Writerly Stuff: The Case for Characters

I’m a prologue and a few chapters into The Renewed now, with characters starting to take shape and gel into my new fictional landscape. One of the most rewarding aspects of the feedback I received for Lit6 was the almost universal applause for the characters. Characters are the backbone of the story – without them, the suspense and plot and outcomes are meaningless. Characters are more than mere game pieces meant to track progress across a literary game board. They’re the story-bound couriers of the author’s words – the messengers that deliver the plot and action and dialogue. Through them, the conflict arises and emotional investment is made.

Characterization need not be bogged down in wordy exposition to be effective. In fact, some of the most effective characters in horror fiction are painted with the subtlest of strokes. Take Jack Ketchum’s brutal Off Season, for example. Six tourists meet a tribe of ferocious cannibals in the Maine woods - nothing particularly innovative or groundbreaking plot-wise there. A literary derivative of 1977’s The Hills Have Eyes, right? So why, then, has this book remained so wildly popular with horror fans since its 1981 debut? Is it the visceral descriptions of cannibalism? The ruthless brutality?

No. It’s experiencing these things through the eyes of Carla and Jim and Laura and Nick and Marjie and Dan - Ketchum’s characters who we come to either love or loathe, but always root for. It’s the sign of remarkable characterization in horror when a thoroughly unlikeable character elicits our sympathies. What happens to the characters in Off Season is so unnerving because it appears to the reader to happen to real, flesh-and-blood people, not cardboard cutouts of stock fictional characters. Therein lies the genius of Ketchum’s book.

In The Literary Six, the basic story of revenge would essentially be a lifeless exercise in inventive kills without the reader being invested in the main characters of the titular group. By bringing the characters to life, by imbuing them with faults and imperfections, strengths and weaknesses, they connect with the reader. Once the reader is interested in and emotionally connected to a character or two, he or she wants to read on to find out their fates. Sure the slasher references are fun, the kills gory and inventive, and the sense of isolation suitably nerve-wracking. But it’s the characters that made the story resonate. On a side note, Jack Ketchum – a longtime idol of mine who’s as brutally honest in real life as he is in his fictional worlds – once told me he couldn’t get past the first few pages of Lit6(!). Ouch. Fortunately, the same week I received his email, Bentley Little sent me a fabulous letter saying that he loved the book and promised a blurb for the next one, taking the sting out of JK’s rejection just a smidge. (Don’t worry; still love ‘ya, Dallas. Just more determined to make sure the next one knocks your socks off!)

For the decidedly more supernatural The Renewed, the believability of the characters will be essential for the story to work. It’s tricky to coax readers into suspending their hardwired beliefs enough to make the more paranormal elements seem plausible. But without characters well-grounded in reality, it’s impossible. We’re wading into territory that’s got a haunted nursing home, after all – complete with killer plants, a dense fog as the harbinger of death, and a plot that features botanical regeneration as a twist on the fountain of youth idea.

It’s a tall order, but hopefully my characters will help me pull it off.

Writerly Stuff: Notes from 'The Renewed'

Yep. That’s the name of the new book. Or should I say the name of the first new book because there are two? Anyway, after the surprising number of emails about the last installment of “Writerly Stuff”, I figured a weekly writing column might be in order. Turns out I have more than three readers who are interested in what comes next. Go figure.

So this will become a combination of sorts – some weeks I’ll reveal tidbits about the new novels as they evolve or share insights into my writing process, other weeks I’ll offer some observations – formal and informal alike – about writerly topics. Might be entertaining, might be a big snooze. You’re the reader – you decide. If your eyelids become unbearably heavy, head on over to one of the far more ingenious and entertaining blogs listed at right where you’re guaranteed to find something that’ll hold your interest. In any event, in addition to keeping you mildly bemused or piquing your curiosity enough to actually want to read one of these terror tomes when they’re published, I’m hoping the chronicling of my progress with these two projects will keep them organized and fresh in my mind – and at the forefront of my writing endeavors.

So, on to the nuts and bolts, yes?

