Dissection Preview, Getting to Know You, September Goals

This is your biweekly headsup that a short story dissection is coming later this week. Friday I'll be posting a dissection of "Less Stately Mansions" by Rob Chilson. This story was published in the July/August 2011 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. So, if you have that issue and haven't read this story yet, now would be the time! If you're not familiar with my Dissecting the Short Story series, what I will do is write up a detailed analysis of the story and what I think may have been some of the issues that the writer considered in crafting their story.  The most recent Dissection was for Dave Zeltserman's "A Hostage Situation."

Next, since there are a LOT of new people coming to the blog thanks, in part, to Rachel Harrie's Platform-Building Campaign, I wanted to have a quick getting to know you with my readers!

The Seinfeld Chain

One of my first blog entries talked about how "Writing Begets Writing" and NOT writing begets not writing. I'm really committed to maintaining the momentum I've built up in the last month around my writing. Some days it feels like the easiest, most natural thing in the world. Other days it can feel like a real drag -- the words don't want to come on a new story, the story I'm going through an edit on feels like it's just not working, etc.

So I'm looking for ways to help myself keep writing. I've already talked about one of the techniques, using peer pressure as a way to keep myself writing, not wanting to have to tell people "Yeah, I guess I sort of set that aside for now." (Again.)

Getting into the Twitter and blog world has been helpful, too. I spend lots of non-writing time thinking about writing and discussing writing with other people. There's a hazard, though, that I could end up spending all my time talking about writing instead of actually writing. That's a balance that I'm trying to carefully calibrate. (Hmm... Could that be foreshadowing of a future blog post?)

My third approach to holding myself accountable to my own writing goals will be The Seinfeld Chain.

Sunday Links : August 28, 2011 Edition

Another week has gone by and it's felt like a really good writing week. I've gotten some work done with new stories that I feel very pleased with. I wish there were more hours in the day, though...

Sunday is the day that I go through articles and blog posts I've read on the internet and link to ones that I found especially fun or interesting.

Today, I have one special link to present first. Rachael Harrie has kicked off her third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. For those of us who are working to build our networks as writers this looks like a fantastic opportunity to reach out to those who share our interests and connect with them.

Now, on to the rest of the links!

I'm Joining the #writecampaign Effort; You Can Too!

Rachael Harrie has organized two previous events for new writers, bloggers, etc. who are looking to expand their online platform and their network of like-minded professionals. She recently announced a third Platform-Building Campaign and I'm going to be taking part. This looks like a great opportunity to continue meeting new people on-line who share my interests in writing and reading. I expect I'll learn a lot from this experience. The campaign itself is a September/October thing, so this will feed very nicely into my November plans for NaNoWriMo. I'll be sure to post updates along the way here and on Twitter; if you read the description of the Campaign and think it sounds like something you'd enjoy participating in, sign-ups are still open as of today!

Six Mystery Writers You Should Be Reading

One of my favorite genres for reading is the mystery genre. I especially like private investigator stories, but read a wide variety of other types of mysteries as well. Most of my writing has been in science fiction, fantasy, and horror but recently I've been adding some mystery stories, too.

Writers almost always benefit from being well-versed in the work created by others in their genres of interest. To that end, I've put together a list of six mystery writers whose fiction I believe is of use to people who are new to writing mysteries. Even beyond that, since many of the attributes of these writers' works I discuss aren't specific to mystery fiction, they could be good examples for writers of all genres.

Rejecting Rejection – A Survival Guide

Being rejected isn't fun. Now, that sentence may seem like a great one for the “No Duh!” Files, but rejection is something that the vast majority of writers who try to get published deal with regularly.

We've heard the famous stories. Frank Herbert's novel Dune was rejected by twenty or more publishers before it was picked up by Chilton, a publisher that you may know best for their automotive repair books. Before The Firm and his other best-sellers, John Grisham saw his first novel (A Time to Kill) get turned down dozens of times. A Wrinkle in Time by Madaleine L'Engle is another classic which was rejected over twenty times before being published.  Still, knowing that well-known authors and their works faced repeated rejection doesn't remove the sting when it's our own work being turned down.

