WIP Wednesday: The Big Feelings About Genre

Horror this. Sci Fi that. Fantasy whatever.

This isn't the post I intended to do. I intended to go all "I think Loathsome, Dark, and Deep is about as good as it gets and my query is coming along nicely thank you very much blah blah blah."

No. I'm going to talk about identity instead.

Genre identity.

I'm a member of the HWA because being a member of a professional organization is the right thing to do. I've always felt that way. I joined the NEA when I started teaching. Do I agree with everything the NEA does? Hell no. Do I agree with the HWA's policies? Doubt it.

But I know I'm not a horror writer.

Oh yeah, I write horror. Really dark sh*t sometimes. (Nothing pleasant at all about "The Distillery" forthcoming in Necrotic Tissue.) But mostly I just bend the rules of reality. Cyborg children. Clockwork birds with souls. Dead people who are neither zombies nor vampires. Books that don't require magic words for the magic to work. Implants that make men want to eat each other. (Okay, that one was pretty horrific.) And don't forget the goldfish.

Sometimes, I look at other writer's websites, and say to myself "ooooh, look how he/she has tailored everything (graphics, words, etc.) perfectly for horror/sci fi/fantasy/what-have-you". Then I feel a little sad. "What's my schtick?" I ask.

But I know what I write. It's usually dark if not horrific. It's weird. At the best of times, it touches something universally human. At the other best of times, it's entertaining enough. I'm still working to become a better writer (read: I haven't quit yet). I want those best of times to hold hands and skip tra-la through every word, sentence, story, and book with my name on it. That's a big job.

So does lack of a clear cut genre identity really hurt? Commercially, maybe. I dunno.

By the way, Loathsome, Dark, and Deep is done. Done. Done. It's a wonderful historic-adventure-science-fantasy-horror novel. I hope you can read it some day.

With a Nod to Johnny Cash

Today's post is about writing horror. Not a how to; there are folks out there much more horrific and talented than me to make that happen. This is about writing the dark things and being okay.

I don't usually blog about rejections anymore. A waste of time, really, 'cause we all know they happen. But two I've received in the last month really crawled under my skin and laid eggs. Each was for a different story, but both mentioned bad things happened for "no reason". One rejection came from a very prominent science fiction/fantasy publication...the other from an upstart.

One rejection, for the flash story "Communion", explained (in a very snarky manner) that they wished people didn't think killing children for no reason was entertaining. For the record: I don't think killing children is entertaining. Secondly, if you've read the story (and most of you have--thanks), I think the reason was pretty clear. Lord of the Flies is a helluva good book, and a couple toddlers short of a handful get whacked in that one...but I digress.

The second rejection made me feel dirtier, to the effect of a man stalking a woman and murdering her for no reason isn't my idea of entertainment. Okay, you haven't read this story yet (and I hope you will have the chance), but the protagonist a) isn't stalking anyone; he's experimenting with his new "powers" and b) he doesn't plan on killing the woman--he's just faced with a moral choice at the end: one life for another--and he doesn't choose the woman because she's a stranger. But I still felt dirty.

"Horror writers" get a bad rap. Some of the nicest people I know are horror writers. I'm going to put that on a t-shirt.

I don't write splatterporn. I don't like to read splatterporn. I hate movies that are nothing but splatterporn. (um, Sorority Row* anyone?) Bad things happen in my stories (usually), but my goal is usually to tell a broader story than the bad things.

Look, this is life. Bad shit happens.

...and Johnny Cash makes me feel better.

*check out the trailer...didn't I see this when it was called I Know What You Did Last Summer? Oh wait--it's a remake. I want my money back.

You're Sh#tting Me?

Japanese author Koji Suzuki (um, remember The Ring?) has penned a "novella" that is published on a roll of toilet paper.

...and I'm worried about print vs. online publishing?

Read the AP story here.

Speaking of Gruesome Horror...

If you've read the discussion on my previous post, you know that I'm not much for gut-munching splatter, but if you are, The Monsters Next Door introduce The Devil's Food Anthology of Horror.

Guildelines just went up on Duotrope today, so I'm sure most of you have seen this. I just thought the timing was kind of funny, what with the discussion about horror and what-not.

I don't know if I can pull off "humans as food for some kind of monster". I don't know if I want to. Eating people isn't exactly my bit.

Peace. Or Pieces. You decide.

What Makes a Horror Story?

Simple question, really?

But does it have a simple answer?

I received two rejections in the last month that stated (and I'm paraphrasing here): not a horror story. (for different pieces at different markets--and I know the market can make a huge difference)

So what is it that makes a horror story?

I don't find myself horrified at schlock, gore, or weirdo sex, no matter how bizarre. Usually these things just disgust me. Disgust, in my opinion, is not the same as horror--but I know not everyone agrees.

Just wondering what those of you out in blog-land think.

Things I'm Not Sure About

I just finished 'salem's Lot. Stephen King is the God of Horror, right? I loved the first section of the book. Truly terrifying stuff--subtle paranoia, growing fear, corruption and rot from the inside. Once we turn to traditional vampire staking, I'm done--not because the book is dated or traditional vampire staking is bad, but something else. Something I can't quite put my finger on...

(blushes) I have to admit this is the first novel by King I've read from start to finish, and it is a fine work of classic horror. Maybe I like my horror a little "blenderized"? (crossing genres much?)

The other thing I'm not so sure about...flash horror fiction. I'm okay with writing flash (although not that good at it yet), but I really don't like reading flash. I like subtlty. I like slow, building fear and growing discomfort. I don't like "little girl standing in the doorway holding a bloody skull". Boo! It doesn't work. I'm numb to the sudden shock; I want the real, lingering dred. I want a fear that makes me worry about the real shadows, the real monsters. They're under my bed, right?