Growing up I loved sports, played sports, breathed sports. I loved competition. I still do. But, I've noticed something about competition and rules over my lifetime. Competition gets harder, so you have to work harder to stay in tip top shape and be able to hang with the big dogs. And, rules often change, sometimes because someone dominates so much that they need to make the games easier for everyone to compete with the top dog.
They've changed the length of some golf courses because of Tiger Woods. Hey, do you know that makes it just as hard for everyone else, not just Woods. And, the dude still dominates. They moved the three point line back in college and in the pros because people have become better jump shooters. They've changed rules in the NFL to protect quarterbacks because they are the face of the league.
But, what does this have to do with writing or horror, in general?
I shrug my shoulders and put my palms out to you. Honestly, it has a lot to do with it.
In sports when there is a rule change, every team and most fans know about it because it is plastered all over the media, on ESPN and in the Sports section of your local paper.
But, when did the rules in writing change? When did using good descriptions and sprawling landscapes become an after thought? When did the rule change to where every main character in a given story have to actually have a name? When did using a word more than once in a paragraph or more than two or three times in every 1000 words become a no-no?
Yes, yes, I know some of you are going to say that these rules have always been there and that maybe I should do a little more research before I go on about rule changes. Ah, but I have done some research. I have been reading a lot of the older stories and have been enjoying them immensely. I find myself thrilled at having a picture painted for me by masters of the written word from fifty to a hundred years ago. I find myself enwrapped in the way sentences were put together and the way emotions were used and the way they wrote sentences as if they were thinking the words a loud, as if they were speaking it right onto the paper.
These stories leave me breathless and wanting more—kind of like good sex.
Speaking of sex, when did it become a rule that every good horror story has to have a gratuitous sex scene in it that has nothing to do with the story at all?
Look at this opening line. Many of you could tell me what story it is from.
TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?*
Now, look at this sentence hard, Nervous is used twice in the first six words and the punctuation. Wow. I love this. Exclamation point, dashes, commas, semi-colon and a question mark all in one sentence. Does that make you blink twice?
How about this next paragraph, from the same author:
"The box!" vociferated Mr. Wyatt, still standing--"the box, I say! Captain Hardy, you cannot, you will not refuse me. Its weight will be but a trifle--it is nothing--mere nothing. By the mother who bore you--for the love of Heaven--by your hope of salvation, I implore you to put back for the box!"** Vociferated? Now, that is a cool word. Many would say this type of punctuation is confusing and maybe even a bit awkward, but I find it fun and somewhat amusing. I find it interesting and, to me, it shows more of the emotions of the story.
There are many more examples I could give, but since I am focusing on this one writer at the time, I chose his works.
Now, I have found the last three stories I have written have come in the same vein as these stories. It has been difficult to write like this for me, since several rules I have learned over the last two years kind of goes out the window.
It is this manner of writing, as well as some others, including Faulkner, Perkins and Stevenson that I have found exhilarating over the last couple of months. Though I am not any of these great writers, I found myself trying to emulate their styles in a few of my stories. In doing so, I have discovered that I like writing in this manner, in these styles. Even if it means that those stories I've written like this will not get published.
The word usage, the way the sentences are structured, the descriptions, the punctuations. I think I'm becoming addicted to the old school writing. The rules, if there were any in those days, seemed so simple. Not near as complicated as the rules in today's writing world. There are so many rules that I never knew of when I fist decided to give this writing thing a serious effort. There are still so many of them that I don't know or haven't quite grasped yet. I'm still learning, that is for certain.
It is these rules that have evolved over the years, though I'm not sure when, that I find a little confusing. If there is a rule change in sports, you know it. But, in writing, with the evolution that it goes through with each passing year (dare I say, day?), that baffles me. I want to write like they did, back in the 'day,' back when words were free flowing and the authors appeared to enjoy what they penned. But, there are just so many rules, so many things that people want and don't want in there stories.
I blame our McDonald's Mentality for that. We want it fast, we want it now, we don't want a lot of details or words to get from the beginning to the end. Reading has become the fast food for the mind. But, what I want to write, what I want to do, is give you a sit down meal, for you to enjoy each and every luscious bite and long for more.
And, as I stated earlier, even if that means those stories never get published, it is what I now long to write: A seven course meal of words, from appetizer to the final cup of coffee on your literary palette.
I have yet to try and tackle Lovecraft—I've never felt smart enough to even try to write something like him. Besides, I need to read a lot more by him to be able to even try to emulate something he has written.
