Storytellersunplugged

I thought I’d use my first space here to mention a part of the process that my mixed up mind uses in creating fiction. Specifically, I should add, in writing novels. Novels have the curse / benefit of requiring depth of character. It’s not enough to mention Sylvia the bag lady over on fourth, if she plays an important part in your novel; you have to bring her to life. In a short story you might give a quick snapshot of her ... Read More

When Joe asked me to contribute a monthly column to Storytellers Unpluggled, I was honored. Surrounding me are some of my favorite authors. To read about their lives as working writers has been a fascinating experience thus far. I think Joe asked me to join because I would bring a different perspective to the table. I'm not a novelist, I'm a filmmaker. I'm currently prepping to direct my first film, Parallel, which I also wrote.What follows was written several months ago, but ... Read More

“Write what you know” rings like a mantra in the ears of every aspiring writer to the point of becoming tedious and trite -- don’t you think? As professional writers, if we’re any good at all, we write what we know as a matter of course; sometimes we go out and learn something new so we can write convincingly about it; and often, we pretend we know all kinds of things we really don’t but endeavor to pull off the trick anyway. ... Read More

You wake up one morning with the awful realisation that you just have to be mentally unbalanced, because, fundamentally people, this is a mug's game. Any sane person would realise the odds and tiptoe away very carefully from the beast in the corner. I grew up thinking I might be a writer, but I can't remember when and where I made that transition into madness. There was a point, somewhere.I was speaking to a guy in Germany a few weeks ago, and ... Read More

Personal history stares down at me from the wall over my computer. It hasn't blinked in six years, which means that I'm the one who occasionally has to look away. Never for too long, though – the challenge is always there, and there's only one way to answer it.In this case, personal history consists of a series of illustrations from assorted role-playing books I worked on back in my misspent youth. There's a haunting Ron Spencer pencil sketch of a ghost at ... Read More

Recently, New York's response to questions about genre and marketing is that it's all about positioning, but asked to define positioning with any degree of clarity, our "bosses" in the industry are confounded.The latest issue of SF Crow's Nest contains an interview with Eric Flint (Rivers of War; Del Rey Books). Like so many of us, he responded a trifle irritably to the topics. He said: "…objectively speaking, the distinctions are absurd. If you were to take it seriously, you’d have to ... Read More

I didn’t know I was a horror writer until somebody told me. When my publishing company informed my agent they wouldn’t accept my book, THE UNWELCOME CHILD, unless it could be marketed as horror, I was (excuse the play on words) horrified. You see, I wanted my book to be taken seriously, as in reviewed by the New York Times Book Review. Sure, the book had a supernatural element to it, but that was merely a device to illustrate the more serious ... Read More

My short story collection PUNKTOWN has recently been re-released by Prime Books, and in its new incarnation it features twice as many stories as the original. One of the stories that did appear in the original, “Face”, was a last-minute addition to the book. It was inspired by my son, Colin. Another story from that same period in my life, “John Sadness”, appeared in “Dark Regions” magazine and has been reprinted in my collection AAAIIIEEE!!!. “John Sadness” was inspired by Colin, too.Colin, ... Read More

Greetings from Idaho, which despite popular belief is not the Potato State, but the Gem State. Have you ever seen a Star Garnet? Most likely not, because the only two places on Earth this rare semi-precious gem are found is an undisclosed location in India, and in northern Idaho.Fascinating, no?The few of you who know a little about me are probably thinking I thought he lived in Washington. I do live in Washington, in a small city called Clarkston, right on the ... Read More

Blogs.Everyone does them these days, it seems. Damn, where do they find the time? And why do they do them? I for one don’t have the time to consistently keep an online diary of my thoughts, my ‘whatevers’, my exploits. Sure, it’d be fun. And it might feel good to vent every now and then to whomever wants in on my issues. Might even help my writing career some, too. Sure does for guys like Keene and Braunbeck and Mamatas, whose blogs ... Read More