Poe & Composition

I had a great conversation with my wife last night that helped clarify some things I’ve been mulling over rather unproductively of late. Looking at teachings on writing, and at how those I respect craft their tales – there is a chasm there.

When the Braveheart speech of writing tutors invariably ends with “Show, Don’t Tell” and the classic tales of Lovecraft (to name only one) are nearly all telling and tone there is a gap. Focus on the specific, and concrete creates a structure that does not always lend itself to the ineffable. It surely can be done. The best writers find that sweet spot were illustration and intuition harmonize, but the weight placed on specificity does claim its share of artistic casualties.

I had traded some of the surrealism and emotional impressions in my writing across this table in favor a more quantifiable mode of story telling. I am taking it back. It’s difficult to maintain and keep cohesive, but I realized last night that I need that to fulfill my intentions accurately. It is a simple, and perhaps obvious revelation but one I needed to have validated.

She recommended I read Poe’s The Philosophy of Composition. We got home from dinner and I was presented her heavily underlined copy of The Norton Anthology of Theory & Criticism. I read the essay, and of the valuable things within it, the following was my biggest takeaway….

“I prefer commencing with the consideration of an effect… I say to myself, in the first place ‘of the innumerable effects, or impressions, of which the heart, the intellect or (more generally) the soul is susceptible, what one should I, on the present occasion, select?’… I consider whether it can best be wrought by incident or by tone – whether by ordinary incidents and peculiar tone, or the converse or by peculiarity, both of incident and tone… for such combinations of event, or tone, as shall best aid me in the construction of the effort.”  – E.A. Poe

reinvigorated & organizized

I haven’t written fiction in a couple of months. Something derailed my enthusiasm that really shouldn’t have been a surprise. Here’s hoping I have the clarity to not let that happen again.

I’ve kept a Wiki using Connected Text to manage my writing projects for the last couple of years. It’s been useful, but lacking – likely due to my unwillingness to learn it inside and out. As my inspiration has returned, I’ve been weeding through all that info.  I  decided to rebuild the whole thing in Google Sites: a) for back up and b) for more access away from my desk.

The process has been really helpful to the creative side, going over things I’d forgotten, reviewing old notes, and getting them organized in a ways they can feed each other. You could argue this is a more caustic form of procrastination than not doing anything – I wouldn’t fight you that much on it. It is however showing me ways fragments of things once on life support may yet live again.  It’s gotten the gears grinding on how that thing in the corner may be more a novella than the short story it is today.

Anyway – it feels good, to feel good about the process again.

scattergun

I’ve been digging through old masters, rousting the black eyed hopefuls and shunned shadows I’ll need to populate the upcoming collection for Fall of Nature. The track list is starting to come together. I even found one unreleased track I have no recollection of recording. If you have any requests, now is the time to make suggestions. I’ve also found a few things that won’t be included on the release because of length or whatnot that may end up here on the site.

I had a title pretty well formulated. The title of Joseph Pulver, Sr.’s recently announced novel is remarkably similar to what I had in mind. I will defer to Mr. Pulver, encourage you to read his words, and go back to the well. Seriously, read some Pulver.

A story that was under consideration with an anthology for the last several months has been returned to the pen. The anthology was canceled, which is too bad. I was looking forward to reading whether I made the final cut or not.

More soon, probably.

That Thing In The Corner

I just started  a story that began as a vignette in 2009. I had a false start on it last year, but finally feel like I can write this thing properly. I don’t want to screw it up, so I have sat with it peeking at me from the corner of the room for nearly two years.

I carved away over half of what I’d written last year towards this end. What I have left feels pretty good. The remains are really no more than an opening. The difficult part, the part I have been afraid of, comes now.

Mythoscon Recap

Towering, primeval arachnid limbs cloaked within palm trunks, diabolical spores in the shifty guise of citrus fruit, an airport flight path spitting forth chromed Nightgaunts at clockwork intervals and a desk clerk who informed us that in the hotel courtyard we would need not worry about the DEA. (seriously – and for the record, the DEA is about the last thing in the world I worry about.)

Readings I attended:
Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire – Read three sonnets from his forthcoming 37,000 word response to Lovecraft’s Fungi From Yuggoth. Here is some more info on the complete work from Wilum’s site. His presentation was engaging and personal with some entertaining asides, really enjoyable.

Richard Gavin - Richard read The Abject, a new piece slotted to appear in S.T. Joshi’s forthcoming Black Wings II. I look forward to reading this powerful piece in print to fully absorb the atmosphere, powerful visuals and isolation presented in the reading.

