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The thoughts and dreams of an old writer taking on a new genre. |
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It's no small matter redesigning your port to reflect a completely new interest. You have to be ready to embrace the unfamiliar, and let old, comfortable concepts and paradigms fall by the wayside. I suppose that's how you can tell whether you're really ready; I'm pretty sure that I am. Ready. The new handle made sense; Tyler is my name, and The Nexus Chronicles is what I expect to be the focus of my writing for the foreseeable future. The other one I looked at was Jack the Horrible, but it doesn't have the same panache, you know? In the end, I wound up going back to the old and familiar; it's just too much of my persona to abandon, steampunk or not. What you'll find here on Chasing Darkness are my thoughts, dreams, and ramblings on the Craft, my direction, philosophies, and things that make me go hmmmmm. On the port at large you'll find tales old and new, and ideas and projects that will hopefully interest the fan of horror in all its chilling forms, whether reader or writer. And if you find that my sometimes winking eye coincides with your own views, make it a part of your daily rounds. There's no telling what we might get up to! And by all means, bring your friends, especially those who enjoy the delicate bouquet of embalming fluid. Until we meet again, then, read well, and write better. Semper audax esse,  Jack
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"Planning to write is not writing. Outlining a book is not writing. Researching is not writing. Talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing." ~ E.L. DOCTOROW Good morning, poison ghouls, and I hope it finds you well! I'm good, but as always and like everyone, I'm finding myself overextended. Now, I'm retired, and if I'm feeling the bite, I know very well that everyone else is. But the Blimpster doesn't have a job demanding well over half his waking hours; what's the problem? Glad you asked. First of all, my creative juices have a "shelf-life." When I get up in the morning, I'm rearing to go. I cannot wait to turn on the computer, open up WdC, and have at it! I'm full of great ideas (in my own mind, at least) and eager to put in the work. On any given day this can last from 2½ to 4 hours before I've exhausted all the great ideas that my subconscious has produced overnight, and my brain becomes, creatively speaking, mush. This gives me on average 100 hours a month to invest in writing; the question then becomes, how do I want to spend them? Writing, of course! Obviously. But "writing" covers a lot of ground. I start every other day with a review. I initially started doing this as an obligation; I want people to read and review my stuff, so how can I ask that if I'm not willing to reciprocate? Then I came to enjoy it, and now I look forward to reviewing. The thing is, reviewing is a writing project to me, and I never half-ass a writing project. Anyone who has been on the receiving end of a Blimprider review will immediately realize that by the time you factor in reading and evaluating, this is an hours-long project we're talking about... Which means that's my writing day. So, half of my hundred hours are spent reviewing other peoples' work. Let me hasten to add what I've mentioned before: I don't view this as a claim to martyrdom, and you shouldn't either. Aside from helping other writers, which I love to do, the detailed evaluation of multiple other writers' work helps my own voice develop, so even viewed in the most selfish light possible, it's an investment in my own skill. But it's time gone, nonetheless. Sometimes when I finish a review I'm still inspired, and turn to the notes of some future project, but as our good friend Edgar Lawrence pointed out, that is not writing. The question then becomes what do I want to do with my remaining fifty hours? I want to write. I need to write. After sixty years of attacking unsuspecting sheets of paper with first a pen, then a typewriter, and finally a printer, I am in discussions with a publisher, a real publisher, to produce a series for a modern reimagining of the classic pulps. That needs to be my focus until such time as he tells me I didn't make the cut. Until then, I'm not going to quit reviewing, but I am going to stop investing chunks of time in making up things to put on this blog, and that might be permanent. Looking back at the entries here, on my previous blog Riding the Blimp (Cool name, though!), and my work on WordPress, I see that very little of this is about me personally. I invest lots of time in trying to teach beginners how to write, and setting aside my lack of credentials, that isn't necessary. Writer's Digest is available, hundreds of how-to-write-books books, thousands of blogs and websites of successful authors, and let's not forget WdC's own weekly newsletters. I'm wasting my time and yours covering ground that has already been covered, paved, and weather-sealed. And with this essay, I bring that to a close. If I don't get the series gig, then I will revisit the possibility of returning to this outlet, but for now, when I have the odd clever thought, I will post it at my favorite horror forum,
