Readers Will Eat It Up

Readers Will Eat It Up

   I’m running a little late with this post. I’ve been busy finishing a few things after my great Killer Con weekend in Vegas. Sent off a couple of proposals to agents and publishers I met. Today, I want to talk about food. I’m a retired chef, so I love food. If you saw me, you would say I love it too much and you would be right. Everyone has their favorite comfort food, a dish that brings back fond memories. Mine is meatloaf, mash potatoes and brown gravy. What is it that enhances those memories – the taste, the smell?

  Our sense of smell is probably the strongest sense we have. It is part of our sense of taste. As a chef, I learned that first, you smell food, then you see it, and then you taste it. In Italian restaurants, I would carry a sauté pan full of freshly cooked garlic around the dining room before we sat out first table to whet people’s appetites. You would be surprised how many people took a deep whiff and ordered something with garlic in it.

  As a writer, I use food often in my stories. Restaurants, picnics, dinner tables, bars – all provide a good location for relaxed conversation. No action, no threats (Unless it is overindulging), no long, boring Shakespearean soliloquies. I often use foods particular to the country or city in which the story is set. A character’s choice of food can tell a lot about them, as does the way they eat it, the way they dawdle over it, or the way they play with their food. If a food can evoke memory, a good description of it might evoke a reader’s memory; enfold them more deeply in the characters and storyline.  

  Food and drink can be weapons – poison, or provide comic relief – food fights, spilling a plate, etc. Food can distinguish class and upbringing more poignantly than dress; Peasant or simple food as opposed to lavish meals, eating with the fingers as opposed to using a knife and fork, eating to satisfy or devouring to excess, eating food or consuming human flesh (For you zombie lovers).

  Matched closely with food is drink. Whether a character prefers water, tea, wine, beer, ale, or liquor can tell a lot about them, as does drinking to excess or sipping slowly. Characters like Rooster Cogburn in the movie True Grit would not have been the same as a teetotaler. Certainly, a sober Pap Finn would have sent The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin spinning off in a different direction. A besotted Otis, the town drunk, in Andy Griffin or Falstaff in Henry IV provided comic relief; whereas, Nicholas cage in Leaving Las Vegas was just the opposite, a determined drunk set on self extinction.

  Try whipping up a little repast in your writing and see if it adds depth to your story or character.

Killer Con III

Killer Con III

Killer Con II is coming up Sept. 22-25 at the Stratosphere in glitzy Las Vegas, NV. As someone who has attended the two prior Killer Cons, I suggest you make it if at all possible. The list of Guests of Honor is a Who’s Who of horror – Jonathan Maberry, Jack Ketchum, Ray Garton, Edward Lee, Jeff Mariotte and Monica S. Kuebler. Just being in the presence of these greats will make you a better writer.

All the slots for the Mort Castle Writer’s Workshop are filled, but those lucky enough to be included in this golden opportunity will come away better prepared for the task of writing the next new best seller. The list of panels and speakers is awesome, including a blood spatter demonstration by a forensics expert. I’m not sure where the blood is coming from but I wouldn’t volunteer. After all, these are horror writers and blood is their medium.

Readings galore by some of today’s top writers and pitch sessions with editors, agents and publishers provided an excellent chance to pitch your latest work. A panel seminar on the proper way to pitch before the sessions allow the pitchers to hone their skills for the pitchees. My advice – be yourself, be prepared and be ready to make the most of the opportunity.

Everyone should visit Vegas at least once in their lifetime. At night, the kilowatts of neon lights is enough to attract zombies from three states and moths from other worlds. It is Mothra’s favorite haunt, second only to Tokyo. Nearby Lake Mead is worth the visit and driving across the new arch bridge at Hoover Dam provides a damn good view (Sorry for the pun) of the Colorado River, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

I attended the World Horror Convention in Austin, TX this year. Killer Con is smaller and allows the attendee a more relaxed setting for meeting old friends, making new ones and rubbing elbows with idols. The legendary parties loosen everyone up. Don’t be afraid to walk up to someone and start a conversation. Just don’t start pitching your novel. Make friends. Ask advice.

If you show up at Killer Con, look me up. If I haven’t lost all my money, I’ll buy you a beer.

Coloring Outside the Lines

Coloring Outside the Lines

I admit I’m lousy with colors. A touch of blue-green and red-brown blindness, poor night vision – I would never be able to tell the arrival of dawn the old Middle Eastern nomad way by seeing the difference between a white and a gray goat hair. Yet colors play an important part in our everyday life. Red lights, green lights, yellow caution cones, black armbands for mourning. Colors play a key role in our writing as well.