I hope my constant rambling has made some sort of sense to at least one person out there. For now, I must get back to writing fiction and learning the rules.
I'm AJ and I'm out.
* From A Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe ** From An Oblong Box By Edgar Allan Poe
Good morning, class. Put the books away, the pencils down. No need to worry about any tests today.
On this early May morning we are not going to discuss hard work or determination; we're not going to delve into keeping the creative juices flowing or following guidelines; we're not going to discuss any of my normal topics, so for you folks in the back, don't worry about falling asleep from the mundane yada yada that I normally do.
Class, today we will talk about one thing, err, person. She is one of my closest and dearest friends within the writing community. She calls me Little Bro and I call her Big Sis. Though we are not related, our friendship is very much like a close brother/sister relationship.
Her name is Fran Friel and I'm sure she needs no introduction to the class.
I first learned of Fran less than three years ago when I joined the Horror Library workshop. I went to their website and saw some wonderfully delicious stories by the crew there. I happened upon a story titled Wings With Hot Sauce. Wings With Hot Sauce. I was amused by the story but there was something else, something intriguing. I read another story by her, though I am not sure what it was. That is when it dawned on me. There was so much confidence that went into her writing. Whether she was confident or not in her stories doesn't matter, they gave the appearance of confidence.
It gave me some renewed desire to really write with a little more confidence than what I had at the time. It's one of the main reasons I'm still around.
Then Mama's Boy came out. Though I didn't get to read it right away—it sold out before I had a chance to get my grubby little hands on it—when I finally got to read the story, I was blown away by it. As were quite a few people. Enough folks, in fact, loved the story to garner Fran a Bram Stoker nomination.
When I finally got to correspond with Fran, her words were gentle and encouraging, her thoughts provoking and her attitude infectious. Then when I joined the Horror Library as a contributing writer she asked me if I would consider writing for the HLBOR.
I loved the idea and I have been doing it ever since. To be honest with you, at that point, Fran could have asked me to rewrite the Canterbury Tales and I would have probably tried really hard to do it.
When Fran asked me to do the HLBOR I found it an honor coming from her. It instilled in me another level of confidence. The HLBOR was kind of her baby (I believe Chris Perridas had a lot to do with it, as well) but she trusted me to write on a regular basis and attach the HL name to it.
Confidence. The one thing every writer needs. She gave me a lot of that. Little did I know at that time that we would grow close and become like brother and sister.
Fran is like no other writer I have met. She has a kind and sweet demeanor about her. Her voice is soothing and calm and she has a wickedly good sense of humor. She also has a good head atop her shoulders. To talk to her, to listen to her speaking, you would never imagine this woman would write Mama's Boy.
Why am I telling you all of this? Simple: Big Sis has a short story collection coming out. It is titled, Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales. It is being put out by The Apex Book Company. By the title, it is clear that the collection will be anchored by the Stoker nominated Mama's Boy, a story that you want to read if you haven't already. The collection guarantees to be a wicked ride to the nether regions of your soul. And you might make it back, but you will never be the same.
Fran Friel has a genuine gift for storytelling. Her highly adaptable prose boils over with emotion: love, guilt, fear, and the myriad shades between. Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales marks the arrival of a stunning new talent. – Michael McBride, author of the God's End trilogy and Bloodletting
Would you buy a collection of stories based on that blurb? I most certainly would.
How about this quote from Jason Sizemore of Apex:
Fran Friel has a sweet, unassuming demeanor. People like talking to her. Her voice is soothing and expresses a sense of peace that is hard to describe.
Having read that, you would think she writes children's stories or romance novels. Ah, but you would assume wrong. But, Jason is absolutely correct in his assessment of Fran—the words ring true to her personality. But, you see I left off part of that quote intentionally. Here is the rest of it:
Knowing this makes reading something like Mama's Boy all the more horrific.
Now, are you intrigued a little more?
Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales is scheduled for release at Hypericon in Nashville at the end of June. Pre-orders can be made soon. There are limited signed editions as well. It is very early May now. June is next month. Don't miss out on what I believe is going to be one of the greatest collections of the year. If you're especially daring, read it with the lights off under your cover with a small pin flashlight. Then, try to go to sleep.
And, to Fran, Big Sis, I'm so very proud of you and honored to call you friend and Big Sister.
Clyde watched as Chamberlain died, his last breath squeezing through parched lips and bloodied nostrils.