And with my forwarding address prominently displayed, I will take my leave. I usually wrap up by saying "until next time," but there very well may not be a next time, so I'll just say meet me at the haunted forum, and above all else, Read well, and write better! Jack |
| Good morning, fiends and stalkers, and I hope you've been having a productive week. For my own part, it's time for me to get serious about this blog, so I thought I'd take a stab at explaining the roots of my writing style, how I acquired them, and how they've developed in my hands. That way when you read about my writing philosophy in future installments, you'll have a much better handle on who I am in the writing sense. So, let's begin the journey, shall we? I grew up in a manless family in the 1950s, a time when Leave it to Beaver was the standard model of American families, and nobody that I knew didn't have a dad. The women of the clan did what they could, but money was always short, and a weekly event was the trip to the local Goodwill store. Early on, I haunted the "toy department," all sorts of broken and discarded toys piled in an open bin, and none of them worth the nickel they wanted for them, but I was always reading well above my level (reading was almost my superpower), and around the age of ten I discovered their bookshelves. Three rows high, if I remember correctly, and it seemed to disappear into the haze of the far distance. I found some wonderful reading there, and as the typical price for a book was 5¢, and I could usually find that under the couch cushions, I was never hurting for reading material. In the 1950s, most of the books people were donating had been written in the 20s and 30s, and it wasn't long before I encountered a genre that had begun in England a hundred years before, and seems to have had its heyday in the 1920s: The boys-own adventure. Literature for boys from the 1700s on consisted of lessons on becoming a man, and leaned heavily on attending church, obeying one's parents, and keeping one's nose to the grindstone. According to my research, boys-own adventure, dealing with such topics as deep-sea exploration, jungle treks, and the new-fangled flying machine, broke on the scene in 1855, and the collective sigh of relief let out by boys the world over must have changed the atmospheric pressure of the planet. From Tom Swift to The Hardy Boys to Roy Rogers and the Ghost of Mystery Rancho, I couldn't get enough of it! Much of it was formulaic, but they were ripping good reads for all of that, and the one that stands out above the rest in my memory is The Seagoing Tank by Roy J. Snell. In it, a yacht-size, tracked vehicle was driving across the Pacific Seabed from the United States to Asia. There was a traitor aboard, prominent members of the crew were teenage boys, and the secret part of the mission was to recover sensitive documents from a sunken ship. The science was garbage, but the action was non-stop and top-drawer, and it followed a number of conventions of the boys-own story. First, the hero is always heroic. No anti-heroes here, no internal conflicts clouding his vision; he knows what is right, and does it. Second, the villain is unambiguously bad. He has no point, no uncertainties, no qualms about what he's doing. He is irredeemably evil, either because he works for an evil government or organization, or he just enjoys being evil, but whatever the case, there's never any doubt. Third, and perhaps most important, is the women in these stories, and there are very few of them. The most common character is the stoic romantic interest, hopelessly in love with the hero, keeping the home fires burning as she hopes against hope that he'll find his way back to her. The second variety is the helpless bystander, swept up in the adventure, possibly interested in the hero, but utterly incompetent and an anchor on the hero as he attempts to find a solution to the story problem. Third is the femme fatale, usually working for the villain, who may be a distraction, but rarely figures in the action. The last type is the tomboy, often a mechanic or navigator, on the team but not much of an asset, usually filling the role of a mascot, and causing additional problems for the hero to solve. No matter her role, The Woman is portrayed as completely sexless. She may be in love with the hero, but there is never anything physical about it. These books were highlights of my formative years, but popular literature was changing drastically by the dawn of the 1960s. A new brand of savage, ruthless, cold-blooded hero was coming to the fore, spearheaded by 007 and Paul Newman's Hombre. Plots became rife with twists, surprises, and blind alleys, and the women! Good or evil, no woman could trip without falling into some guy's bed for an extended and graphic sexual encounter. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the new model, and still do, but like an old friend who moves out of the neighborhood never to be seen again, I missed my boys-own adventures. For a long time I pined away for those lost loves, occasionally taking solace in a re-reading of a forgotten favorite, but about ten years ago, or a little less, I had the epiphany: If no one else was going to write them for me, I would write them for myself. Beyond the Rails was born with that decision. They are boys-own stories, somewhat modernized in deference to the times, but boys-own nonetheless. Adventures on a blimp flying around colonial Kenya couldn't be more boys-own! There are a few more twists, an occasional ambiguous character, and the main female is the very capable pilot, vital to the crew and the plot, but she is still non-sexual. Oh, she flirts and hints and expresses occasional interest, but if she ever takes a man to her bedroom, the door will firmly close, leaving the reader standing in the hall. That's one tenant I will never violate, and I think Mr. Snell would recognize the format if he were to read it. The thing is, I started writing in this old style from days gone by, and my readers have embraced it like they've never seen it before. And now I've moved to horror. Boys-own horror seems a contradiction in terms, but that's essentially what I'm doing. Will it succeed? Only time will tell, but a publisher is interested. That will be the first hurdle, and it will probably be late this year before I hear yes or no. In the meanwhile, you have about 3½ weeks to sample "Creeper"  and judge for yourselves. And if you do, let me know your thoughts, pro or con. I'd be thrilled to hear what you think! Until next time!Semper audax esse, JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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| It's no secret that I've stopped writing steampunk, but I made many friendships in that open and giving community that I maintain to this day. One of them is with C. William Perkins who wrote the Lorna Lockheed collection. Imagine that Commando Cody was a woman. A swearing, irreverent, rebellious, gambling woman taking you on adventures with a jet pack. That's her. C.W. also reviewed "Beyond the Rails" , and writes a blog in which he expounds upon books, movies, and TV, with a special focus on sci-fi. I highly recommend a look. He doesn't blog terribly often, but it's worth the wait. Semper audax esse, JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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| This is supposed, at its heart, to be a horror blog, and today I'm going to the dark side. Inmate Blogger is a site that gives a blogging voice to convicted criminals. I don't know the behind-the-scenes details of how the site works. I assume the inmates have to earn the right to participate, and I believe their posts are sent to the site by snail mail where they are then transcribed. The posts run the gamut from those claiming they were set up to those confessing their darkest evil. There are poets on the site, and more than one novel under construction. A lot of these guys use grammar that wouldn't pass muster with our critics and language that would make a sailor blush, and some of their stories and confessions aren't for the faint of heart, but if you want horror, here is a collection of writers who have lived it. I offer one example in the link here, and if you want to see more, click on the parent site and dig in. It's quite a ride. Semper audax esse, JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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| Hello, lovlies! Continuing down the path I set out upon yesterday, I've come to introduce another old friend, Lynda Dietz. Lynda is a professional editor, but not one of the stuffy, comma-obsessed variety. She is a lively conversationalist with a wonderful sense of humor, and she has recently moved her long-running blog to a platform that will not accept comments from my primary computer; that saddens me greatly, but that isn't what I'm here about. The term professional editor means that she charges money for her services. How you feel about paying for editing as an author is your business. I will simply state that in the field of editors, her rates are quite reasonable. But neither is that my point. Lynda's blog deals with the issues faced by an editor, many (most?) of them hilarious horror stories about the expectations of prospective clients, but in between, she shares amazing bits of information, some of it insider scoop about editors and editing, and some of it distilled and highly useful tips for authors, such as today's offering on the hows and whys of dialogue. I recommend an immediate read of this valuable essay, then a perusal of the rest of the site... as long as you're there anyway, you know. And be sure to leave a comment. She replies to ALL of them, and maybe you can help fill the void that's been left in her life now that I can't talk to her there anymore! Semper audax esse, JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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| Good morning, it's me again... Or more accurately, it isn't. See, I've been contemplating closing this blog, as it takes time away from my writing, time that I don't want to give up. At the same time, I don't want to give up the voice it offers me, either, so the astute among you can see my quandary. But a partial solution presented itself this very morning. I have numerous friends, authors, that I've made over a period of years who have myriad brilliant insights into writing, but who for many various reasons, some understandable, some less so, don't want to join WdC. It occurs to me that I can stretch the time between my own posts by sharing some of their takes on this wonderful hobby/profession we all pursue in our own deranged styles. Today I present for your approval one C.W. Hawes. The poor man recently moved from Minnesota to Texas, so I imagine the weather is almost literally raking him over the coals right now. It doesn't seem to be affecting his mind though, as this talented author of steampunk, mystery, and horror offers us his take on that beating heart of fiction, the Villain. Enjoy...  JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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This week's post was inspired by a comment on the newsfeed by Jolan T. Hildebrandt  , and is something I've been meaning to address in a blog post, so thanks, Jolan; now is as good a time as any. The subject is characters, and one of the most effective techniques that writers can employ to make them compelling, and make no mistake, compelling characters are fiction. I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough: If you, as a writer, get your characters right, they will take care of everything else.So today, I'm going to discuss a fantastic quality way we can use to make a character deep, nuanced, convoluted, and dare I say, compelling: Wounds. No, not knife and gunshot wounds, but the kind we all suffer in our daily lives, from unthinking parents and uncaring bosses to thoughtless friends and tactless acquaintances. We all carry baggage from the time we were old enough to understand body language; after we begin to understand spoken language, they get deeper. I was made to feel utterly inadequate as a child, and that I would never amount to anything. Long-time acquaintances are familiar with my periods of depression, and the oft-voiced belief that I have no business doing this. Thanks for that, grandmas. Without any grounds for thinking it, I am at least partially convinced that the reason I write is to show the long-dead parents, teachers, and peers who so often called me stupid that I'm not. But I'm not here to do an exposé on my less-than-stellar childhood. Everyone has these ghosts, these inexorable spirits that haunt them, no matter how they try to banish them. They engender false beliefs about themselves and the world around them that hinder and handicap every effort they make to advance themselves in a task, or in life in general. These beliefs are almost never true, but they always make perfect sense to the person who holds them. In literary terms, these false beliefs are "character flaws," and every memorable character has them. Perfect characters are uniformly dull and uninteresting. This is where planning really comes into its own. The character that is allowed to randomly assemble herself as the narrative unfolds can't hold the coat of one that was designed from scratch with a range of well-thought-out flaws that were carefully assembled to come from a reasonable source. This is hard to explain, but an example may suffice: A hatchet-wielding Temperance Union matron is likely to have come from a strict religious background, and maybe (probably?) a home with a father that used to get drunk and beat up the wife and kids on a daily basis. But a fun-loving flapper who routinely drinks as part of her social life is most unlikely to be numbered among the stiff-shirts of the no-fun crowd, whether at home, work, or play. Yet each considers the other to be flawed. Think about where these characteristics and ingrained traits had rise, and don't give a character too many. One big one and one or two smaller ones should be plenty. For a main character, an added treat is if you can give him a secret that he would kill or die to prevent coming to light. This is more closely associated with a villain, but a hero can certainly have one, and once you the writer know what that is, it will inform everything the character does, and he will fairly leap off the page with intensity. Once the underlying flaw or secret is identified, give it full rein. The story goal, especially for the protagonist, must conflict with his beliefs arising from that flaw, and he must overcome it and resolve it in order to resolve the needs of the story. To see this in action, look no further than Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, its final scene on the bell tower being one of the most powerful in cinema. Imagine the weakness of that scene had Jimmy Stewart's character not been terrified of heights. Now make a paralyzing fear of heights the secret that a police officer is hiding, hint it to the readers, and put her in a place where the life of a hostage (a child for maximum effect) depends on her overcoming it before backup arrives, and you have your compelling character in spades. Put her on the page, allow her to fight to overcome her flaws, and bask in the epic reviews as she takes your story and your reputation as a writer to heights (no pun intended) you never dreamed of. How's that, Jolan, any value to you? Semper audax