Reading (Or the Sorely Neglected Part of Writing)

A few months ago, I participated in a discussion with a bunch of fellow writers about their reading habits. I came away from the discussion kinda surprised and bewildered. Obviously, this topic has been percolating in the back of my brain since, and I've finally figured out how and why I wanted to write this little piece.

Here goes:

To me, it should be second nature to read as widely and as varied as you can, if you're playing (seriously, or otherwise) at this writing gig. During the above referenced discussion, there were quite a few writers that claimed they didn't read much, if at all. That was simply surprising to me and a bit of a head scratcher.

My initial response to the thread was this, "An author must read, or their writing will suffer." I certainly wasn't expecting the response I got to that statement. It seemed like second nature to me. There were quite a few writers that said they didn't read for pleasure (or otherwise) and seemed to be proud of the fact. A few even responded to me with varying degrees of "Broad sweeping statements like that don't apply to all writers, etc."

When words are what you do, reading words should be a part of that process. Writing in a vacuum is not necessarily a productive way to go about things, in my opinion. I'm a reader first, I'm an author second. I read because I love it, I write because I have to. Now, everyone's reading habits are, indeed, different. For me, I read (at least) 4 to 5 books simultaneously. That doesn't work for everyone. My TBR pile is massive, there is so much I want to read and absorb and I do my best to finish at least 2 to 3 books a week. If I'm not writing, I'm reading. Absorbing the craft, learning how other authors use language, and simply enjoying the stories.

I don't read in just one genre either, that, I think, is also detrimental. An author needs to read far and wide, to absorb, to learn, to experience.

There's ton of writing advice all over the internet. Most of it is crap because it assumes a universal fit, the key is knowing what advice to take, use it, or stop clinging to it, if it doesn't work for you.

Like this blog, being a well-read author is key to crafting your own stuff


...or not :)

An advance NOS4A2 review

Here's the publisher's synopsis - 

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”

Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.

I managed to acquire an ARC of Joe Hill's new novel, NOS4A2 a few weeks back and promptly dived into it. I've been a fan of Hill's from day one, starting with his short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts, Heart Shaped Box, to Horns. Each and every outing Hill has proven he knows how to craft a great tale and inevitably the comparisons to his father have been numerous. Sure, we all know (now) that Hill's dad is Stephen King. A few of us knew before the general public and one of the reasons I admire and respect Joe outside of his writing was that he didn't rely on the King name to get published. He stood up on his own two feet and showed he can write, and write extremely well. 

Now, NOS4A2 is going to be the novel that everyone looks back at in 25 years and says, "This is where Hill broke out into the mainstream. This is the novel where Hill came into his own." I firmly believe that. This is a beast of a novel, coming in at 704 pages. It's epic, it's world-building, but it's also an intimate story about a mother. I'm pretty sure Hill knew the King comparisons would come even more heavily with the subject matter of this novel and rather than shy away from it he embraced it whole heartedly. There's even some nods to his dad's mythology, Mid-World and the Dark Tower universe. When Hill mentions a certain clown (in passing with a wink and a nod) from his dad's fiction, I let out a cheer and you will as well. Hill's world is familiar and his characters are real. They're familiar because some of us (myself included) grew up reading his dad's novels. King is a master at character development and Hill is proving he's as good, if not better, than his dad. One of the main differences, is where King peppers his fiction with pop culture references we all recognize and love, Hill peppers his fiction and NOS4A2 with his geek cred. Hill loves and knows his Joss Whedon, his Dr. Who, and any number of other geeky goodness.

Still, this isn't (and shouldn't be) a dad vs son issue, but it is, and will continue to be. Both can write, and both can tell a tale with astounding skill. 

Charlie Manx is one of the best crafted villains I've read in a very long time. Sure, he's the bad guy of NOS4A2, but Hill manages to go deeper than "he's a bad guy who does bad things", there are certain points, especially near the finale where Hill makes you feel some sympathy for Manx. And that's a skill many horror writers don't have these days. The villain is more than just a jumble of bad things, and Hill understands this and shows up Manx's past in such a way that, yes, you will feel sorry for the guy at certain points, even as he's kidnapping a child. 

Vic, or "the Brat", is a fully fleshed out character. She's damaged, she's lost, and she's human. And you're gonna feel for her during her journey in this novel. Guaranteed!

It's been two days since I read the last chapter of NOS4A2 and I still can't think of one single thing I didn't like about the book or the story. I really, honestly...can't. The best way I can describe reading and experiencing NOS4A2 is this - The first time I read IT back when I was 12 years old, that feeling of "YES!" and the first time you've fallen in love with the horror genre. That...is how reading NOS4A2 was for me. Hands down. 

Hurry up, Mr. Hill, I'm ready for your next one! 

When NOS4A2 is released on April 30th, 2013, get this book. You'll fall in love with horror all over again. 

The ABC's of Death Review

The ABCs of Death - I'm damn curious, so here goes with some running commentary on each segment :)

"A" is for Apocalypse by Nacho Vigalondo 

Dug this one



"B" is for Bigfoot by Adrian Garcia Bogliano

Should've been called "B" is for boobies 

Really did not like this one, very badly done, shot, and narrative was a complete car wreck 



"C" is for Cycle by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza 

Creepy vibe, interesting premise, kinda muddled just before the end, but better than "B". 