In horror especially, black, red and their varying hues are significant colors for setting and foreshadowing. Crimson blood, fiery red eyes, ebony shadows, charcoal dusk each evoke a specific memory, allowing the reader to better visualize the scene and mood. Other colors elicit similar responses, such as the pure innocence of white, the coolness of blue or aqua, the serene pastoral quality of green and the earthiness of brown.

I also colored outside the lines as a child. I wasn’t spastic. I saw lines as a challenge to my imagination, too confining. By moving outside the lines, I could change the drawn shapes presented in the coloring book, make them different; make them my own. Writers can do that as well.    

In some cultures, white is the color of mourning, not black. In Korea, a white wedding would raise eyebrows and maybe a few ancestral spirits. Most people see the devil as red, yet the Pope and Cardinals wear red robes. I’m sure it has something to do with the blood of Christ or a tribute to radishes or something but it still looks scary to me. (My apologies to Catholics.)

Green Slime, the Hulk, the Green Goblin vs. the Green Hornet and the Green Lantern. Same color, different visuals, good and bad. Most ghosts (They say) appear white. I’m not sure why unless ectoplasm is made of tapioca. Why not a black ghost? It sure would be difficult to spot at night. Add a splash of royal purple to a peasant character to hint that he might have visions of grandeur. Build new worlds – brown skies, blue grass, and yellow seas. Remove the usual, expected crutches colors provide the reader and force them to create new ones, to pay closer attention to details. In one of my novels, Oracle of Delphi, there are three suns, each a different color. The interplay of shadows and lighting was difficult to keep straight, but it provides a striking background.

In Moby Dick, the titular whale was white, the color of purity but in this case, was the whale evil or was Ahab. Certainly, it was no ghost whale. The gold coin Ahab nailed to the weathered mast would have gleamed in the sun like a jewel, beckoning the crew and riveting their minds, tempting them from their original goal of harvesting oil. The crew was a mixture of stalwart New England Christians and heathens, yet in the end, it was difficult to tell the difference among all the bloodlust. Killing whales was seen as God’s work, providing oil for lamps, but Ahab abandoned God in his desire for revenge. In the end, God abandoned him.

Be bold. Experiment with color. Subtle shading can create new settings or foreshadow events. Try coloring outside the lines.

Is Anybody Out There?

            Is Anybody Out There?

            Writing is a lonely business. You may be surrounded by kids, pets, your significant other or God knows what else, but when you’re writing, you’re alone. It’s just you, your computer (Or typewriter) and your imagination. Perhaps like me, you keep a Random House College Thesaurus handy but no matter how long you stare at it, it won’t talk to you. This can be very intimidating, especially to a novice writer. Most people immerse themselves in the stimuli of life – conversations, music, Play Station, television. Letting it all go and sitting quietly, allowing your mind to wander the Fields of Elysium can unearth hidden demons or rough diamonds needing only a little polishing to shine.

            At conventions, most writers I meet seem the gregarious type, a few too gregarious perhaps, but eager to talk. Alone, the words have to speak for you. Your characters become extensions of your id, your ego. What they say and how they say it reveals as much about the writer as the character. It’s called Voice and we all have it even if it seems all too quiet much of the time. Good Voice grabs the reader’s attention and holds it throughout the story, much like a good oral storyteller, a traveling bard.

            Words are the building blocks of writing, sentence structure and syntax the mortar, but Voice is the architect, the designer deciding what the building looks like. There have been many great classic Architects – Sturgeon, King, Silverberg, and some new ones – Maberry, Lansdale, and Boston. Each has mastered Voice, using it as a surgeon might wield a scalpel, deftly slicing through layers of fantasy, allowing the reader’s mind to explore depths otherwise impossible to experience.

            I grew up in the Deep South – Mississippi and spent 20-plus years in Atlanta. In spite of years in Chicago and Pennsylvania, I speak with a drawl and sometimes catch myself writing with one. Sometimes it’s colorful but often a hindrance, but I have to use it. It’s who I am. So is my history. Where you grew up, what you do for a living (I assume you don’t make a living as a writer), what your life experiences have been all create your Voice. It is the best tool a writer has to put a piece of themselves onto paper.

