I have to preface this with a shout-out to one Daniel McEvoy for his vision. Every so often, we talk creativity and running with talent. Sure, I might berate him a little for his strolling, rather than running, with said talent. Only a little, because the guy's too cool. For all his drawling lamentation on his laziness, he has an eye for imagery and expression.
This is the one piece of art of his that I saw that blew me away: the stark visuals, the use of light and shadow and the framing just work for me. I asked him more than once if he'd let me tell all about it here. He said he didn't mind. I asked him if he was sure that I wasn't infringing some copyright or robbing him of hard-earned money some way, some how. He assured me all was good.
I do so love the visual here though. It doesn't matter what the art form is, you want something that'll grab your audience. In the realm of horror and dark fiction, there's many a tried and tested trope: the carefree youths having sex before their imminent slaughter, the character that looks away from a mirror for a moment before finding a fearsome fiend when they return their gaze to it. Some of my work will play those themes to the hilt, but I like the leftfield - a sense of something unfamiliar, of something different. Something wrong.
Very rarely can I read something I've written and immerse myself in it without having a critical eye. There have been a couple of occasions where I have been grabbed by my own demons (honestly, that's not a euphemism) and been a little unsettled by it. I don't aim for that - just to ensnare a reader. I just create the demons and leave it up to y'all to face them.
I remember an exchange from an episode of Angel which sticks with me:
"You're going to have to face your demons sometime."
"What if I don't want to face my demons?"
"Then you'll have to face mine."
Whatever demon you face, I'll do my level best to ensure it grabs you. Maybe, just maybe, from leftfield.