Simon Strantzas – Simon read In The Air, A poignant story of grief and loss. from the recent reissue of his first book Beneath The Surface from Dark Regions Press. It was nice to hear this read as I had recently finished Beneath The Surface.

Matt Cardin – presented The Stars Shine Without Me from his collection Dark Awakenings issued by Mythos Books. This tale of alienation, the power of absent minded creativity and corporate horror was one of my favorites from his collection, and was a treat to hear read in person.

Michael Cisco – Michael Cisco is someone I hadn’t read going in, but expected I would like once I had. His reading was the highlight of the convention for me. He read, I believe, Violence, Child of Trust from the anthology Black Wings (I know it was from Black Wings, but I didn’t note if it was from the original or the forthcoming edition). It was nearly a one man show in presentation. The delivery and content were as dramatic and emotional as a I think one person sitting behind a small table could be. He was riveting and the prose infectious, I left there knowing I needed to read as much of his work as I can get my hands on.

Rick Dakan – Rather than a reading, Rick spoke of his process of writing and gathering experiences for his novel The Cthulhu Cult: A Novel Of Lovecraftian Obsession that was funny and impressive in its scope. Check out Rick’s Lovecraftian Obsession Podcast if you haven’t for some nice interviews with the likes of Wilum Pugmire, Laird Barron and others.

Panels I Attended:
Contemporary Mythos Fiction I – Featured Wilum Pugmire, Cody Goodfellow, Robert M. Price and Ann Schwader.  They gave folks like Joe Pulver, Sr. Stanley Sargent & Lin Carter a lot of love in their panel.

Contemporary Mythos Fiction II – This featured Richard Gavin, Simon Strantzas, Rick Dakan and Lois M. Gresh. This was another highlight for me (even at 9am Sunday morning). They dealt with the subtler influences of Lovecraft. Gavin sparked a great discussion by raising Alan Moore’s concept of Ideaspace. This was a discussion I was hoping to hear, and one that made a greater impression on me than simply retreading the Mythos and the minutiae of Lovecraft’s life.

Small Press Panel I & II – I was hoping for a little more vision from these panels. There was more mistrust of technology f than I expected and from some members a feeling that the major publishing houses focus on blockbuster books was a good thing for the small press. I’m not sure I agree with that, particularly that limited (expensive) books will keep their niche safe. There wasn’t a lot of talk about reaching out and trying to grow the small press aside from the Perilous Press folks who seem to have a really good perspective on what they are doing. (hmm – tried to link the Perilous Press site and apparently it’s down)

Personal Highlights:

This was the first Mythoscon, and while I suspect the organizers would have liked a larger turnout, Adam Niswander and his crew put together a great event. Adam was a gracious host, and personally stopped 2-3 times just to make sure my wife and I were enjoying ourselves. It was my first convention and his team made created something memorable.

I was able to speak with some of my favorite authors, each of whom were gracious and tolerant of me… stood next to Ramsey Campbell at the buffet… got to see the original artwork for Laird Barron’s Occultation in person… picked up some great books (Centipede Press’s table was as delectable as I feared)

I left feeling invigorated, inspired, and eager to tell stories. I’m hopeful that some of the acquaintances I made or reinforced will continue, and I’m pleased to have had the chance to see first hand the passion for weird tales is alive and well.

2010 Writing

At this time last year, I set a goal for myself – write one short story a month. If I hadn’t learned anything this year I could have done that. They wouldn’t have been very good, but I could have pulled it off. Fortunately, I did learn a lot this year, and while I don’t have 12 stories to wave around I do have a few.

Throughout the year, I continued to take classes from Michael Knost, continued to write, and read as much fiction as I could (post forthcoming). Nearly every class had me wanting to rewrite something that came before it. Now, at the end of another year of study, I feel fortunate to have a very sound tool box to draw from.

There are about half a dozen pieces that are done or nearly done, and several other fragments that class obligations (which also produced completed work) prevented me from finishing. A couple of which are closer to chapbooks or novelette’s than short stories. I am looking forward to wrapping those up in the first part of the new year .

I sent out my first submission in August, followed that up with a couple more, and currently have a couple of things out for consideration. No sales yet, but as I said somewhere before, if you see me dancing the Charleston on a flagpole at any point you can assume that changed. This coming year I’ll make submission a higher priority I suspect.

When I look at the year, I understand much better how to tell the stories my way, how to stitch together the amorphous ideas and what my muse is expecting me to convey. Gruntsplatter, all my music really, is built on a foundation concepts and themes, transcribing those into something coherent befuddled me for a long time. I’m starting to understand now.