            I began by talking about loneliness and it is a lonely business. Some writers work in a vacuum, never going to conventions, never attending signings. I can’t. I crave people, not crowds, people. They are the stuff of my stories. Their speech, their mannerisms, their follies, their triumph all become paint for my canvas. Later, alone at my desk, they fill the lonely wanderings of my imagination as I carefully strip them of what they were and create a new being from their rough clay, a character for my story.

            Like the lonely Maytag repairman, writing is a lonely craft. A writer’s ultimate goal is to get one of his/her creations into the public’s hands, to see his/her imagination’s fruit enjoyed by others. Then, it’s back to their lonely world. If, like me, you’re a hermit at heart, it’s not so bad. Keep on writing. Discover your Voice. Use it wisely. Use it together for all mankind.

Making the Most of Your Opportunities

            Making the most of your opportunities.

            I recently attended a reading at a Tucson bookstore with a dozen other authors representing several genres. There was hardly anyone else there and I erroneously assumed I was in for a boring couple of hours. I was pleasantly surprised that many of the authors had good-looking novels or non-fiction books to highlight. The time passed quickly. Not only did I meet a few fellow authors and insure goodwill with a local bookstore, I also met a man who writes reviews for Amazon.com. He enjoyed my reading from Hell Rig and assured me of a good review if I sent him an e-copy for review. I certainly will.

            Exposure (Other than forgetting to zip your fly) is golden and often difficult to guarantee. Like most writers, paying for exposure can be costly and risky. Ads in local papers or genre magazines can, but not always, produce a fair return for your investment. Shot gunning Direct Mail flyers to thousands, bombarding your friends and acquaintances with annoying e-mails and blogger posts can lose friends. Facebook, My Space (I can’t believe Justin Timberlake bought My Space), Twitter, Google+, etc. are excellent venues to present yourself first, and then your product (Remember, you are selling you, not just your most recent novel).     

            One cost effective method of advertising is to donate signed copies of your books to local charity events, libraries, schools, or American Legions. I have often gotten front-page exposure by local papers at such events. Send copies to troops overseas or area National Guardsmen stationed overseas and invite local base commanders and the press to the event. I have sold more copies at American Legion events and posts than at bookstores and I write horror.

            Keep business cards and bookmarks on hand with your e-mail address and website prominently displayed. Leave them at bookstores, conventions, airport waiting rooms, etc. The cost is minimal.

            Lastly, but most importantly, build relationships with people in the social media. Do not look at them as potential customers, but as friends. Even if they do not buy your book, they might recommend it to friends or mention it on their blog or website. I choose people I know from conventions, Facebook or Yahoo Groups and promote their latest novel as my Pick of the Week on my website. I do not know if it promotes sales, but I do know people see it.

            When opportunity knocks, do not rush to hide your paraphernalia. (Ha! A little drug humor). Open the door wide and smile.       

Revision Blues

Revision Blues

You’ve written the perfect novel. It is a combination of E. Hemmingway, S. King and B. Potter. You have dreams of six-figure advances and the New York Times Top Ten. Congratulations! I hope you make it. Maybe you will, but don’t send that love child off to the publishers yet. It’s time to really start writing, or rewriting.

It’s called revision or editing and it sucks big time. Every writer approaches it differently but no one enjoys the laborious process of poring over your novel (Or short story) line-by-line, page-by- page, character-by-character. It’s more fun to write. That’s why we write, isn’t it?

I just received a rejection for one of my novels, Blood Lust, but it was a good rejection letter. They loved the story but pointed out a flow problem in chapter six, informing me politely that if I wished to correct the problem and resubmit they would be pleased. (Would I?) Was I angry? I had revised and edited the story several times before submitting. How could they believe there were errors?

There were. I had made the ultimate error in writing. I had read and edited my beloved child with my heart and not my eyes. Editors are heartless, ruthless, vile creatures lurking in musty basements, surviving on errors and spitting out facsimiles of your original novel. (They’re not really but that’s how it seems. They are an integral part of the team.)

There are several steps to editing. Here’s how I do it. (Now)

      1.     Set your novel aside for a while, as long as possible. Then read it again. Does it still strike horror in your heart or make your heart dance with joy? Good.

2.     Concentrate on the Story Line, the tale you wish to tell, the conflict between characters. Is it compelling? Is it believable? (Even fantasy must be believable.)

3.     Next, work on the Pace of the story. Is it a page turner or does it plod along like the last nag I bet on at the racetrack? The best story will not survive a poor telling (Or showing – remember, show don’t tell).

