Articles archived for September 2010

There’s a stereotype about writers that’s hard to shake from your subconscious; namely, that they’re a bunch of boozy sad sacks who suffer so much for their art that they usher themselves into early, bitter graves by addiction to their vices. Jack Kerouac died of cirrhosis from a life of heavy drinking; Ernest Hemingway turned a shotgun on himself; David Foster Wallace hung himself after a lifetime of clinical depression. But these sad stories have a way of clouding the fact that, all urban legends and poetic posturing aside, many authors live long lives that end as a result of age, illness, or any of the number of causes that usually take someone. The writers listed below spent their lives creating works of art, and they lived long enough to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It’s nice to remember that art doesn’t have to exact such a high cost.

1. Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov got a lot done in his 72 years: in addition to being a professor of biochemistry, he was a titan in the sci-fi world, with his name on more than 500 books as author or editor. The epic Foundation series was one of most popular and acclaimed works, and his Three Laws of Robotics became a foundational bedrock for many of his writings. He also produced a number of history volumes in later life, examining the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians. He received multiple awards and more than a dozen honorary doctorates in lengthy and influential career. He died in 1992 after some earlier health problems including a heart attack, and years later it was revealed that some of the complications were a result of HIV contracted during a blood transfusion.

2. Patricia Highsmith

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1921, Patricia Highsmith was acclaimed for her suspenseful psychological thrillers, most notably the Tom Ripley franchise. Her debut novel was Strangers on a Train, adapted into a successful film by Alfred Hitchcock, and The Talented Mr. Ripley would go on to inspire multiple film versions. Highsmith, a lesbian, often created works with gay undertones, marking her as one of the more progressive authors of the mid-20th century. She wound up publishing 22 novels and eight short-story collections before dying of leukemia in 1995 at age 74.

3. James Baldwin

James Baldwin was another gay writer notable for tackling issues of sex and race long before others were so open about it. He debuted with the semi-autobiographical Go Tell It on the Mountain in 1953, and would go on to explore race and class and a variety of other issues with his incisive essays and fiction work. He also became active in the civil rights movement, and his 1972 nonfiction work No Name in the Street examined the movement and the death of major leaders Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King Jr. Baldwin died at age 63 in 1987 from esophageal cancer, leaving behind an influential body of work that continues to challenge and inspire.

4. L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum left an indelible mark on children’s literature with 1900’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which remains a classic thanks in no small part to the beloved 1939 film. What some forget that is that Baum also wrote thirteen sequels to create an immensely detailed fantasy franchise, and he also wrote scores of other novels, short stories, and poetry. Baum also campaigned for women’s suffrage. He died of a stroke in 1919, not long before he would have turned 63.

5. Ken Kesey

Ken Kesey was a prominent counterculture figure during the tumultuous 1960s, though he considered himself something of a lost man between the earlier beatniks and later hippies. After a small start, Kesey gained prominence with 1962’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which he got the inspiration to write after working the night shift at a veterans’ hospital. It became an instant success and was soon adapted into a stage play, followed in 1975 by the classic film version starring Jack Nicholson. He released Sometimes a Great Notion in 1964 and joined a few other counter-cultural dignitaries (including Neal Cassady) to form the “Merry Pranksters” and travel across the country getting high and being vaguely philosophical. An believer in art until the end of his days, his final major work as a Rolling Stone essay published shortly after 9/11 in which he advocated for peace. He died in November 2001 after a series of compounded health problems. He was 66.

6. Pearl S. Buck

The daughter of Southern Presbyterian missionaries, Pearl S. Buck grew up in China and spent a large part of her life there. Seeing events like the Boxer Rebellion and the Nanking Incident firsthand had an effect on her, influencing her humanitarian efforts. Her 1931 novel The Good Earth was the bestselling book in the U.S. for that year and the next, and the story about a Chinese village won her the Pulitzer in 1932. Yet her diverse bibliography includes many more novels and a host of nonfiction titles, many about China, and a variety of short story collections. She died in 1973 of lung cancer, at the age of 80, and her name remains synonymous with smart, passionate writing about justice and humanity.

7. Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison won a National Book Award for Invisible Man, his 1952 novel about what it meant to be black in America in the early 20th century. The novel is regarded as one of the best in modern literature, but Ellison was also noted for his critical writings. Shadow and Act, from 1964, is an essay collection spanning twenty years of life and reflection on culture and class. He lived to be 80, dying in 1994 of pancreatic cancer. Some of his unfinished works were published posthumously.

8. Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton died in 2008 at the age of 66 after a quiet battle with cancer. He left behind an impressive body of sci-fi and adventure fiction that probed the meaning of humanity and the cost of technological advancement. He remains the only artist ever to have No. 1 hits simultaneously in TV, movies, and books, a feat he accomplished in 1994 with (respectively) ER, Jurassic Park, and Disclosure. His career gathered steam in the 1970s and ’80s with thrillers like The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, and Sphere, and in later life he became a prominent public speaker on a variety of scientific subjects, including the complexity of global warming.

9. Philip K. Dick

Easily one of the most influential and pioneering writers in science fiction — not to mention one of the most adapted, with nine of his stories turned into films — Philip K. Dick is known for creating fantastical, intriguing worlds that use outlandish ideas to explore our own. The Man in the High Castle, set in a world in which the Axis won World War II, is a harrowing examination of authoritarian control, while stories like We Can Remember It For You Wholesale and The Minority Report dealt with memory and fate in compelling ways. Unfortunately, many mainstream audiences and critics didn’t begin to embrace his work until it was almost too late. Dick died after having a stroke in March 1982, at the age of 53, having written dozens of novels and more than 100 short stories.

10. Marion Zimmer Bradley

Born during the Great Depression, Marion Zimmer Bradley started publishing fantasy novels and short stories in the 1950s. She created a series of works set on the fictional planet of Darkover, and she also wrote myriad other works in straightforward and pulp styles, but she’s best known for her 1982 novel The Mists of Avalon, which retells the stories of King Arthur from the points of view of the female characters. The work explored the potential oppression that can come with the spread of religion, and the perpetual battle between a character’s fate and their free will. She died in 1999 at age 69 after several years of failing health. Her impressive bibliography remains some of the most popular fantasy writing in recent memory.

Thanks to Jena Ellis for allowing me to republish this post, about 10 famous writers and the different ways famous writers die, originally published at onlinecertificateprograms.org. Do you have a great post about “writing fiction” or “the craft of writing” gathering dust in your archives? I’d love to consider publishing (or republishing) it for The Craft of Writing Fiction community. Contact me with your guest post submissions or sign up as a contributing author!

What other famous writers’ deaths come to mind? What about writer stereotypes? How are you setting your own trends and defying author clichés?

Pens are one of the simplest and most magical of the devices in a writer’s toolbox. Most writers depend on them every day. Even those of us who prefer to type directly to an electronic device, like I’m doing right now on my Mac, keep the notebook and pen beside us.

I carry at least a half-dozen pens in my handbag, two in easy reach and another dozen tucked away in my laptop bag, several in my desk draw, and a whole stash in my stationery cupboard. And that’s just the most common places. I also have some in my car, some in my kitchen draw and some in the laundry cupboard. I’d keep pens stashed in the bathroom too if paper didn’t fall apart so easily when wet. I’m not ready to admit I may have a problem. Honestly, it’s a trait of the trade. Come on, fess up, which unlikely places do you keep pens handy for those random strikes of the Muse?

Each writer often has a favored kind of pen too. Any pen will do in a pinch but the pens I prefer are simple and versatile. I buy my particular favorite, blue BIC Cristal M ballpoint in packs of 120. Because they’re cheap I’m not clingy and possessive of them. I can keep them handy and don’t feel lost if I lose one. I lose pens a lot which is one of the reasons I keep so many in so many different places. Whenever I want a pen I need to be able to find one.

A few weeks ago I posed a question to The Craft of Writing Fiction readers, “What kind of pens do you prefer and how many do you think you’d buy each year?”

Like me, Alan Micheel and Sara Mosier love BIC ballpoint pens. Alan claims he only buys five each year, “unless someone steals ‘em”. His sharp BIC pens must be fancier than my handy collection because five would never be enough for me.

Melanie Crosmun loves BIC too. She buys “BIC Round Stic, black ink. The ones with the white barrel and the black top and bottom. Those are the only pens I use if I can help it, and it’s great because they’re cheap! I can’t write in blue ink for some reason. Per year I probably buy about twenty on average, mostly because I lose them or people take them to use them and then misplace them.”

Carol Marks knows how to buy pens, she buys “by the bulk” but prefers Sharpies. I’m glad I’m not alone in buying inexpensive pens in bulk. Trevor Hudgins said, “I like the cheap pens. [They're] easier to buy in bulk and not to care about.” Cammy Stevens doesn’t care about pens either. “I’ve written in the kids crayons before! Pen, pencil (though it does smudge) or just type it out. Long as it gets to the page,” she says.

