My name is Ari. I see most of these things begin with a lot of my interest, so list incoming.

Literature

Some Favorite Works: The Screwtape Letters, Othello, The Hobbit, Lord of the Flies, The Great Divorce, The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Some Favorite Authors: C.S. Lewis, Bret Harte, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dr. Seuss (because who doesn't love The Butter Battle Book?)

Considering the focus of the site, this should at least be somewhat obvious. I've been "writing stories" since I was a kid, messing with my LEGOS and those little green army dudes, making scenarios up in my head, most of which involved warfare... or straight-up murder. But my serious interest came about when I was first introduced to one Clive Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis for you normal people). Through him I developed my interest in older works, from medieval to 19th-early 20th century American work. Honeslty been meaning to look more into Tom Clancy, Hunter S. Thompson, and Ian Fleming, simply because my friends like them and I don't bode well with peer pressure most of the time. It wasn't until I discovered the peculiar art of film screenplays that I became interest in writing my own stories. Speaking of which...

Film

Some Favorite Films: Amadeus, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Stand By Me, Reservoir Dogs, The Green Mile, Dr. Strangelove, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Brazil, No Country for Old Men, In Bruges, Moonrise Kingdom

Some Favorite Filmmakers: Quentin Tarantino, The Coen Brothers, Stanley Kubrick, Milos Forman, Terry Gilliam, Rob Reiner, Martin McDonaugh, Wes Anderson

Honestly, this has always been my passion. The whole thing began with my father, a super film nut, introducing me to a lot of the oldies. The Godfather, Blood Simple, The Good The Bad The Ugly, and all those old comedies by the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Of course I connect more with a lot of modern filmmakers, hence why my three idols in film are Tarantino and the Coens. Both have a habit of making every minor detail in every one of their films as interesting as possible, from small conversations about something otherwise unimportant ("Royale with Cheese" and "the most you've ever lost in a coin toss") and making me love every second of it, to writing every minor character with the same care as a major one.

Video Games

Some Favorite Games: Sid Meier's Civilization V, BioShock, Ratchet & Clank series, Red Dead Redemption, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, Half-Life series, Fallout series, Shadow of the Colossus, F.E.A.R., Medal of Honor, Metroid series (only the 2D ones, you uncultured swine!), Killing Floor, Freedom Fighters, Wipeout series, Timesplitters series

Honestly, I don't take video games as serious as other mediums. Don't get me wrong! I'm not in the Roger Ebert camp of "games aren't art!" It's just that I'm so casual about the subject. I mean, I just listed Killing Floor as one of his favorite games!

Music

Some Favorite Bands/Artists: Queens of the Stone Age, Murder by Death, Jimmie Driftwood, Queen, Heart, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Pink Floyd, Tom Waits

Some Favorite Composers: Thomas Newman, Ennio Morricone, Antonio Pinto, Michael Giacchino, Christopher Lennertz, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Lili Boulanger

I'm an amateur composer, hoping to get into some film and video game projects. The above groups and artists sums up my influences quite nicely. It's hard to sum up my tastes perfectly, since, as passionate as I am about the subject, I'm also very casual about it. There's always the possibility something from ANY genre will appeal to me in some way.

Now to business... what am I doing here? Well, I've got ideas. Good ideas, I think. There are scenarios and character possibilities that I'd like to play around with. That, and I need the practice, really. But fear not! I have stories in mind, and I shall do my best to not disappoint.