How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy, & Science Fiction, A Review

As far as craft books go, How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy, & Science Fiction edited by J.N. Williamson is a bit outside the normal variety.  This book actually houses a series of essays on writing "Speculative Fiction" as a whole genre.  Whether we as Fantasy or Science Fiction writers think about it, the fact is we need what the Horror writers have: the ability to make readers worry.  The bulk of these essays will tell you just how to do that, using the fears you already have locked inside your own mind.  If that sounds scary, then you're off to a good start.  If you feel the fear in the scene, while you're writing it, then you have good odds of a reader (who is NOT in control of the story) feeling that same level of fear.

"Redream the Fictive Dream" as we learned in Gardner's The Art of Fiction.  This is a key harped on again and again by the masterful writers in these essays.  There's also a really handy list of publications for SF&Fantasy magazines (some of which are out of print now, but that's what libraries are for).  In short this book is chock full of useful bits of information beyond just craft.  These writers knew the business in 1987, and much of their advice still holds.  The biggest piece is: write the absolutely best story you can.

If you're looking for a craft book that you can nibble in convenient pieces, then this is a solid choice.  The essays by Koontz and Bradbury are always a joy to read, and some authors you might not even know have pieces that easily compete with these two masters.

Not all of us can have a mentor in writing, but thanks to books like How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy, & Science Fiction we can have something like a mentor (or a dozen mentors).

As always, thanks for reading.  Now get back to writing.

How I lost all my FB Friends, episode 7

We all have that friend that really thinks that they are photogenic, but... well, you know what's next.  One of the rules of the universe is that person has to post photos of themselves incessantly, forever lurking just below the "older posts" bar.  Waiting.
But today, instead of saying, "Hey, dude, that eyeliner makes you look like the joker -- and no, that won't get you chicks, man.  I mean you REALLY look like a spree killer.  Listen, only Johnny Depp can wear eyeliner and make ladies swoon," you can simply fix the problem for everyone.  Give them a link to this hat.  That way you gain a cool dwarf friend and NOBODY has to see your -- well, you know what's next -- friend.  Everybody wins.  

Upon the "completion" of one's first novel

Intrepid Readers,

I have recently finished typing up my first full-length novel (weighing in at somewhere over 70k words). I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. This is for several reasons. (1) I don't in fact feel the huge weight drop off my chest because (2) I have to go back and edit AGAIN. For some reason, handwriting my entire novel, reading it and then editing it while I typed did not turn out to be a magical formula for flawless writing. In fact, I have more editing than ever to do because (horror!) I enlisted the help of other people to read my novel and give me feedback. So, now I have to go through and sort out all the comments from other folks and meld them into my novel to make a more cohesive and perfect narrative, which no matter how I labor, will never be the masterpiece trapped in my head.

Apparently, I must delve into the strange world known as Networking and do research to actually sell my novel now. The books say that this is the real hard work. I'm not going to lie; I am terrified. Some agents and editors are rumored to eat men twice my size in a single bite. Good thing Writer's Digest has a list of Preditors and Editors I can look into.

On the brighter side, I now can go through and edit my fourteen year old cousin's werewolf novel. (Which weighs in at 45k words and a decade earlier than my work - quite impressive, really).

Keep on writing,
-Thomas Mercurial