This is actually the introduction to a story I've recently started. It probably won't stay that way, getting tweaked a couple of times before I am finally happy with it. As it stands, one would think that Chamberlain is the one breathing his last breath, but others may think that it is Clyde doing this by the way the sentence is worded. For now, I will leave the sentence the way it is to make a point.
What's the point?
Don't you all love it when I asks questions, hoping someone will guess before I speak . . . err . . . type the answers?
Blank stares from the masses. Nice. Okay, on with the point.
By the time this story is finished it will probably be longer than I intended for it to be, simply because I have a desire to let stories play themselves out. Also, Clyde and Chamberlain, my two main characters should have developed some qualities about them. A plot should unfold and a reason given to why Chamberlain is the one that died and not Clyde.
Maybe—just maybe—someone will have grown to like Clyde or Chamberlain or both of them. Maybe someone will get mad because I killed one of them off and left the other one standing.
Ahh . . . but who is to say that Clyde will actually live through the end of the story? Remember, that sentence above is the opening to my tale, not the ending. Maybe Chamberlain gets some sort of supernatural revenge on Clyde. Okay, no that will not happen, so why BS you folks? But, I think you get the idea—the sentence is only beginning for Clyde and Chamberlain, even though one of them dies right off the bat.
This opening sentence is a product of someone mentioning serial killers to me this past week. Though I haven't had much time to read or write in the last ten or so days, the thought has been in the back of my mind ever since the topic was mentioned.
So, do you think that Clyde is a serial killer now? What about Chamberlain? Is he/she a victim in this story, or maybe the killer?
No, neither in this case.
Yes, Clyde watches Chamberlain die, the latter breathing his last breath and winking out before him. But, Clyde is not the killer in this story. No, the killer is . . .
Me.
Huh? What? Huh?
Okay, think for a minute. I am a writer, right? I write horror stories, right? Hmmm . . . Still don't get it?
Okay, simplified deductions here (more for me than for you). I create characters and scenarios and scenes and what have you. I give my characters life by penning their actions and having them move from place to place, interact with each other, get put in bad situations to either get out of or get killed. Many of my stories have the main character getting offed in the end or close to it. In some stories a LOT of folks end up with closed eyes and a lack of breath.
Now, do you see it? There goes that light bulb.
A lot of folks say that writing horror isn't all that hard. They could be right. But, then to quote Billy Joel, "I may be crazy. But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for." I honestly think it takes special people to be horror writers. We delve into the depths of humanity; into the taboo areas of witchcraft, demonology and religious figures gone bad; into the minds of killers; into the eyes of monsters. Not a lot of people are willing to do that—to dive into the dark recesses of the soul and squeeze a character's head until their eyeballs pop out and their skull shatters.
For each story a horror author writes, he or she puts themselves into a situation where they have to think of a way to either kill off a person or a way for them to get away, though by the skin of their teeth. Most of us choose to off the character and move onto the next scene or story. We put ourselves in the shoes of the killer. We become the killers and we don't just do it for one or two stories.
Stephen King does it through entire books. Have you read Regulators or Desperation or IT? Lots of dead folks in those stories. I'm not saying King puts himself into a killer's mindset, but he had to think of ways of killing so many people off in so many different ways. The same with Clive Barker. Or, really any horror writer of note. Anne Rice? Yup—she killed lots of folks.
So, at the end of the story, after Chamberlain has died and Clyde has watched it, I will have killed off one or both of my main characters. And, not for the first time, either. I will have watched as the letters appear on the computer screen, the events unfolding with each word. I will have written the scene and then moved onto the next one.
For horror writers, it's in all of us. That innate vision to watch a character we create die; to kill them mercilessly. Yes, it takes a special person to write horror. It's not as easy as you may think it is.
So, I took this trip at the end of last week. My wife and I drove 503 miles from South Carolina to Louisville, Kentucky. Though the drive there took us about nine hours, it really didn't feel like that long—four hours was more like it.
We talked, we laughed, I said stupid stuff, which is not too uncommon. My wife drove most of the way there (to her surprise—most of the time I drive) and I drove the final two and a half hours. As my wife drove I was able to have a little fun sight seeing.
Some things I saw on the way to Louisville:
A newer looking school bus pulling a Jeep behind it. There were no kids on it but I got the feeling that there probably was at some point during the day.
A phone booth in the middle of an open field in Tennessee. I'm still trying to figure that one out. I know there is a Twilight Zone story in there somewhere.
