consider to be the key trigger in an alternate reality scenario. I unleash my imagination thinking about the power of IMPULSE. Impulse can be defined as the sudden, involuntary inclination that can prompt one to action.

Let’s say I’m at the beach, observing people as they’re having a good time. I spot a guy that looks like he eats weights for breakfast as he sprints across the sand, accidentally kicking the stuff into a sunbather’s eyes. As the thin sunbather cusses and tries to get sand out of his eyes before it begins to sting, the big guy stops and doubles back.

Now, perhaps in your currently reality, the muscle man did the right thing and apologized to the sunbather. You as a writer would prefer an alternate outcome, one that should keep any reader awake. Just think of what you saw and ask yourself, what really happened in one of the many possible alternate realities?

Since I tend to live inside a dark world, my alternate reality would look something like this:

Muscle man sprints across the beach, accidentally kicking sand in sunbather’s eyes.  Sunbather cusses.  Big man doubles back and asks, “What did you say?”

“Hey man! Watch how you run! You kicked sand in my eyes.”

The muscle man shakes his head, and in a deep voice says, “Is that all you’re worried about?” Then he promptly lifts the sunbather off the sand, carries him in spite of his pleas for mercy and tosses him into the rushing waves.

Of course, a more likely alternate scenario for me would be the muscle man attempts to lift the sunbather, the sunbather pulls out a knife and guts the big guy in front of the shocked beachgoers.

The point is that there are an infinite number of possible scenarios and while what you witnessed might have been a little boring, in an alternate universe, the universe you want to tap into as a writer, boring may be replaced by chaos and mayhem. Chaos and mayhem are excellent ingredients when it comes to writing action-packed fiction.

Till next time. Catch you on the dark side.

© Copyright Nomar Knight 2012. All rights reserved.

A Knight Chills Feature Presentation.

When Vengeance Is Good

Uncertainty breeds contempt so if you must get even; do it quickly. The Book of Tortured Souls, Nomar Knight

Ah, vengeance is a powerful catalyst capable of stoking the flames of horror. Here’s a definition of vengeance: “infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been harmed by that person; violent revenge: But have you the right to vengeance? (Dictionary.com)

I found it strange that the people who define vengeance thought it necessary to throw in a moral disclaimer. Not to worry, I’m not going to delve on the moral aspect. Instead I’d like to briefly examine vengeance as a motivating factor for either a protagonist or antagonist. A good horror story shines when one of its main characters utilizes unique methods to get even. Many of my stories involve payback of horrific proportions because I’m someone who loathes unjust actions. There are times I feel the justice system is blind to its victims.

The Saw series grew its origins from the notion that justice must be served at all costs. Director James Wan utilized gruesome visual tactics to make the initial movie a picturesque show of macabre proportion. I believe not all horror involving the execution of vengeance need be a bloody display. Sometimes the best vengeance is to destroy a character’s psyche before feeling the need to do physical damage. Of course, the movie Saw accomplished bringing much anguish to its characters, so in essence, it covered all the angles.

I know I stated that if one must carry out vengeance to do it quickly, but in fiction—the only venue where I feel vengeance should be carried out— it’s best to drag things out, building suspense as the plot thickens until eventually quenching the reader’s thirst for justice.

So the next time you find yourself searching for purpose to write horror, think about the sweet screaming sounds of payback and just maybe, you’ll have a bloody good time.

Nomar Knight

Villains Needed

Society cultivates its monsters. With its tongue it calls for equality but with its hands it shackles aspirations, condemning itself to a world where darkness rules. – The Book of Tortured Souls, Nomar Knight

What’s in a villain? One need not look far to create a suitable bad guy. I enjoy stories where the villain is created out of necessity. Opposing forces must collide in order to wreak havoc with the protagonist’s simplicity. Conflict when created as a natural result of the action is worth digging into. Take Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. A man’s need to prolong life became warped when he decided to take the place of the Creator himself and create life from dead body parts. Man’s need to live forever cultivated the monster known as Victor Frankenstein. He in turn built a monster that has lived throughout literature.

Not all writers will be able to create such brilliant characters but if we search within society, magnificent characters await, itching for us to tell their tale. There are many things happening around us every day, some of it contributing to real horror. All we have to do is keep our eyes open and our minds receptive to uncovering the madness that sits within our reach.

Science has been advancing at an alarming rate and with its advancements come the promise of a new world. Well, imagine a new world laced with opposite characters that must naturally fight each other to succeed? Ask yourself, what scares you about society? Wouldn’t you want to change how people behave? For centuries madmen delved in unique ways to control mankind only to fall short of their insane aspirations.

Search your surroundings hard enough and eventually a hero will be born. Keep searching and be amazed as the hero’s opposite will emerge, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself sympathizing with the bad guy. Villains can be magnanimous and therefore alluring. Villains can take over a story and become more powerful than the protagonist. It happened to Batman as I sat and watched the Joker become bigger than life. More importantly as he forced society to rethink the delicate fabric it lived by. Now that’s a villain worth meeting, but only in fiction.

Nomar Knight