Looking ahead to next year, that is my goal. Not word count, not acceptances, but writing stories in my voice, conveying my ideas as best I can, and applying that tool box to greater effect. The other stuff will come if I can manage that.

I need to thank the friends, family and those in the field… who have been there with simple words, first reads, and worldly wisdom for their faith and support. My wife most of all.

Next year starts with my first convention attendance. Thomas Ligotti Online asked me to do one of their member interviews (a 20 questions thing), that should show up on their boards in mid-January. I have a head full of ideas I’m looking forward to purging. If I do it well enough, perhaps I’ll be able to share them with you.

Writing vs. Music: Confidence

When are you good enough to trust that you are good enough?

I’ve had a handful of ideas floating around in my head that I have been hesitant to write. I didn’t feel I could do them justice. My confidence (at least for a couple of days now) has reached a point where I think I can attack them without squandering the ideas. I need to finalize some edits and send some things out before I start creating a bunch more unfinished work first though.

My first submission anywhere was just this past August. It surprised me how little I fretted over it. It got rejected, and then rejected two more times after that. Two pro-markets and a semi pro. In the few months since I sent it out I’ve learned things that will improve that story. Not the least of which is accepting that it probably needed to be about chapbook length all along and I tried to fight it.

The confidence is coming from what I learn, what I see on the page, and not from sales. As long as I feel good about what I am producing, I can ride that for quite a while.  I don’t have any entitlement issues around publishing. It’s a bugger, I know that. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying, but the stories I am supposed to tell are still inside somewhere and that’s where my focus is.

This perspective was born from Gruntsplatter. I was fortunate to be approached by the labels that released my records, and in each case the offer choked me. These were labels I was a fan of, respected, who had intimidating rosters to sit among. Each time I jumped at the opportunity to work with them, and each time I was stymied for weeks worrying about doing something worthy.

Until I said “fuck it” and stopped worrying about anything but the music, I got nowhere. The worst that could happen – they could change their mind. At that point I’d still have a record I was proud of. Fortunately that never happened, but by accepting that it could, I was free.

I’m trying to carry that lesson with me now. Just write well. The product spawned by the art should not be the end game. Looking through the market listings, some of them are just as obscure as not submitting at all. Throwing a story down a hole for a writing credit from a market no one has heard of doesn’t make sense to me. Do readers who aren’t also writers trying to get published even look at some of these markets? Do the writers even look? I’m not sure.

Start with the most desirable fit for the story, prioritize in a descending order and work your way back. When you run out of appropriate markets, don’t succumb to desperation and lack of discretion. That’s how I’m approaching it. Whether it gets accepted by those choice markets or not, the story still exists as a story, even if not as a product.

The time will come when the validation of being published will take on more weight. My only goal with music – for someone I didn’t know to express an interest in releasing something I’d done. I kept recording until that happened. I kept doing the music I wanted to hear and hoped I wasn’t the only one. That’s where I’m at today.

Another Record?

When are you going to do another record? I get asked this question more than any other. I don’t know, sometime, probably. I still have the interest, still have the gear. I could start today if I felt like it.

I’m so out of touch with the dark experimental scene these days I’m not sure I’d know what to do with a new record if I had one. Even as a music fiend, I question whether the “record” matters any more.  My music works better as a whole, as a record, it just does. Even for myself, listening to a single track from one of my releases feels out of context and incomplete. It’s part of something else.

The idea of recording something and putting it here for those that were interested to find is one option. Doing “pay what you want” downloads of EP or album length material is another. I’ve thought about it a lot. I could spend the 6-10 months it takes me to put something together and try to find a label for it. Then what?

Music is never going to go away, but it’s been devalued and dismissed as just another bland texture in the world’s sense of entitlement. That has passed the point of no return. We aren’t going back. I’m not bitching about money or prestige, there is none of that in what I do anyway. It has always struck me as asinine to have an ego about creativity.  I’m thrilled people have liked what I have done. I’m proud of the work, but I’m happy walking the floor beneath the rickety pedestals.

The die hards, rocking back and forth in the cratered landscape, will always listen with passion and curiosity. Those people will find the music however it’s released. I don’t know, maybe my perspective comes from disengaging with “the scene,” but I disengaged because it was becoming something I didn’t have any affection for.

I’ve always done music for myself, to give form to something in my head that I couldn’t define. Those things are there as much as they ever were. With writing, I am approaching them from a different place, but I will always need music to articulate certain things. New recordings will surface somewhere at some point, some of them will be Gruntsplatter, some of them will probably be something else. What I do with them I don’t have any idea.