Other writers are much more particular about the type of pens they prefer.

“I use nothing but a Pilot Precise V5 extra fine Rolling ballpoint pen – blue. I have boxes of them,” Jenny Michaud admits. Boxes of pens sounds very familiar and it could be what Tina Perkins needs because she likes “ones that I can find when I need them.”

Karen Jourdan needs “whatever kind of pen I can find,” too, but adds, “I prefer black ink, though… except for editing… then I walk on the wild side and use red ink.”

If you really want to walk on the wild side you should check out the latest in liquid gel ink pens. These come in a massive range of colors and and styles, including dazzling metallic gels. Tiffany Cole says, “I prefer gel ink, about any kind will do, just not the metallic.” About her favorite Pentel Energel pens, Hope Wilbanks says, “the needle tip coupled with the liquid gel ink makes an awesome pen.”

Pens aren’t the only writing tool that writer’s prefer. Some, like Jason Coplen who loves “mechanical pencils” use less permanent imprints in lead. Pencil leads come in a range of textures and can create some great tactile experiences when experimenting with writing. Pencil however tends to fade faster than ink but it’s also much easier to correct.

So what is all this talk about pens (and pencils) anyway?

Well, this month I’m giving three 3 lucky winners a one year supply¹ of their preferred pen (or pencil). That’s right, you can save on stocking your own stationery supply with your trusty weapon of choice and let me and The Craft of Writing Fiction do it for you.

For a chance to win, “LIKE” our Facebook page, invite your friends and family to like us too, and share your favorite style of pen before the 1st of October 2010.

Thank you to those readers who already shared their preferences. Because you’re such rocking people who eagerly jumped on the conversation long before you knew my true motivation for posing it I’m granting you double entries! That’s right, for entering before you even know you’d have a chance to win something you have two chances to win instead of one.

For those who haven’t answered the question, “What kind of pens do you prefer and how many do you think you’d buy each year?”, hop over to Facebook now and let me know then add your other pen-related thoughts to the comments below.

¹ “One Year Supply” is an approximate average based on the feedback from readers regarding normal yearly purchasing habits. For the purpose of setting a clear point on the exact quantity and value of the prize in this competition, The Craft of Writing Fiction will give three prizes to the value of $25USD each. Each winner will receive their choice regarding the style and brand of pens or pencils up to that value. This makes the total prize pool $75 USD.

Yesterday Kimberlee Ferrell introduced us to a creative way to eliminate clichés from our writing. Today, William Meikle visits to share six clichés to avoid in fantasy fiction writing. Can you think of others? What about for other genres? Share in the comments!

Fantasy fiction is doing good business at the moment, but there are certain situations that have been overplayed. So much so, that they have become genre clichés, and everybody knows what to expect next. If you’re a writer in the fantasy genre, here are 6 clichés you should try to avoid in your stories.

1. Receiving tutoring from the old wise man.

The ‘Merlin’ gambit, as used in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Dragonslayer and innumerable King Arthur clones. A stable boy or other similar seemingly low-born type is taken under the wing of the local eccentric. There’s usually a beard involved, and a pair of blue eyes piercing from beneath some spectacularly bushy eyebrows. He’ll say things like: ‘All of nature is one’, ‘Use the force’ and ‘You have a great destiny, my boy.’ Try not to give him a grey cloak and an elven sword. Maybe you could try having the youth tutoring the old man for a change? Or, more radical, how about having the teacher as an old woman?

2. Learning to fight.

The ‘Galahad’ gambit. The stable boy gets secret training in weaponry, allowing him to beat a seasoned warrior in his first fight. People say: ‘I’ve never seen the like before’ and ‘He is the best swordsman I have ever seen’. Now how realistic is that? A radical idea would be to have the stable boy being completely useless at weapons. How is he going to fulfill his destiny then?

3. The parting from everything you ever knew.

The ‘Dick Whittington’ gambit. The stable-hand, being under a geas to complete a great quest, must say goodbye to hearth and home. People say: ‘I must go and fulfill my destiny’ and ‘I will return when I have avenged my father’. This is usually done with a great deal of schmaltz and emotion. Sometimes it is done violently, the hero being parted from family by the villain of the piece, who he is destined to kill at the end of the story. Either way, it has been done so often that any tears you are expecting to provoke could well be due to laughter. Try to do something different. Why does the hero have to leave his family? What would happen if he took them with him?