4.     Are your Characters interesting or cardboard cutouts? Would we recognize him or her on the street from your description? Would we have tea with her or a beer with him? One good character isn’t a story unless the conflict is there. Each character should stand out, even the potential corpses (I write lots of horror).

5.     What about Voice with a capital V? Does the Voice add drama or tension to the story or does it sound like you’re whispering secrets to the wind? Voice needs to match the story with a dash of You, the writer thrown in for flavor.

6.     “Dialogue. There, I said it,” he said. Dialogue should describe place or characters, move the plot (Storyline) or foreshadow. Don’t use it as a convenient info dump. If it doesn’t do one of the aforementioned, drop it. It’s just filler.

7.     Grammar. (No, not Grandma) Need I say more? The best story will not survive poor grammar. Spell-check only goes so far (Believe me, I know). Look for word usage. Is there a better word than the one you used? Do you repeat words too often? Make certain each word conveys what you mean, succinctly and precisely. Look for punctuation errors or bad habits. Did you use too many commas, exclamation points, colons, semicolons or dashes? These little (Little?) things detract from the flow, confuse the reader and irritate editors.  I read very fast. I have to remember to read slowly, saying each word to myself or aloud or I tend to miss common errors – a for an, or an for and, he for her, etc.   

 Remember. Good stories do sell but great stories sell better. Editors might want your novel but see you, the writer, as a hopeless cause, not worth the time. Make the editor’s job a little easier and he or she will appreciate it and perhaps read just a little farther into your novel. Maybe even to ‘The End’.

The Art of Dying

                                                             The Art of Dying

I write a lot of horror. In horror people die, often in the most gruesome manner, at least if I’m doing it right. However, I too often read death scenes that, while highly visual, are hardly believable. I don’t refer to the old ‘There’s a monster in the basement; let’s split up and look for it’ or the ‘I know you said wait here but I want to wander around aimlessly, totally unaware and unarmed’ ploy. I mean the ‘Rip my guts out and I’ll still kill you’ ploy.

            I’ve never fought a war but I did work in several hospital emergency rooms. I’ve seen too much death and severe wounds. People rarely suffer a severe wound and drive themselves to the ER. They call (Or someone calls) 911. In cases of severe wounds, the body goes into shock. It’s a defense mechanism. Blood pools around the injury and the victim often passes out. They don't get up and fight back. The same goes for head injuries. I know Arnold S. or Sylvester S. can get beaten up, hit over the head with a metal pipe and have both eyes pulped, then find a hidden reserve of energy and defeat the villain, but most people can’t. Equally, the can get shot in the shoulder, the leg and possibly the side and still chase down and kick some ass. I'm sure I couldn't.

            Get real with your writing. I know things like that look marvelous on TV or in the movies and it might read well, but it ain’t so!

            Don’t get me wrong. I love making things up. That’s my job. But I try to get as many facts correct as I can, whether it’s location, dates, or fight scenes, before I go off on a tangent and let my imagination go wild. To me, at least, it seems more believable, unlike early comic books (Graphic novels) which depicted epic battles that should have killed both participants and any onlookers.

            I’m not naysaying writers who like to stretch the boundaries a bit: To each his/her own. Being more realistic in fight scenes, explosions, etc. makes the characters more real to me. No matter how good a shape you’re in, you can’t dodge a bullet, block a well delivered blow from a steel pipe with your forearm, or grab a thrust sword blade between your palms (Ref: Mythbusters).

            If your character is important enough to write about, he/she deserves a believable (If ignominious) death scene. Deaths, like dialogue, should serve to advance the storyline or build or change your characters. Death scenes, if done properly, can evoke emotion (Love Story), revenge (Collateral Damage), fear (Alien) or satisfaction (See Alien again). Handled improperly, it can detract from an otherwise enjoyable read.    

            One of my early mentors, Jonathan Maberry, who I still follow avidly, instilled in me the desire and the logic of injecting reality into my fiction. A careful balance between the two enhances the story, builds more believable worlds and defines character. This is especially true of location. As a Tucsonan, I’m horrified to see movies with Giant Saguaros in the background when the action takes place in Boliva, or as a former Southerner reading about a character in a novel enjoying the scent of Magnolia blossoms in South Dakota. I know I might be nitpicking here, but it distracts me, takes my mind from the read abd focuses it on the error.

            Give your characters an honorable death. Make it real.