The Renewed is the working title for the first of the new projects. Somewhat of a departure from the slasher origins of The Literary Six, the new book is decidedly more supernatural in tone. Since I tend to envision and describe my work in terms of its cinematic counterparts and inspirations, The Renewed falls along the lines of The Fog meets Village of the Damned meets Dead & Buried meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers, maybe even a bit of The Ruins. Like Lit6, it’s an ensemble piece with a diverse cast of characters and multiple points of view, although I’m attempting more of the storytelling through a primary POV with this one. I did some mentoring work with Stoker-winning author Jonathan Mayberry (Ghost Road Blues, Dead Man’s Song) a few months back and he helped me draft a working synopsis of the entire book. Here’s a condensed version of that ten-page abstract:

The Fountains is a nursing home like no other. While the state-of-the-art healthcare facility promises rest, relaxation, and renewal for its residents, the luxuriously appointed rest home offers social worker Mitchell Ackhart, gay, forty-something, and reeling from a split with his partner of 10 years, a new job and a new beginning in the coastal hamlet of Barberry Cove.

Following an unsettling late night encounter with a mysterious fog, Mitchell arrives for his first day of work and is introduced to the nursing home’s staff - Helena Malmesbury, the stern administrator of the facility; the Reverend Linda Lawson, the nursing home’s wheelchair-bound chaplain who knows a thing or two about being discarded by society; and maintenance worker Tobey Farnham, to whom attraction is immediate and strong despite an age difference of twelve years. He receives an ominous warning from Helena to stay away from the former building that the nursing home’s residents and staff once called home, mysteriously closed years before, now sitting dilapidated on the grounds of The Fountains, shuttered behind locked doors and guarded by an odd proliferation of barbed plants.

His ill-omened introduction to the town aside, Mitchell acclimates to life in Barberry Cove and he and Tobey grow closer. But Tobey’s ties to the increasingly mysterious town and his strange sensations of déjà vu while spending time together at Mitchell’s seaside cottage become a nagging source of concern. It isn’t long before Mitchell discovers a disturbing trend in the deaths of the nursing home’s residents and realizes that all is not what it seems in idyllic Barberry Cove or the town’s old nursing home.

Cue the ominous music.

A tease, yes. But it’s something for now. In the coming weeks and months, I’ll introduce you to the denizens of Barberry Cove and take you on a backstage tour of the literary set.

Writerly Stuff: The Ying and Yang of Distractions

Ever get the feeling that you’re doing too much and not doing any of it particularly well? That’s the rut I’ve been stuck in for the past several weeks (months, if I’m being honest). My Aries ambitions sometimes get the better of me and I end up overextending myself only to scratch my head and ask myself why. If I only knew how to decompress…

I get the occasional email from readers (yes, all three of them!) asking where the follow-up to The Literary Six is. Good question. The answer: in my head, scribbled on pages of the writing notebook I carry everywhere, in a pseudo-outline on my laptop. Basically, everywhere but where it should be - on paper and in a publisher’s hands.

Truth is, I love writing and love writing all over the place. At the end of the day - after I’m done with blogs and message boards and my online magazine and non-fiction articles and short stories – I find that I’ve written tons, but none of it amounts to anything resembling progress on the next novel. I’m a runaway writer…a roving scribe…a loose literary cannon.

So how do you curb the muses? Focus literary ambitions? Discipline a meandering pen?

Shit, if I knew the answer to that, you’d be reading the new book right now.

And so I ask myself if all this extracurricular, non-novel writing actually amounts to anything. I surprised myself with the answer.

Yes, it does.

Since Lit6, I’ve tried my hand at short fiction. Truth be told, while I like reading short stories, it’s never been a format with which I’m comfortable writing. I’ve sent a few pieces out in the last year or so and gotten some valuable feedback from editors like Mort Castle and Nick Mamatas. In fact, this foray into short fiction hasn’t been at all a waste of time; one more substantial piece that clocked in around 7,500 words actually served as the inspiration for a new, post-new novel idea.