4. Being abducted from earth to a different world.

The ‘John Carter’ gambit. People say: ‘How did I get here” and ‘You have been delivered to us in our hour of need’. This one was heavily overused in the early and mid-twentieth century by H Rider Haggard and A E Merritt among others. Usually it is no more than a ploy to get a character the writer is comfortable writing about into a fantasy situation where said character could never otherwise exist. Edgar Rice Burroughs liked it so much he even had it happen to Tarzan on occasion. And it still happens, the most obvious modern examples being Thomas Covenant and the various present day characters that Stephen King has recruited into his Dark Tower series. Maybe your hero could be someone from another dimension who gets transported to Earth? Or maybe he stays where he is, but everything changes around him?

5. The multi-race bar room.

The ‘Inn at Bree’ gambit. It happens a lot in science fiction a-la Star Wars, but it is just as common in the fantasy genre. After a thirsty day on the road, our heroic stable boy and his companions will visit an inn. Inside, there will be representatives of different races from the world created for the story. The innkeeper will always be fat and jolly, there will always be a silent stranger in a dark corner, and someone will sing a silly song giving the writer his chance to show off his invention of other-worldly lyrics. How about having a human trying to get a drink in a dwarf-only bar, or vice-versa? There should be plenty of opportunity to add tension there.

6. Discovering hidden family truths.

The ‘Ugly Duckling’ gambit. The stable boy gets to the final climactic battle, only to find that his adversary is his father/mother/brother/sister etc. People say: ‘It was kept from you to protect you’ and ‘You cannot kill me, I’m your father’. This has been so overused, it even turns up across genres: witness Luke Skywalker confronting Darth Vader for example. A variation is to have the hero find that he is suddenly a prince, or even king. This says more about the writer’s own desires than it does about the plot. Wishful-thinking fantasies do not usually make strong stories. But what would happen if the hero already knew his background, but his adversary didn’t?

The next time you read a fantasy story, count how many of the above are still in use. I think you’ll be surprised. It’s even worse in film and television, where all of them can occur in any one movie, and often do. Just look at Star Wars – it contained most of them, and still made huge amounts of money.

And that’s also why the above should be taken with a pinch of salt. Clichés still have their place in popular culture. Just don’t take that as an excuse to use them yourself. At least not too often.

William Meikle is a Scottish writer, now living in Canada, with seven novels published in the States and three more coming in 2007/8, all in the independent fantasy and horror press. His short work and articles have appeared in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Greece, Saudi Arabia and India. He also has three shorts produced from his scripts, and several supernatural scripts currently on option, including four shorts, and a supernatural thriller feature.

William Meikle
http://www.williammeikle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Meikle

What situations do you feel have become clichés in your favorite genre? Do you think there are still fresh and creative ways to write about them?

Clichés are everywhere, by their very nature. They appear in movies, on television, and slip into our writing before we can catch ourselves. In fact, cliché comes from the French, meaning stereotype – although, in context, it refers to printing presses¹, not actual preconceived notions. They are so popular because they were once witty turns of phrase, that have worn out due to overuse. Also, as humans, we use language to communicate as efficiently as possible. Clichés allow us to convey a lot of information about life in a few short words.

However, clichés make for poor writing. When a phrase has been used for so long, we rarely even hear it or read it anymore. This causes the reader to gloss over your words, causing confusion and disinterest. Too many instances of clichéd writing will make your writing boring and unappealing.

Transform Clichés Into Fresh Prose

Stop yourself when you catch yourself heading into a cliché trap. If you edit after you write, make a note to yourself that there is a cliché that needs editing out. If you edit as you go along, find a way around your cliché. Can your cliché be transformed into a new idea, just by altering a few words? Or should a new phrase be written in its place?

Examine the elements of the cliché, and decide if it is, in fact, what you wish to say. Sometimes, especially in dialogue, clichés can create a mood or indicate the origin of a character’s accent. Whenever you volunteer to let a cliché stay, be sure that there is no other way to write it. Use a light touch, and your readers will understand the impact of your phrase.

Fun Clichés to Play With

There are entire websites devoted to lists of clichés found in the English language. Some are universal, while others may be more common in certain areas of the world. Other languages also have their own clichés, which may not translate the same in English.

Here are a few clichés, and my way of transforming them into an exciting phrase. You can extrapolate your own ideas, and share them with us below!

