Illegibly K.M. West

Category: Writing

  • Rest.

    Today’s #AestheticAdventure theme on Twitter is #Rest. But when I think about my character’s resting, it’s not about where they lay their heads or the few hours of sleep they accumulate every couple of days. For me, rest means a downshift, a moment where the tension of the story is ever-so-slightly relieved. In real life,…

  • Let Your Light Shine: The Beauty of Character Flaws

    “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”  – Marianne Williamson Sometimes, a memory…

  • #WCW & the Importance of Female Friendship.

    I’d like to invite you to imagine a scenario in which two women meet. Now tell me, what happens next? Do they smile meekly and introduce themselves? Do they size one another enough up for weaknesses, deciding how to best neutralize the other as a threat? Do they identify how attractive the other is (and…

  • Here, there be Monsters.

    As early as the first century, depictions of strange creatures began creeping in from the edges of our maps, showing territories of unexplored dangers. By the 1500s, one might find HC SVNT DRACONES on the dark corners of our globe. Later still, large swaths of wilderness bore only one warning: Here, there be Monsters. For…

  • Israel & Missed Opportunities

    Over the holiday, I’ve been reading Long Story Short: The Bible in Six Simple Movements by Joshua McNall. It’s a very enlightening little read for anyone who enjoys the Bible, reading, or storytelling, and I gifted it to my mom and my friend because I enjoyed it so much. As I was reading through the…

  • On taking yourself seriously.

    “Power is perceived. No one has it; you just say you have it and other people will believe you.” The Collapse series is a complete passion project for me, an opportunity for me to learn and explore the topics that already fascinated me. When I started, I vowed to try to represent different belief systems…

  • Prologue.

      “One. Two. Three.” They stopped saying ‘toss’ twelve bodies ago. Leaving the word implied, Carian and another man released a teenager into the all-devouring pit. Was it still a teenager? Was there age in death? Liv’s twelve years hadn’t set much precedent for catastrophe, and her mind whiplashed with questions like these. Were they…

  • Short Story: For Rent

    Short Story: For Rent

    Did a Twitter #photostoryprompt that I thought I’d share as a #shortstory. Had to use the word #prison: |  It was supposed to be our fresh start. But when I looked at the linen walls or the laminate countertops, I couldn’t see that the place was on fire. I saw our future, not the soot…

  • Short Story: The Trapeze

    Short Story: The Trapeze

    “There’s blood in my mouth,” she realized suddenly. Her eyes shot open, the vibrant stripes of the big tent overhead sparkling with the bright lights of her concussion. The trapeze swung without her like an empty taunt, hypnotizing the audience as they held their breath, craning their necks to see if her limp body might…

  • Short story: Left, Right, Left.

    Short story: Left, Right, Left.

    | With each step, his heavy feet moved left, left, left, right, left. The shrapnel just below the muscle on his side ached, a sign of impending rain. The “oblique,” the physical therapist had called it, though nowadays it was more oblong, or overgrown, a landscape of blood, muscle, and bone encompassing that remaining piece…