Co-Create Winner Profile: Writer Aaron Arm
Growing up, Aaron Arm harbored a deep passion for writing and literature. After graduating from Ithaca College with an English and Journalism degree, he channeled these passions into educating young minds, serving as an English teacher for over a decade, primarily in the Ithaca City School District of New York.
But fiction, particularly science fiction, always held a special place in his heart. Drawing inspiration from literary greats like Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury in his adolescence, and later, visionary filmmakers such as Denis Villeneuve and Alex Garland, Aaron steadily honed his craft and paved his way in the world of fiction. His dedication bore fruit this past July with the release of his debut sci-fi novel, The Artifice of Eternity, through Cosmic Egg Books.
In Aaron, we saw the quintessential creator we hope to champion with Co-Create - immensely talented individuals with high ambitions, held back by the unfair constraints created by the creative industry’s power players and gatekeepers.
When our team created DBRIS (DBRIS.net for more info), it was apparent that the organization needed a “face.” A character at the top of the organization to provide reality and depth to the fictional entity. We decided to let the community fill in that gap in the form of a Co-Create, fielding submissions for character profiles for an original “International Director of DBRIS” character. We received 21 submissions, and chose Aaron’s character of “Alethea Mattis” as the winner.
Aaron’s core approach was to intertwine the goals and mission of the organization of DBRIS with the specific, personal motivations of the character of Alethea. As outlined by Aaron, Alethea Mattis’ life was marred by the mysterious disappearance of her father under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. This set her off on a winding path, taking her away from her trajectory towards a medical degree after uncovering her father’s long-standing research into Disco Ball Theory and association with DBRIS. Her journey into the depths of Disco Ball Theory and up the ranks of DBRIS represent not just a quest for knowledge, but a deep-seated need to reconnect with her lost father. Her loss instilled in her a dispassionate outlook towards dealing with skeptics of Disco Ball Theory and a razor-sharp focus on her mission, preventing her from developing any serious romantic relationships and causing her to maintain a distance with her coworkers.
Aaron is currently at work turning his character profile submission into a full-fledged personal essay outlining Alethea’s background, personal history, and aspirations (both personal and for DBRIS as a whole). The essay will be featured in one of the first few chapters of THE DISCO BALL narrative, so keep an eye out imminently to catch Aaron’s incredible work.
Congrats, Aaron!
To learn more about Aaron’s background, view his past work as a technical and fiction writer, and read his blog on the craft of storytelling and writing, visit https://www.aaronharm.com/.