• Never look a gift horse in the mouth - I don’t know about you, but I’ve never actually met a horse with a gift. If I were tempted to use this admonishment in a story, I might twist it around to say “Never look in a horse’s mouth for a gift”, which could be a far more useful warning for the story.
• A diamond in the rough – Again, another cliché that doesn’t quite make sense. You can’t polish a lump of coal and get a diamond. “A diamond with a few rough edges” would be more apt, but the phrase doesn’t have as much impact.
• Leave no stone unturned – This phrase was probably considered clever once. Nowadays, unless you are looking for an insect, turning over stones won’t get you very far. A guard in one of my stories might say “Turn out all the peasants into the streets!” when looking for my hero.
• A baker’s dozen – It is far easier to write the word thirteen, and takes less effort for the reader to understand. This cliché is unnecessary, unless used in dialogue as stated above.

Clichés are part of language for a reason, but can often be slashed out of your writing without anyone missing them. Don’t be afraid to play around with them, and see what can be done to polish them into outstanding witticisms. Just do not be surprised if the cliché is overworked to the point that it needs to be let go for good.

What are your favorite hackneyed clichés? Have you ever turned a tired phrase into a sterling piece of prose?

¹ The Museum of Printing: Collection
Photo Credit: 01-21-06 © Adrian Hughes

To develop a compelling character that readers will relate to we need to give him a few flaws. There are lists of traits and imperfections we could introduce and some of their problems can affect our characters, and the plot of their story, in radical ways. Our characters need to be flawed, especially our main characters, we know that. We work to give them challenges. Goodness knows I do. But have you ever written a character who is going through rehab?

I considering developing a character for a future story who is sent to rehab. As soon as my historical romances reach relatively modern times I want to give them modern flaws. What kind of rehab should they go to, though? I’ve taken a look at three different kinds of rehab to evaluate my options. Physical Injury, Sex Addiction, and Substance Abuse. What other types of rehabilitation could our characters face?

1. Physical Injury

Perhaps the most common type of rehab is physical rehabilitation. If someone has a serious injury, they attend physical therapy to restore normal movement and function to their bodies. Broken bones, back problems, weak ankles, strokes, and head injuries often get this treatment. If they had rehab in the early Middle Ages, Kiernan (the protagonist from my historical romance novel KIERNAN’S CURSE) would have been sent to physical therapy after his head injury and again after his knee was badly injured during a duel. Benen (from BENEN’S BURDEN, set 200 years after KIERNAN) undergoes a primitive type of physical rehabilitation by the woman he eventually marries, Nerys, who is determined to prove the healer’s assumption, that the duke will die from injuries received in a fire, wrong.

2. Sex Addiction

Before the Tiger Woods’ scandal broke, did you really give much thought to sex addiction or the need for sex therapy or rehabilitation? The whole idea made me think of Dr. Ruth. In the back of our minds, though, we all know about someone who can’t keep their pants zipped or their legs together. (Yes, I went there.) We tend to call them sluts, whores, gigolos, etc. In looking at my characters, Trevor (in TREVOR’S TRIUMPH, 300 years after KIERNAN) might have been a candidate for some sort of sex rehab. That is, he would have before he met and married Shae.

3. Substance Abuse

We can probably name at least three celebrities who have gone through rehab for drugs or alcohol abuse, whether voluntary or court-ordered. For a recent example, look to Lindsay Lohan. Because of all the complexities involved and the potential for underlying mental or physical disorders, I don’t know that I’ll have a primary character go through this type of rehabilitation. But there are many stories where overcoming addiction can be a powerful catalyst in the life of fictional characters.

One thing to remember is that there are many other things to consider when you decide to put your fictional characters in rehab, regardless of what type. There are layers of complexities, ranging from other physical limitations, illnesses, or disorders to additional psychological issues that underlie the problem for which they are treated. Do your homework. Talk to doctors, physical therapists, psychiatrist, psychologists, or counselors. Failing to consider additional factors can blow your credibility when you’re questioned on your research by one of those professionals.

What other types of rehab are there? Have you ever written about a character who had been through or was going through rehab? How do you think rehabilitation could add dimension to the character development of your protagonist?

Humankind has always been fascinated by the world of dreams. While we sleep, our brain processes the myriad thoughts, images, and events of our lives, and creates surrealistic landscapes that entertain us. Dreams occur during the REM phases of sleep, and are considered a necessary and healthful part of life.

Dreams can become a wonderful source of writing inspiration. The imagery from your subconscious is unfiltered by your logical thought processes, and often combine the strange and unusual in unexpected ways. Dreams are often emotionally evocative, which is why you may wake up elated, scared, or upset after a particularly memorable dream. These experiences are worth recording and incorporating in your writing, to encourage such responses from your readers.