esse, JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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| "It's a damn good story. If you have any comments, write them on the back of a check." ~ ERLE STANLEY GARDNER, writing to an editor Yesterday I submitted Possession of Blood to my potential publisher, and in accordance with our agreement for exclusivity, removed it from my WdC portfolio. I actually marked it Private, and should said publisher reject it, it will return as a permanent feature. I don't like taking things down; that isn't what I'm here for. But the flip-side of that proposition is the possibility of becoming a professionally published author. That would tick a bucket-list box that has been staring at me for fifty years. I've raced jeeps, fought in a war, and wrestled with the helm of a small wooden ship through two hurricanes, but to be published is a dream I've harbored since, I don't know, twenty sounds about right. I'm self-published, and I have stories in two anthologies that are also self-published. I tell people I'm an author that can be found on Amazon, but those aren't really quite the same. And now I'm this close... So, how do you handle anxiety? I got up this morning, and as I always do, checked my email to see whether anything important needed to be dealt with. It didn't. It never does, but the first time I don't check it, it will. Most notably, I didn't see my publisher's name with a gushing testimonial about the wonder of my prose and the depth of my characters. I know, it's been six hours, and he's entertaining submissions for books six months out and more. I should expect an answer in September, or maybe October; what a lovely birthday present that would make! That's the rational adult side of my brain talking; the emotional child side is like a kid waiting for Christmas, and Christmas is literally six months away. It's going to be a tough wait! Here's some backstory: I met this managing editor in a writing group on Facebook. He read an early draft of Possession, and suggested that it was just the sort of thing he was looking for. He was working on a collection of various styles of horror set in the early 20th century, and envisioned Possession as the lead entry in an ongoing series. So he approached me, it has that going for it, and he wants a series, which I can definitely get behind, but should the first one not measure up, there won't be a second, third, or any others. But if the first one does measure up, I'd best have the second one ready for him, so I'm hard at work on the sequel, "Creeper" . My rational adult says that if he doesn't accept it, I'll post them here for WdC members to enjoy, but my emotional child is quietly terrified that it will be yet another No.But life goes on. While I wait for the verdict on Possession, I continue to work on Creeper. That's nearly finished. My thought is that within another week it will be ready for comments, and I'll begin the third story, Ladies of the Evening, a dark tale of witches and sacrifices in the pale moonlight, muhaha! None of those will be wasted; if they aren't accepted there, they'll make for some fine reading here. One final note: I've never been superstitious in the slightest. I swerve to walk under ladders, and some of my best friends have been black cats, but I can't shake this feeling that if I talk about this publisher's identity, I'll jinx myself. There's a million years of evolution supporting these feelings, and I've learned to respect them, so word on the publisher's identity will wait until his decision has been made. I'll share everything about him then, whether it's yay or nay; you might just find a home for some of your own work there! Now I'm going to put this nervousness to work and go write some more on Creeper. Have you found yourself trapped in this waiting game? What are some of your strategies to wile away the days of waiting? We'd love to hear about them! Meanwhile, read well, and write better, JackWould you like to talk horror with WdC's resident masters? Become a regular at
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| Let's first catch up with some old business. If you're looking for Possession of Blood, you'd best download it. That will be submitted to my prospective publisher tomorrow, and in accordance with the terms of our agreement, will be taken down from WdC. It will be marked Private, and if said publisher decides not to accept it, I will repost it here as a permanent feature of my portfolio, but for a couple of months, it will be off the table. "Creeper" , the second story, is rapidly moving toward its conclusion, and I will soon be starting the third story, Ladies of the Evening. In other news, after being inundated by favorable replies to my interest survey, I have brought the much-discussed horror forum into being, and you can join the fun at