Animals. Lots of animals. It didn't matter what they were. Cows. Horses. Sheep. Goats. I yelled out the window at each of them: Eat More Chicken. My wife rolled her eyes, like she does when I hit stupid mode. But, it does get better. We got behind a semi loaded down with cows. My guess is they were off to be slaughtered. As we passed them I rolled down the window and yelled out: You should have eaten more chicken. Again, another roll of the eyes. But, this time she laughed.
A place called Stinking Creek Road. Umm . . . no thanks.
Signs in the mountains that read Falling Rock Zone. Hey thanks for letting me know, but what good is it going to do me if I am driving and can't look to see if the rocks are falling on my head?
There was a Ferris wheel jutting out of one mountainside and right down the road from it was this HUGE cross. There was no church anywhere, just a beautiful cross towering into the sky, easily seen from down the interstate.
There is more—much more—but for now I will stop with the sights and get to why we went to Kentucky in the first place. My wife and I went to Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Yes, that place—the haunted sanatorium where 63,000 people died of tuberculosis. Most of the people I mentioned it to said we were nuts, but then, I guess they don't know us that well.
And for all of you people thinking that I dragged my wife along with me against her will, well think again: she set the whole thing up. The hotel room, getting the tickets to Waverly, getting all the maps together and finding someone to keep the kids for the four day trip. So, don't feel sorry for her—it was her idea.
On the way there I got a LOT of story ideas, which I jotted down, in my little notebook. I also managed to do short outlines for four chapters of a novel.
..We had a saving grace before we even got started on the trip. You see, I hate maps and don't read them very well. My sister, Anna, just so happened to have a GPS and asked us if we wanted to borrow it. Ummm . . . yes. The GPS was used religiously and we never got lost. We drove around Kentucky as if we were still in South Carolina, thanks to Mandy. Who? Mandy. That is the name that was assigned to the voice of my sister's GPS. At some points, when Mandy was especially quiet, I found myself wanting to break into Total Eclipse of the Heart.
I am off on another tangent, aren't I?
At any rate, we made a trip to the Louisville Zoo and took a lot of pictures. We even took several pictures with my wife's favorite stuffed animal. His name is Santa Dog and I gave him to Catherine on our first Christmas together. She has kept him with her everywhere since then, including trips, two birthings and one surgery. The folks in Kentucky thought us a little odd. But who cares? We'll never see most of them again anyway.
We caught a picture of three fruit bats that looked like they were See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.
There was also the Cave Hill Cemetery where Harland Sanders is buried—you know the guy who founded Kentucky Fried Chicken. The neatest thing about this cemetery that had a map to it and lots of roads to travel on was the small cave near a "lake" within the cemetery. Though you couldn't go inside, it was still creepy looking and gave me a wicked idea for a story.
I met my friend, Chris Perridas. He's a really cool dude and very intelligent. We talked about writing for a while and ghosts for another while.
Finally, midnight Friday night came and we were in Waverly, walking the halls of one really creepy place. We went into the morgue and they still had a few of the body trays in there. Climbing into it wasn't as spooky as I thought it would be, but sitting in the dark, even after my eyes had adjusted and all I could see was blackness around me—yeah that was eerie.
We had a few "personal experiences" and I hope I caught the shadows on the video I took. There is more to Waverly than just the ghosts. The history is amazing. The sheer size of the building is daunting and the many rooms where people died or where experimental surgeries took place or electroshock therapy could send chills up and down your spine just thinking about it.
At any rate, the morning came and the tour was over. We had seen the entire building and the body chute and it didn't feel like four in the morning. Needless to say, we didn't want to leave.
We've been going through the photos and it is a painstakingly slow process, but hopefully we have caught a few things.
There will be more on being inside of Waverly later this week, but all-in-all, I would say the trip was a great one and even with just three hours sleep from early Friday morning until late Saturday evening.
More on the trip and Waverly later, for now, I'm exhausted and the kids just went to bed. I think there is a hockey game on and I would like to veg out for a little while.
Over the last few days I have done something I have never done before. What you ask? Base jump? Parachute? Sky diving? Nah. None of those. I have sat down at the computer and tried to write a story for an anthology I would like to get in. What's that you say? Haven't I written for a specific anthology before?
Well, yes, but not for this one. It's one that I never really had the confidence in my ability to write for. Yes, I have submitted to this place in the past (and no, I am not telling where it is) and I have been rejected, but it's not like I actually sat down and wrote a story for this publication. The stories I had submitted in the past had been previously written, so I didn't write them with the publication specifically in mind.