Make Dream Journaling a Habit

Although many people don’t remember their dreams, you can encourage yourself to remember your dreams by keeping a dream journal and a lamp beside your bed. If you wait until you get dressed and get your first cup of coffee, you most likely won’t remember much at all. Get into the practice of writing down anything you remember, before getting out of bed.

You may only remember a color or an emotion, instead of actual events occurring within your dream world at first. With time and practice, you will recall more about each dream, with more clarity. Don’t worry about whether or not what you are writing makes sense. As long as you can write somewhat legibly first thing in the morning, you will be able to come back and mine your dream journal for creative tidbits.

Dream Interpretation

While dreams are very creative and inspiring all by themselves, dream interpretation can add a new layer of clarity and depth to your dreams. There are many dream interpretation books and websites available, explaining what certain symbols mean in the conscious world. Even if you don’t believe that dreams are a reflection of your real life, using dream interpretation you can come up with new plots for your fiction writing.

Also, pay attention to unusual aspects of your dreams. For example, I rarely dream in color or in audio. So when I do notice a color, or actually hear words, I do my best to remember them and see if they hold any meaning in my life. Color within a story works well as a metaphor for the theme of your story, or can simply set the mood in your setting or your character’s outfits. Audio doesn’t often translate as well into a novel, but snippets of dialog can be used from your dreams if you’re lucky enough to catch them.

Do you keep a dream journal? Have you ever used elements of your dreams in your writing? Has a story idea ever woken you up in the middle of the night?

The start of September brings with it a change of season, in the northern hemisphere leaves begin to fall from the trees and the scorching summer gives way to the cooler bluster of autumn winds. In Australia (and the rest of the southern hemisphere) we’re starting to see the sunshine again with rains easing and cloudy skies giving way to blue as spring begins. The cool weather will linger a few more weeks but already the dawn approaches more swiftly and the sunset lingers later on the horizon. Seasons change, and our writing changes with them.

The Seasonal Change Of Our Writer’s Voice

Have you ever noticed your writer’s voice change with the seasons? We spend a great deal of time at the page but the weather outside our office door influences more than the thermostat and wetgear. It influences our mood and motivation.

When the days of spring and summer bloom our mind wanders out of doors. Our bodies want to spend more time away from the keyboard and we venture out into the sunlight more often. Thankfully, the days are long and we feel we have more time to get things done, so taking an extra long lunch is a refreshing break before returning to the grind.

Sunlight also tends to lift depression. After moping through dismal days of cloud and rain many writers find new inspiration and motivation in the changing winds. Sometimes this is influenced by the fact that we are out in the world more and are therefore having new experiences and meeting new people. Perhaps the Muse ventures out more frequently when her wings won’t glaze with frost. Perhaps the warmer weather has melted the iced waters of The Idea Waterfall. For whatever reason, we’re bursting with new passion and eager to start new projects or complete old ones.

The winter brings its own advantages and disadvantages for writers. We spend more time indoors, snuggled in the warmth, and sitting still. This is conducive to writing, a pastime that is very challenging if one is in perpetual motion. Our thoughts tend to slow down, inviting deeper introspection. It’s a good time to follow set plans, to work on organization, and keep on top of tasks that require regular maintenance. The colder weather invites us to spend more time reading which is a great way to fill the well between writing and editing.

Do you find the weather influencing your moods like this or do the seasons affect you differently?

The Change Of Seasons In Story

The seasons influence us as writers but they also influence the mood and motivation of our characters. Seasons have a strong impact on story and can play a significant role in your stories plot. Have you considered which season your current work is set in? How might the season, and the natural elements and environment that go with it, influence your story?

As a reader, the season is sometimes so seamless and integral a feature that we aren’t aware of it as an entity in a story or novel. Some stories contain so little influence from the weather that they could happen at any time of year. In temperate locations the seasonal changes might be so minute that they don’t even register with the characters or affect their actions and but even these temperate climes have environmental influences that affect mood and mayhem.

Have you ever noticed yourself naturally writing your characters into weather that mirrors your own? When it’s blustery and wet our characters huddle in their jackets and curl up in front of the fire. It feels easier, more natural, to have our characters share our environment. We live with them for days, weeks, even months at a time and when the season in our real life changes it can be difficult to continue writing about the drudgery of winter when the summer sun invites us outside into the light.

How have the seasons and the natural environment and weather influenced stories you’ve written and the characters who live within them?