Sharp-eyed readers will note that I have also changed the name of this blog. It's fairly new and hasn't really established itself yet, so I feel like I can get away with it once, and Chasing Darkness sounds awfully close to Voices of Darkness. VoD is just too perfect for the forum, so the change has come here. How do you like it? Finally, I'm experimenting with a handle change; might as well do it all at once, right? Like taking off a band-aid; one and done! Nexus doesn't convey much unless you're a reader of my horror series. I was never really jazzed about that anyway, and what I'm after is some clever thing that says "horror" without tying it to something you probably haven't read, so welcome to the dark side! And that's all I've got right now. A lot has changed and I wanted to get it out there, hence this "Special Edition." I'm going to untie this blog from its schedule, so I'll be back in a few days, essentially when I have something to say. Just watch for Newsfeed updates; I'll be letting everyone know through that conduit. Horror fans need to keep an eye on both of these items, as it is my hope to fill a niche here that has been neglected for quite some time. Let me know how I'm doing! Semper audax esse, Jack |
| Happy witching hour, fiends and stalkers, and I hope it finds you . . . hungry. You will first of all observe that I have, as threatened, moved my posting day to Saturday. That seems a more rational day for horror, and it also gives me the whole weekend to gather visits from those taking a break from that real-life horror, the job. Before I swing into the rhythm of weekly posts about writing in general, and horror in particular, I want to regale you with a tale of woe. Once I understood that I would be transitioning to horror, I searched WdC for a horror group to join. I found five. The first one I went to was "The Dark Society" , which I had actually joined two years earlier when I had a commission for a steampunk horror story (which became "Sea Story" ), and was hoping to pick up some pointers. When I returned recently to become more active, I discovered that the last activity had been a year ago, and this was the most active group; I was informed when I began posting new material there that the group is on indefinite hiatus. One of the others hadn't had a comment or a forum post for eight years. President Obama was in the middle of his first term; is that still a group?So now, in my newfound interest in the horror genre and all that that entails, I find no place for horror buffs to gather. My first inclination is to form a new group, but there are problems with that. First and foremost is the fact that the condition of WdC's existing horror groups suggests that the interest to support another isn't there. There are already five groups that are being loudly ignored. Do we need another? The other consideration is that I don't want to take on the running of a group. I have created and run several, including one of the steampunk groups here, and I know only too well that to run one of quality requires much input from its administrator. My situation is that I have from two to four good hours each morning to pursue my writing interests. That's enough to write a scene or do some outlining without feeling any time pressure. But I already give up every other day to offer a review to another writer, and just like groups, I don't believe in half-assing a review. Someone has poured their heart and soul into their creative endeavor, and they don't want to hear "It sounded good, the characters were cool, keep it up." Those of you who have been on the receiving end of one of my reviews know that it is no ten-minute fluff project, so it is no exaggeration at all to say that I have given up half my writing time to interact with the other writers here. That isn't a claim for any kind of martyrdom; I enjoy it, but it takes time. I also enjoy creating content for this blog, and that takes more time. So I don't want to take on a group. I'm trying to write here . . . But there is a low-maintenance option, and some of the old salts will have already arrived at where I'm headed: a forum. So I am asking the readers of Chasing Darkness, presumably mostly horror fans, should I open a forum here for the discussion of horror in all its many and varied forms? Does it sound useful in any way? Would you readers and writers of horror like a welcoming place to ply your Craft? If I get a positive response over the next week or two, I'll set it up and see what happens, but if the interest isn't there, I have plenty of other things to do. Just so you know where I stand, I'd love to see WdC's horror fans have a place to meet and chat about all aspects of the wide-ranging genre. One more thing: I mentioned my detailed reviews, and you can see some for yourself on the Public Review page. To promote my shift to horror, I am declaring June to be Horror Month for my reviews. Priority will be given specifically to horror, the occult, and the paranormal, and to the ports of people who interact here, as I know that you're the ones who will make this new endeavor work, and those reviews will be part of my pay-it-forward project. And that's 30 for this week. I'll begin to tally the yays and nays as I put together the post for next Saturday, and I could be announcing the new meeting hall then. It depends on the response. Just as a footnote, "Possession of Blood" must, by publisher's agreement, come down on June 6th, so you have one more week to read it for free. Until we meet again, Read well, and write better!Semper audax esse, Ty |
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