My non-fiction writing remains my most commercially-viable literary talent at present, with my gig as contributing editor at Autograph Magazine and contributions to several forthcoming non-fiction collections including Diva Complex (from University of Wisconsin Press) and The Ultimate Guide to Slasher Films (from Hadesgate/GoreZone). I’ll post more details about the latter two titles once the TOC’s are made available. My non-fiction work also afforded me entry into the Horror Writers Association (the genre’s national professional writers association) and quickly morphed into a gig as the org’s acting Secretary until at least the fall.

Likewise, the entrepreneurial aspects of my personality have been tapped with the creation of the virtual Dark Scribe Magazine and my corresponding publishing company Dark Scribe Press. And while it remains to be seen how well my business plan for DSP will fare – the company’s first print publication, an anthology of queer horror tales called Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet, is in the production stage – DSM has done quite well with over 3,000 unique visitors per month stopping by to check out the myriad interviews, reviews, and other features we’ve got up there. As much as I like being part of the genre, I also enjoy actively supporting it. My Dark Scribe undertakings have afforded me the perfect outlet.

And my blog? Well, aside from the occasional pressure it gives me to come up with something wildly clever or insightful, it too has served a valid purpose. As literary repository for those stray hairs of interest not covered in my formal writing endeavors, Slasher Speak affords a home to my slasher film fixation, my Jamie Lee Curtis obsession, life and literary chronicles, and other related and non-related miscellany.

Even message boards – irksome and tiresome as they sometimes are – have been the catalysts for expression, fresh perspectives, and new friends and acquaintances.

Now there are at least a dozen career writers who would flay me alive for what they’d deem lost writing time - rightly pointing out that had I devoted as much time, effort, and words to the new novel, there would indeed be a new novel. No arguments from me.

But you know what? I’ve been alternately blessed and cursed with a day job – through which I ascended the tried-and-true career ladder – that affords me the opportunity to make writing something I call my career-by-evolution. No carefully plotted trajectories, no stepping stones, no formal learning curves. Just lots of experiential learning and following the passion. My healthcare career followed a carefully orchestrated series of logical and methodical steps to get me from Point A to Point B. What started out as a desire to be of service to others quickly became more about attaining the position and status and finances to allow that altruistic desire. In the process, the reality set in that simply desiring to help others doesn’t mean that others will be helped, and the realities of government and policy and over-regulation stymied any creativity I brought to the table. At the end of the day, I was faced with the reality of a well-paying job through which I could affect minor change at best within an over-complicated system that cared more about dollars and sense and less about the dignity of people. The acceptance was painful, but it gave me a valuable perspective though which I now view my writing.

So writing is – and will remain - a passion for me without the constraints and pressures of having to achieve a certain degree of success by a certain time. I’ve made a conscious decision to focus less on the career aspect – plotting, planning, strategizing. I aim for nothing but to become a better writer; to learn, to grow, to experience.

To evolve.

I want to write what I want when the muses strike me and not be shackled to minimum daily word counts or constrained to one format or genre. True art…true craft…deserves the benefit of evolution – not some cookie-cutter blueprint from a book on writing. For me, it’s more about listening and absorbing advice from writers whose work I admire – and not necessarily subscribing to a “how to” laundry list from someone who’s sold a certain number of copies. At the end of the day, I’d rather have written one really great book - the product of passion - in three years and still have to rely on my day job to pay the mortgage than to have the luxury of writing full-time and putting out four mediocre books - the product of deadlines - in a single year that pay the bills. To me, that’s the ultimate selling out. Greatness will be long-remembered; mediocrity will be soon forgotten.

Would I like a career (as in something that financially sustains me) as a professional writer? Absolutely. But only on my own terms and not if I have to sacrifice the passion, the enjoyment, the freedom, and (in many cases) the quality for that career. I did that once with something I was passionate about and it became a daily grind – a “must do” in order to pay the bills and sustain a lifestyle. I am not making the same mistake again.

My writing deserves more than that.