I tried for two days to come up with a story worthy enough to be considered. My mind shut down. I couldn't come up with anything. For me that is unheard of. Mr. Fountain of Creativity had nothing.
I was worried at first.
Then I sat down yesterday morning for a short while and pounded out the first line to the story. I pondered it, played with it in my head, looked at it, turned the words around. Then it happened. The story took shape and I wrote. Words came together; sentences formed; a plot and ending became a little clearer.
When I finished the piece this afternoon I asked six or so of my friends to read it. I also asked questions about the story. I have gotten replies back from most of them but one of them said something that made me think. And, really the words weren't all that profound, but they held a deeper meaning for me.
My opinions, hope they are okay.
This made me sit back and think. Thus my reply is as follows:
Thanks (name withheld to protect the guilty)--the readers' opinions are the ones that mean the most to me. Editors are paid to tear your stuff apart. Readers are who I want to impress with this one.
With this one? With this one?
Hello, AJ, did you catch what you wrote?
With this one?
Why only this one? Why not EVERY story I write?
Here is what I am getting at folks: As writers most of us want to get published. Often times we write stories that we think the editors or publishers would like. But, what about the readers? What if a reader likes a story that an editor wouldn't? What if a reader thinks something is awesome and a publisher doesn't? Does that make the story any less good in the reader's eye?
I don't think so.
This is the thing I had forgotten through all of this learning how to write and trying to pen stories that I think an editor may like and want to publish. I, like so many of us, have forgotten about the reader.
Sure, we say if you write a compelling story and you do it well, then someone will pick it up and pay you for it. But, why only write to please an editor, one who may be fickle on what he/she likes?
We must focus on who we are trying to impress and that, in my opinion, should be the reader.
My good friend, Petra, told me something last year that I have kept in mind every time I read someone else's work. She said, "We are readers before we are writers."
So, why forget the readers that we are trying to reach? Why not write for them; write with them in mind?
I think to an extent we all write with a little bit of the reader in mind, but how much do we do that? How often do you sit back and say 'I wonder if Joe Blow down the street would like this story.'
The McDonald’s Mentality
Current mood: creative
Category: Writing and Poetry
Patience. Not a word many folks like, myself included. No, patience is not a popular word, even though it is a virtue.
In our push button, fast food world we have become a society of got have it now and you’re holding up my progress. If we don’t get it now, we go somewhere else where we can. I like to call it the McDonald’s Mentality. Or, maybe it’s a Burger King Mentality—your way, right away at Burger King NOW.
If you walk too slowly, people push by you. If you drive to slow, they get over, buzz by you and give you a dirty look or the finger in the process. If you don’t answer a question fast enough it will be asked again and again until you answer it.
Hurry up. Come on. You’re moving too slow. Get the lead out. You’re slower than molasses. How about a quickie?
Doesn’t anybody make long lasting slow love anymore?
So, what is my point to all of this? Let me see. Oh, yeah, as writers we tend to want that instant success. Where is mine? Why can’t I get published right away? I’m just as good as that guy, how come he gets all the notoriety? What about me?
Patience, grasshopper. Patience.
Do you see what I am getting to here or are you growing bored already?
What it boils down to is that so often we want things now and we are not willing to wait for them or work at it. Writing is tough; writing is work. That’s the easy part, folks. It’s the getting published that is so hard. It’s getting published that we have to be patient with.
We write, we edit, we rewrite, we edit some more, then we make out our cover letter, send the stories out and then. . . wait. For what? A lot of times a rejection, and most of those are form rejects. Then we say something like, "I just wasted the last three months waiting for a . . . REJECTION?"
Folks, it’s part of the business. Writing takes time. Writing takes work. Writing takes patience. I’m like anyone else: I want to get published. But, you know, I believe it will come in time. If I don’t get published tomorrow or the next day or next year, I know that it will come in time. I have to be patient and continue to work at it, get better at writing.
I’m one of those people that believe when everything is handed to you, you don’t appreciate what you have. But, if you work for it, then when rewards come, you appreciate it all the more because you accomplished something worthwhile. You were patient and let it come.
Don’t be in such a hurry to get recognized. Don’t be in such a hurry to get your work out there—a lot of times it may get out there but it may not be all that great and then what are you stuck with? Something out there with your name on it; something that you may not be proud of a year or two from now; something you will wish you waited on.
Nothing in life has ever come easy for me. Nothing. I have had to work for everything and every accomplishment. I can’t say that I am the most patient person in the world but I can say I appreciate the things I have because of the effort put into them.
