I have a short up at Every Day Fiction today. "Inked" is a different kind of story, and the editors warned me that some readers wouldn't like it because of the vague nature of the tale. A few have already left comments to that direction, one fairly nasty. I love EDF because they accept all sorts of flash. I loathe reading the comments from some of the peanut gallery, though.
Personally, I think the story tells it all. You be the judge.
I'll post my WIP Wednesday later. Promise.
22 comments:
I agree. Very interesting story, but a complete picture. A very complete picture. Nice job, as always.
Hey Aaron. I thought the ending of the story was fine. The only thing I was left a bit confused about was why the man told the tattoo artist to go on, even if he begged him to stop, when he hadn't shown any signs of pain at all (physical or emotional).
The idea of the fleshy fake leg is an intriguing one, but I'm struggling to make sense of it. Was it something to do with this Ellen character?
I can understand why people thought the story was incomplete - quite a few details are left open to the imagination. To me, it felt like it did have a beginning, middle and end... but perhaps there were a couple of holes still left in the weave. A tiny, tiny clue to nudge the reader in the right direction might have been beneficial.
Just my opinion, though. Still, I enjoyed the read. :)
Thanks, Jamie.
Sophie, Ellen is the clue (or at least she was supposed to be). I think I was trying to put the reader in Hector's position. I say "think" because I'm not always sure what my words are doing.
VERY cool story. I left a comment at EDF as well. GREAT job!
Thanks, Barry.
Excellent story, Aaron. Compelling and well-described.
Ah... I thought maybe he had stolen her leg... Am I close? :D
By the way, if a story sparks of discussion and varying opinion, I think that can only be a good thing ;)
Alan - you nailed it in your comment at EDF. That was my intention, anyway.
Thanks, Sophie. I like you angle, too...stealing the leg. There's a story there.
Nice one, Aaron. Elusive enough (without being too obscure) to make the reader actually think and fill in the blanks. Good job on this one, I liked it a lot.
Thanks, L.R. I never intend on being vague on purpose.
I'm jealous of this story. That's all I really have to say.
Nice story. I love the peanut gallery at the EDF, too. Always refreshing and gives me quite a chuckle. Whatever you do, Aaron, don't feel compelled to "explain yourself."
Now that is my kind of story. Made perfect sense to me - though that is no recommendation. ;)
Cheers, Brady.
Thanks Robert. The first time I was up at EDF, I felt that need...not so much, now.
Thanks Cate.
Ooh! Now you have be extra curious. I've bookmarked it to read tonight : )
I enjoyed it, a creepy read. Well done.
Hey, buddy - I liked the story but I guess I'm in the minority here that I would have liked just a little bit more to make it truly horrific - but then that's me - I'm not what you'd call a particularly smart individual...
BT - I hear you. I really was surprised to see such mixed reaction (and snarky at times) on the EDF site. That's the beauty of fiction, I suppose.
I thought it was a brilliant piece of fiction. I loved how the "real" ending was suggested so strongly that you didn't even need to show it--in fact, it was more effective this way since we can imagine the man's transformation. Very well done!
And I don't read EDF's comments anymore. :)
Thanks, K.C. The comments seem to be getting snarkier. Can I use that "word"?
I left you a comment over there, too, but I just wanted to add some of it here, too.
Real readers don't expect to have everything handed to them on a silver spoon from trays of gold. They expect to have to ignite their minds, their own creativity, their own imaginations.
You've done that. You've given them something to spark their minds. They'll keep thinking of their own ideas on the ending, or the backstory, for a while.
You did a damn fine job, Aaron.
(Hmm. And I'm taking this with me over to my blog... ;) )
You rock, Jodi.
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