Fascinated by the change in seasons? Read more from fellow writers in September’s Blog Chain at Absolute Write.

• Ralph_Pines: September Seasonal Blog Chain: Life In The Fall
• Aheïla: AW September Seasonal Blog Chain
• DavidZahir: September Blog Chain Seasons
• orion_mk3: From Speaking With Dead Leaves By Van Bullock
• LadyMage: AW September Blog Chain Seasons
• semmie: Tis The Season AWS September Blog Chain
• llalah: Are You For A Season, A Reason Or Lifetime?
• hillaryjacques: Baby It’s Cold AW Blog Chain
• AuburnAssassin: September Blog Chain Seasons
• laffarsmith: YOU’RE HERE!
• sbclark: Season of the Witch
• FreshHell: Summertime
• PASeasholtz: September 2010 AW Blog Chain
• SF4-EVER: Absolute Write Blog Chain: Seasons
• T.N. Tobias: Breath of Demeter
• IrishAnnie: Blog Chain: Turning Seasons
• Proach: The AW September Blog Chain
• Regypsy: Play time – AW September Seasonal Blog Chain
• WildScribe: Blog Chain

Photo Credit: Rebecca Laffar-Smith
Photo Credit: Per Ola Wiberg

Do you write horror, fantasy, or science fiction?

What about a combination of all three? If you’re looking for publication in these genres than this interview is for you. I was lucky enough to snag a few minutes at the desk of horror, fantasy, and science fiction editor, Rick DeCost who was happy to answer some of my questions about The Absent Willow Review. The Absent Willow Review is a Rochester-based business founded two years ago by long time friends, Rick DeCost and Bob Griffin.

“Our main goal is to revive the short fiction market for this genre,” Rick told Fosters Daily columnist, Conor Makem. “When we were young, there were a few big names out there and some have slipped into oblivion. The markets for short works of horror, fantasy and sci-fi are slim, yet the interest is growing.”

Let’s find out more about The Absent Willow Review and the job of an editor from Rick.

Rebecca: The Absent Willow Review has been publishing stories online each month since October 2008. How did the magazine come to life and what inspired its creation?

Rick: Being fans of the genre we saw that the market had shrunk somewhat over the past few years. This was our way to provide another means for beginning, and established, writers to get their works out there. It’s been a real labor of love.

Rebecca: It sounds a little like The Craft of Writing Fiction which is my own labor of love. It’s wonderful to see others out there who want to create opportunities for fellow writers. The switch from writer to editor can be tricky. How did you begin as an editor and how have you honed your skills over the years?

Rick: It’s like anything else – the more you do it the better one gets.

The first few months after the magazine’s launch was a real baptism by fire when it came to honing our editorial skills. It’s now second nature when it comes to spotting the gem in the slush pile. Pulling together the stories and editing our first anthology was a wonderful experience and went a long way in further improving our skills.

Rebecca: What kind of work goes into editing an online publication?

Rick: It is actually more work than one would think. Aside from the day-to-day server activities, we are constantly uploaded new images and
editing them for presentation. On top of that, and more importantly, is editing accepted submission for publication. This includes the normal editing activates any editor must face as well as the efforts entailed in formatting for the website.

Rebecca: The internet has created all sorts of new headaches along with the opportunities for publishers. I know I face similar issues with The Craft of Writing Fiction but there is a real joy in the work too. Online Publishing is a difficult field to become established within. Many companies fall apart within months of creation. You and Bob are about to celebrate Absent Willow’s second birthday, congratulations! What advice do you have for others who might be interested in starting their own magazine?

Rick: It’s all in planning and remaining focused. Before launching the actual site there were the administrative duties that needed to be
tackled. Things like establishing the business entity, registering the domain name, purchasing hosting space, and formulating a business plan that encompassed all of the activities going forward (reading submissions, editing, site design and upkeep, as well as future plans). My biggest piece of advice would be to remain professional at all times. Especially in your interactions with authors eager to publish their work. After all, we’re really here for them.

Rebecca: Authors aren’t the only ones you’re here for. The Absent Willow Review also publishes incredible artwork contributed by a large number of talented artists. Do you accept artist submissions? What do you look for in the cover art you select for the Absent Willow Review?

Rick: We do accept artist submissions and we also actively seek out artists whose work we admire. It’s a funny thing when it comes to the artwork on the site. Although we wanted a site that was visually appealing we never expected the artwork page to enjoy the focus that it has. Art is a personal thing and we usually know immediately whether or not the piece is something we’d like to use. That being said we also try to keep good a mix of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy works in rotation.