I don’t like the McDonald’s Mentality. I don’t care much for the quickie attitude of our society.
I leave you with this: though the hare was faster, quicker on his feet, the turtle won the race. Slow and steady . . . and a lot of patience pay off in the long run.
Do you know what one of the advantages of hosting the Friday edition of the Blog-O-Rama is? I get to see what everyone else wrote about during the week. Yeah, I know it is kind of cheap, but I do get to see what the others are writing about and if something strikes me while reading the other posts, then I can ponder on it for a while. Sometimes my mind really takes hold of something that one of the others has written and I can’t let it go. Kind of like an old dog gnawing on a bone—just try to take it from him.
Earlier this week Erik Smetana brought up a friend of ours laying down the pen and pursuing other avenues. That friend has taken an editorial position with a respected publication and his time is going to be put to good use—and probably some abuse as well.
But, it’s a good move for him and he will learn a lot about the other side of the business and when he is ready to come back to writing, then he’ll be better equipped with the knowledge of what editors are looking for. That is gold in this business.
Now the question comes to mind and I think it is something we have all pondered at one time or other. Erik asked it in his post.
As he asked: Was I cut out to be a writer? Did I have what it takes to achieve some semblance of success? What would finally constitute success for me? Would I ever be able to realistically turn my avocation into my occupation? Am I choosing my writing projects wisely? Am I taking on too much? Not enough?
Come on, be honest with me, now. How many of you out there have thought this about your writing, or about anything in general in life? Come on, a show of hands. Be honest. Nobody? Wow. You mean I am alone on this?
Well, I would have never thought that, but it is what it is, right?
I have come to realize there is one thing about life, not just writing, that can help improve your chances of being successful. Do you want to know what it is? Really? You do? Sweeeettt.
Okay, it is simple. How many times have you heard someone say something like:
Oh, he’ll never amount to anything. I’m fat. I can’t do that. I’ll never be good at that. You suck at that.
Do you notice a theme here? They are all negative comments. If someone is told enough times they won’t amount to anything there is a good chance that is going to happen. If you tell yourself you are fat all the time there is a good chance you’re going to eat more, work out less and get bigger. If you say you can’t do something enough, guess what? You won’t be able to do it. If you say you’ll never be good at something then you are right—you never will be good at it because you won’t try as hard to succeed. If someone tells you that you suck enough, you’ll start believing it.
It’s those negative statements that are part of the problem—a significant part of the problem. Now, think about the opposite type of statements, those that encourage, that don’t tear a person down.
I can do this. I want to learn how to do this. There’s nothing I can’t do if I try hard enough. I don’t suck, I’m just not there yet. I’m not fat, I’m just big boned.
Okay, the last one is a Cartman reference and I should be ashamed of myself for that, but you get the idea. If you tell yourself you can’t do something then you won’t be able to. But, if you tell yourself you can do it then your effort changes, your mindset changes, your attitude changes. And it is that attitude that goes with you and helps drive you to be better.
I can write. I tell myself these three words every day. It’s true, whether I write good or bad is inconsequential. I can write.
I can get better. Again, a true statement. I think you can get better at anything you do with a little bit of luck, some hard work and a solid belief in yourself.
I want to learn how to be a better writer. Another truth. This is one of my primary goals.
My mindset is on the positive, not the negative. It is that mindset that I think—I know—will eventually help me be successful at whatever I choose to take on. I choose writing and one of these days you’ll know who I am. And, no, that is not arrogance. That is confidence.
Am I there yet? No. Not close. But I will be.
I asked three questions in response to Erik’s post. Those three questions I ask myself on a regular basis. Think about them as I asks them and then answer them.
Do I enjoy writing? Yes. Emphatically, YES.
What do I get from it? The satisfaction of completing something from beginning to end by pouring myself into it and working on it until I reach the conclusion I want. Sometimes I get published. Sometimes people like my stories. Sometimes I get paid. Sometimes I don’t get any of these.
If I never get published or become ’successful’ will I still be happy doing it? That is easy for me: Yes. I love to write. It is like air to me. It is my addiction (other than my wife). I can’t go more than a couple of days without writing and stay in a good mood. I get cranky when I am not penning something. My family doesn’t like me when I don’t write. Writing is as much a part of me as my skin is.
And, when I write I have that positive mindset that I will succeed at it. It does make a difference.