Dave Zeltserman Interview

This is a real treat! After posting last week's "Dissecting the Short Story" for Dave Zeltserman's "Hostage Situation", I sent Mr. Zeltserman an email pointing him to the article and asking if he'd like to chat about the story and his writing in general.

I'm thrilled that he agreed to do so, especially since he's got a new novel (A Killer's Essence) coming out next month, and I'm sure he's got a lot on his plate.

Michael Haynes: How did the idea for "Hostage Situation" come to you? Was it one of those "Hey, what if a werewolf happened to become a bank robbery hostage?" type of things or did it develop in a different manner?
Dave Zeltserman: Pretty much that. The idea that popped into my head was what if a guy who is going to turn into a werewolf is stuck in a hostage situation and is desperate to get out so he doesn’t kill the other hostages.

MH: Was the story essentially fully formed in your mind before you started writing it or did you start with the basic idea and see where it took you?
DZ: Fully formed.

MH: Is that typical of your short story writing process?
DZ: Yes. Every story and novel I’ve written is fully formed in my mind before I start writing. "A Hostage Situation" was short enough where I didn’t have to write an outline, but I usually have a detailed outline before I start writing.

MH: In my write-up about this story, I noted that the "Lawrence Talbot" name was a really big clue. Did you have any reservations about using that name, and possibly giving the game away too quickly for some readers?
DZ: Nope. I figured it would be a fun story for any movie buff who recognized the name, although I only used Talbot once in the story so I wouldn’t beat people over the head with it.

MH: I didn't notice any out-and-out misdirection in the story, such as giving the reader a false clue to another possible explanation. Did you consider inserting anything like that?
DZ: Nope. I never add any intentional misdirection in any of my works. I believe in having my stories and my character’s behavior and reactions have a strong sense of truth to them. For a story to be ultimately satisfying you need that level of honesty, and the twists need to be natural.

MH: The goal of the "Dissecting the Short Story" series is to help other writers see what worked for stories accepted for a "big" digest magazine. Are there any specific tips you'd like to share with writers who enjoy working in the short form and are looking to improve their craft?
DZ: I thinking you’re going about this the right way, which is reading and understanding the markets that you want to sell to. Beyond that, reading the best short stories in the genre you want to write. For sci-fi/speculative fiction, that would be writers like Harlan Ellison and Ray Bradbury, for crime, you want to read and study all of Hammett’s Continental Op stories.

MH: "Hostage Situation" is a crime/horror crossover. Looking at your other publications, it seems that you've written some other genre-blending fiction, including your upcoming novel A Killer's Essence which your website describes as a "crime novel with supernatural element." Is this something you set out consciously to do or did you just sort of stumble into it?
DZ: I’m not concerned with writing formulaic genre pieces, but instead in writing the stories and novels I want to write. Because of that my writing tends to be all over the place, from lighthearted + charming mysteries with my Julius Katz stories to intensely dark  + brutal crime noir, like with my novel, Pariah. I don’t bother with genre boundaries. My novel, Blood Crimes, for example, is a mix of noir and horror — think vampires in a Sin City world. My novel, The Caretaker of Lorne Field, which was shortlisted by the ALA for best horror novel of 2010, confounded editors, because on the one hand it’s quiet horror, and on the other it’s a parable. Same with A Killer’s Essence, which is just so different than the typical crime novel. Fortunately, there are still a few publishers (not many) willing to publish works that are different from the norm.

MH: Is there anything else you'd like to share with my readers?
DZ: I’ve gotten to know both Janet Hutchings and Linda Landrigan, editors of Ellery Queen [Mystery Magazine] and Alfred Hitchcock [Mystery Magazine], respectively, and both of them are just great, and very fair in evaluating every story that’s submitted. If you ever think that Ellery Queen or Alfred Hitchcock are closed clubs, they’re not. Both Janet and Linda are looking for the best stories they can find to publish. So while the competition is fierce, every writer has a fair shot in getting published by them. You’re going about this the right way — first understanding the market and the editor’s tastes before submitting, but also just make sure to send them your very best. And if you get a rejection with a personal note, that means you’re close, and make sure your next submission is even better.

MH: Thanks for sharing your time and your experience. It's been great talking with you!