So, for now, I’m content with my myriad distractions and the wonderful writing destinations they take me. Distractions keep me fresh…alert…open. Blog today, four pages on the new novel tomorrow…or a short story revision…or an essay on slasher films…or a book review for an online magazine. All worthy distractions within the limitless boundaries of my evolving craft.

Take your own muses off their leashes and let them run wild. The results just may surprise you.

Taylor Dayne and the Lost Interview

Just picked up Taylor Dayne's new CD, Satisfied. It's an incredible return to form for the 80's pop diva, who Billboard's Chuck Eddy recently called "the historical missing link between Laura Branigan and Celine Dion" - and, loving all three vocal powerhouses, I couldn't agree more. Among the standouts in the new set are the insinuating groves of I'm Over My Head (my personal favorite), the pop gem (and first single) Beautiful, the reggae-infused She Don't Love You, and a passionate cover of the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Under the Bridge. Nice to see a talented artist making a serious comeback bid. I'd seriously urge fans of great female vocalists and well-crafted pop music to check this one out. I predict that this CD will put her back on the musical map.

Funny Taylor Dayne story. Tracked her down back in late 2006 through her (then) reps Gold Mountain Music. Proposed an interview with Autograph Collector focusing on the new album and her long and varied career that included some acting bits in film and TV. Got the green light from her reps for an email interview - which don't always work and sometimes make it difficult for the interview to evolve as naturally as face-to-face or telephone interviews. Sent over the questions and mailed out a package of unsigned photos for her to sign that would accompany the interview. Got confirmation that she received both. Weeks went by, then we ushered in 2007. Emails went back and forth, with Gold Mountain promising me that Dayne's answers and the signed photos were forthcoming.

Finally received the answers in February of '07, but the photos were another story entirely. After several more weeks of back and forth, Gold Mountain reluctantly tells me that Dayne thought she had mailed the photos back to me, but (somehow) came to realize that a raccoon (yes, I said a raccoon) had made off with the package. The Gold Mountain rep said not to ask, and I didn't. Having invested so much time in the interview, I immediately contacted my European contact from whom I get many of the unsigned photos I use in my AC pieces and purchased another batch. As luck (or misfortune, depending upon whether you're a "glass half full" or "glass half empty" kind of person) would have it, a miracle occured on the very day the new (and relatively pricey) batch of 8x10's arrived. You guessed it. Dayne found the original batch of photos! As she herself once sang in the title track to her 1989 album, "you can't fight fate." Now, Dayne was gracious and not only signed and inscribed everything I had sent, she also sent along a signed concert DVD which was a lovely conciliatory gesture. Things were looking good that I was finally going to get this baby wrapped. Then I started to write the piece.

As I finished my intro and went to integrate Dayne's answers, I realized with sickening horror that her answers were sketchy at best. It looked as though she was either too busy or too disinterested (or, more likely, a combination of both), answering each question so briefly that one could almost hear her clipped, monosyllabic answers if read aloud. Still, I was good at layout and plumped and fluffed the piece as best as I could, stopping short of putting words into the pop diva's mouth. Besides, the pictures were lovely - and pictures are worth at least a thousand words, right? I took solace in that old adage as I came up about 999 words short.

Not surprisingly, my editor rejected the story a few weeks later, picking up on the same sense of disinterest on Dayne's part through her answers. Watching my hopes of a four-page spread quickly fade, I offered to re-write the piece, scaling it down to a "Ten Questions With..." kind of thing. No go. Unfazed, I resigned myself to another go-around, thinking that I'd re-establish contact with Dayne's folks at Gold Mountain Music, explain the situation, and see if they couldn't arrange a 15-20 telephone interview with Dayne so I could flesh the interview out a bit. As established earlier, however, one simply can not fight fate; in their perfunctory email response, Gold Mountain alerted me to the fact that they no longer repped Dayne.

Figuring that the work involved in tracking down and contacting her new reps and trying to re-start this entire process would now eclipse any hope of an actual paycheck from the gig, I surrendered to the fates - the same ones that Dayne told me through song that I just couldn't fight anyway.