Back to our friend who announced he is putting down the pen. I think he is doing the best thing for him. I think his attitude toward it is the right one. I also think he’ll be back to writing one day. For now, though, I think he chose the right path. His attitude could make him successful at it.
As many of you who follow these little articles that we write for you may know that I like to write about topics that come up in +The Horror Library+ workshop over at the Zoetrope Virtual Studios. Some of the topics are really not all that great, but others are. Take for instance, Erik Smetana’s latest post on voice and style. One and the same or different? I teased Erik for taking my idea for this week’s blog and we even thought about having a good old Rock, Paper, Scissors fight to decide who would get to write that piece. I relented. Erik throws a mean rock.
However, another topic sprung up just as quickly as the voice/style topic died down. It was based on a rejection thread and quickly turned to how to write effective flash fiction. A lot of thoughts were given throughout this discussion and I would like to include some of them hear. The most important one I will save for last.
So, here we go.
First things first, let’s think about flash fiction. Most folks define it as a story under a thousand words—a complete story. This is a hard feat to accomplish but it can be done. As stated by one individual:
The hard thing about flash. . . is telling a complete story in so few words, managing to hook the reader and give them some sort of ending/resolution that sticks.
Pretty much the concept in a nutshell. Flash is writing complete stories in few words with a good hook and a resolution that works. That should also be the thought process behind writing stories other than flash fiction. Not a lot of readers today care much for the padded descriptions and the long drawn out sequences. Conservation of words has become a necessity in this day and age of attention challenged individuals or people who have just enough time to read about a thousand words and that is all.
Another gentleman put it quite nicely:
Set up. Lead In and Execution.
In flash fiction the set up has to be quick, almost instant. Without that immediate hook a lot of times the story falls flat. The lead in has to be effective, make sense and fit with the rest of the story. The execution has to be concise—no dilly-dallying or extra words. Just kind of tell it like it is.
Cullen Bunn gave a great example on one of his blog’s, and as he puts it, with apologies to the Monster Squad.
Dear Army, There are zombies. Please come. *** Dear kid, We are zombies. Signed, the Army.
Set up, lead in, execution in 15 words. Wow.
Another example of this I steal from my good friend, Molly Feese. She used the tree that Mr. Bunn set before us.
Dear God, There are demons under my bed. Please send angels. *** Dear Kid, We are the demons under your bed Regards, The Angels
The letter format works quite well for pieces like this.
Hemingway probably wrote the most effective piece of flash or micro fiction in just six words:
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.
Talk about set up, lead in and execution.
Onward we go. Another great point that was brought forward during this discussion is this:
Flash Fiction has always been an exercise in showing instead of telling, which a lot of people struggle with in long fiction, much less with less than 1K words.
How true of a statement is that? I know that I’ve often been told I am telling instead of showing, but when I write flash fiction I show more than tell. My longer works, I am sad to say, often tells the story without showing it. I hang my head in shame.
I have learned over the last couple of years that flash fiction can be great for learning how to lop off those extra words and write more concisely, thus showing more of your story than telling it. That makes it a true exercise of show versus tell.
The author then goes onto provide a link to a story he wrote titled ’Insect.’ It’s a great example of flash fiction so check this story out here:
In flash fiction, you’re pared down to the most basic pieces of information...the main thread of writing necessary to constructs the story in the reader’s mind. It’s hard to do because as a writer, you have to discard the stuff that’s really not important to the tale. . .
As you can see there is a common theme to flash fiction: Telling a quick story in as few words as possible and conveying it properly. Not an easy task.
There are a lot of venues out there for Flash Fiction. Some of them take only stories up to a thousand words, while others vary on word count. The Black Box e-anthology had a max word count of 120 words. Talk about your concise writing. I wrote four pieces for this anthology and my brain hurt when I was done. But, it was worth it—the fourth one got snatched up for Black Box and I learned a little more on writing micro fiction.
But wait, there’s more. Did you catch what I wrote in that last paragraph? I wrote four stories for the Black Box e-anthology. I wrote them based on an editor’s guidelines. The editor was really cool about taking more than one submission but keep this in mind: I wrote the stories for an editor. This leads me to what I think is the most important part of the discussion. It doesn’t necessarily mean what is important for writing flash fiction but what is important for writing. PERIOD.
I’ve noticed that a lot of readers (especially horror readers), want to be wowed. That, in my opinion, is a fact. . . Here’s the hardest thing about writing I think most writers have trouble with, though: giving readers what they want. Not other "writer-readers," but readers.