Rebecca: With a strong horror, sci-fi, and fantasy focus it sounds like you probably read a lot of dark or complex fiction. Each month the Absent Willow Review publishes a number of new stories. What catches your eye when you’re reviewing submissions? What makes your winners stand out from the slush pile?

Rick: I really look for memorable characters. Characters are a big thing for me. I have to like the author’s voice and/or character before finishing the first page. Then there are the things such as spelling and grammar skills. When the first page is littered with spelling mistakes or run-on sentences it says a lot about the rest of the manuscript.

I also look for originality. It’s hard to be original, and I don’t mean to say that an author has to come up with something nobody has ever thought of before. That’s pretty near impossible. The one tool an author has that can set them apart is their voice and the character(s) they give life to. All in all though – it’s all about the characters. What they feel and how they react to the situation they find themselves in.

Rebecca Of the stories you’ve published, which character/s stands out most in your memory? Why do you think this character is so memorable?

Rick: Finnegan Graves (from the story of the same name) was a standout character for me. The story itself was very Tim Burton-ish and the character reflected that.

Rebecca: We recently hosted a competition about story “hooks“. How important is it that a story grips you in the first few lines? What do you think makes for compelling hooks?

Rick: It is incredibly important. As editors we can often tell within the first paragraph whether or not our readers will appreciate the work. It
doesn’t mean that stories we reject wouldn’t be good fits for another publication – it’s a very subjective business. We are fans of the genre and enjoy a good read. When you have thirty or forty manuscripts sitting in front of you it is necessary for the author to grab our attention early on. A compelling hook often entails beginning the story in the middle of the action, or perhaps putting us in an ordinary situation that
immediately has an “off” feel to it like “this seems normal but I know something is going to happen…”

Rebecca: Thanks for your time, Rick. Before we finish, is there anything I haven’t asked today that you wish I had or anything in particular you’d like to share with fellow writers?

Rick: I would like to add two bits of advice. I can’t stress these enough.

• The first is to read. Reading enhances your skills as a writer in ways you can’t imagine.
• The second is to never give up. As a great hockey player once said (I’m paraphrasing here),
  

  “You’ll never score a goal if you don’t take the shot.”

The Absent Willow Review is an online magazine that publishes short fiction, poetry, and artwork with a horror, fantasy, or science fiction edge. Check their submission guidelines and browse their published works to see if your work might be what Rick and Bob are looking for and to find out how your submission could win $50 in The Absent Willow Review Editor’s Choice Award for Published Stories.

After reading the title for this article I know what you’re all thinking. Mindy, how can you give insight on promoting yourself in the writing world when:

• You’re unpublished
• I never heard of you before
• And your only twenty-two?
• What makes you think you have enough life experience to give us tips?

All valid points and all true. However, I wanted to write these articles for one main reason; I’m learning right along side you. In order to learn with you I have to practice what I preach. So here’s what I’m preaching:

In order to become well known as a writer I have learned three very important things from other authors.

1. Have a website. A website is incredibly useful. On your author website, readers or potential readers of your work can get to know you, the author. Consider registering your own name or at least your pen name as your own domain and create a portfolio that showcases you and your writing. Your own site also helps keep your readers up to date with any new projects, news, reviews, etc.
2. Social media. I’ve found social media to be a powerful and useful promotion tool. I have had a Facebook account and Twitter page a while but never used them to promote anything writing related, until recently. Now I’m meeting many fellow writers and readers on Twitter and Facebook, especially with Facebook Groups. I highly recommend for those who have a Twitter account to read the conversation hundreds, if not thousands, of writers have each day through the hashtag called #amwriting.
3. Events. Going to events based on writing can be hard if you’re shy like me. I’m slowly getting out of my shyness because I get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there. Going to events like a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) Write In, is a great way to get to know local writers and promote yourself. As are local writing groups, conventions, and conferences. Also the good old ‘word of mouth’ is still much more useful than anything else.

Important Tip: Though promoting yourself is invaluable, remember not to go overboard. I have wasted many days by checking my Twitter account every two minutes. Anything else I wanted to get done that day, like writing, was never accomplished. Also, one of the most effective ways to promote yourself is to promote others. Share and share alike. Give back to the community and you’ll become a friend to others who will promote you too.

What other ways can we promote ourselves and our writing? How do you get the word out about what you do?

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Photo Credit: 04-15-10 © muharrem öner