Horror writers are so worried about how to tell their story, I don’t think many of them look at their work (or other’s writer’s work) as readers and say, "Now, if I was just a reader, would I like this? Does it have the impact I would be looking for in other people’s work?" Maybe a lot of us don’t even know how to view a story from a reader’s POV anymore.
Readers are our intended audience, but are we writing for them? Well, we’re supposed to be. And I know a lot of readers, have been in book clubs and I know that one thing that disappointed a reader more than anything was "seen this, been there, oh my God, this was a good idea, but I’m so tired of the ’meh’."
Chew on that for a minute while I go refresh my coffee.
Okay, I’m back. Now, to add to that last statement was this partial response from someone I really admire in this business of writing:
I think we absolutely have to think about our readers. Your point here is fantastic (and seldom discussed, I agree). But at the same time I think we need to step back and realize that writing is a means of communication. It’s a two-way process. Even if it seems like we’re just giving them something to consume and that the writer-reader relationships ends on the printed page (or the hypertexted screen).
Are we writing for the readers or are we writing for the writers? Or are we writing for editors? How about for ourselves? Are we building that relationship between writer and reader? Are we communicating what we really want them to know? In order for us to get anywhere in this business, we have to have readers who want to read what we write.
In this day and age, it is much easier to get published and the time between submitting a story and publication has been drastically reduced, thanks to the internet and e-mail. People in the genre (or in writing in general) who came before us and set the bar as high as it is didn’t have it as easy as we do. And, often times we complain when our submission hasn’t received a response in the month to three months the editors say the turn around time is.
We learn things about writing as we work at it and we get better at it, but what about the craft of story telling to your audience. My granddaddy was a great story teller. He could mesmerize you with a half an hour long tale or astound you in just thirty words, but either way, you would want to sit through the entire length of the story he was telling. Do we convey our stories in a way that our readers will stay hooked and enthralled in every word we write?
As writers we often lose touch with readers because we study the craft, the ins and outs, do’s and don’ts of writing. Some of us have a hard time getting lost in stories and find ourselves critiquing novels while we read them.
My final quote from this thread is the following, which kind of hammers home the idea of writing and reading and partially why I think that us writers often don’t reach the readers.
Becoming a writer and studying the tricks of the trade has absolutely ruined reading for me. I still love to read, of course, but I very rarely get lost in the illusion anymore because I recognize what the writer was trying to do in certain places. I notice plotting "plants" and "red Herrings" more now than I ever did.
There’s good and bad to that, I guess. But a lot of books I might’ve loved ten years ago, are the same books I wouldn’t be able to finish today.
Definitely my loss.
One friend of mine always puts it so nicely when she reviews a story: We were readers long before we became writers.
Now, to close up shop for today, I would like to go back to the flash fiction aspect of writing. Yes, it is hard to write especially stories under a thousand words, but it is a great practicing tool for learning to be more direct and concise in story telling. However, no matter how great some of us may become or have already become, we have to remember, we have an audience we are trying to reach. That is what is the most important. As I’ve often stated and I believe firmly:
The real horror for any writer is not having an audience to write for.
I’m AJ and I’m out.
***
Quotes used from this conversation are from the following folks: C.D. Allen, Molly Feese, Eric Stark, Erik Smetana, D.X. Williams, Petra Miller, Dan Naden and myself.
The Cullen Bunn excerpt was used as an example and in no way is meant to steal from him.
It is I once again, talking about Dark Distortions. Why? Why not? It’s a killer anthology with a lot of really good stories in it. You are bound to find something in this TOMB of a book that you will love. With great authors contributing to this anthology the stories are strong, the poems beautifully rendered.
Check out the list of names in this book:
Daniel L. Naden Sarah Deckard Scott Craw David W. Landrum Mark E. Deloy Theresa Cecilia Newbill Robert Brian Newbill Jamie Brindle Eric R. Lowther Chris Morrow Trevor Price Gerald C. Matics Ralph Robert Moore Frank Sullivan C.D. Allen Ken Goldman Brandy Leah Schwan Lorne Dixon Kim Despins Michael Anthony Erik Smetana John Logan Jeffrey Buford Rick McQuiston Petra Miller D.C. Sowders Tom Miller Sophia Ahnikalish Schwan Ashley Hughes and me.
With Molly S. Feese and C.D. Allen editing this baby it turned out to be one of the best looking, best reading anthologies I’ve sat down and read.
Go ahead, asks me which story is my favorite. You won’t get just one answer.
creative