"D" is for Dogfight by Marcel Sarimento 

Loved, loved, loved this one. No dialogue at all, told completely with visual cues. Complete story, beginning, middle, end. Visually stunning, shot EXTREMELY well. 



"E" is for Exterminate by Angela Bettis 

TERRIBLE...ugh, where to start? Shot bad, story non-existent, horrible, obvious, badly done CGI. 



"F" is for Fart by Noboru Iguchi 

Umm, what did I just watch? 

Japanese school girls, Check. Japanese school girls naked making out, Check. Japanese school girls breathing each others farts...ummm check? 

Crazy Japanese? 

Not even a horror plot if you don't count one girl being sucked into the others ass... 



"G" is for Gravity by Andrew Trauki 

Worse than a high school attempt. 



"H" is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion by Thomas Cappelen Malling 

Dug this one. Excellent production values, great makeup, hilarious cartoony story line, and a nazi fox stripper. 



"I" is for Ingrown by Jorge Michel Grau 

Completely lost on this one, didn't get it. 



"J" is for Jidai-Geki by Yudai Yamaguchi 

Guess I just don't get Japanese humor? Completely pointless short, more comedy than anything. 



 "K" is for Klutz by Anders Morganthaler 

Animated piece this time...a girl fights with her own turd...umm yeah.



 "L" is for Libido by Timo Tjahjanto 

Another weird Japanese piece. Good production values, lots of gore, some uncomfortable implied pedophilia. 

These things are definitely getting weirder. 



"M" is for Miscarriage by Ti West 

Exactly what the title implies, a minute or so long piece, horrible camera used, shit production values, and a long, long shot on a toilet bowel. 

Worst of the bunch so far



"N" is for Nuptials by Banjong Pisanthanakun 

Talking parrot exposes a cheater...meh



"O" is for Orgasm by Bruno Forzani and Helene Cattet 

Another obvious one, with BDSM and multiple slow motion shots of bubbles bursting and apparently women blow bubbles when they reach climax. 

Man, just when I think these cant get any worse...



"P" is for Pressure by Simon Rumley 

Another piece w/o dialogue. A hooker with a heart of gold trying to provide for her kids, then some guy gives asks her to make a film and she gets paid to do bad things to a kitten. 

Yep, these directors are going for shock/taboo and not even trying to make a good, storytelling piece at this point. 



"Q" is for Quack by Adam Wingard 

Ironic piece about how the directors got Q and they don't know what kind of short to make, so they decide to kill a duck on screen, ends badly for them. 



"R" is for Removed by Srdjan Spasojevic 

Surreal piece. Doctors remove film strips from a guy (yeah dont ask) he finally escapes, pushes a train car and then collapses and then it rains blood. 

I guess it's supposed to a metaphor about how a director cuts a piece of himself to share with an audience and bleeds for his art? 

Or some shit 




I'm really starting to get pissed at some of these "directors" for wasting my time, a 5 yr old could make a better short film...




"S" is for Speed by Jake West 

Starts out with two chicks (who can't act AT ALL) running from a Vorhees wanna be. There's a nice hotrod car, some really bad, cheesy camera work, a flame thrower scene, and then apparently turns into a metaphor on the dangers of drug use...ummm WTF???



"T" is for Toilet by Lee Hardcastle

A claymation piece this time. About a killer toilet. 

I actually liked this one, and that's sad cause I only like it cause there's been such crap since the letter "D". 



"U" is for Unearthed by Ben Wheatley 

Now we're getting somewhere. A vampire gets killed, but it's shot from the POV of the vampire. A very unique take. Great effort.



"V" is for Vagitus by Kaare Andrews 

Sci-fi piece about a future where propagation is illegal, but you can earn a permit to have a child if you serve as an enforcement agent hunting down people who have illegal babies, includes a killer beheaded baby...what!



"W" is for WTF! by Jon Schnepp

*sigh* I'm not even going to bother addressing this one. So far, worst of the bunch and that's saying enough.



"X" is for XXL by Xavier Gens 

Fat girl gets made fun of, goes home and cuts all of the fat away, dies skinny. 

Oh you crazy French directors.



"Y" is for Young Buck by Jason Eisener 

Another one w/o dialogue, set to an 80's synth track. Old man takes young boy on a hunting trip, does bad things, boy comes back wearing a dead deer's head, impales and decapitates the man, does bad things to the head....

I kinda dug this one, it was different. 



- And to close out this mostly steaming pile of shit - 





"Z" is for Zetsumetsu by Yoshihiro Nishimura 

Let's see, where do I even start??? Another Japanese piece, seemingly very Anti-American, there's a Swastika, a chick with a 5 ft penis that has a knife that comes outta the end, there's a guy in a wheel chair that ejaculates rice, a bunch of naked men eating sushi, a girl fight with said girl with 5 ft rubber penis, penis gets sliced, somehow other chick can shoot vegetables out of her vagina, some other chick has 9/11 across her chest with the towers on one boob and a plane on the other, and she jumps up and down swing her boobs together...

As all this is going on there's a voice over about how Blacks hate White Americans and how nuclear energy is safe and yellow people are the best...no, I am NOT shitting you. 





So 4 out of 26 were worth watching, with only 2 being anywhere near good, how did this EVER get distribution?

A Serbian Film Review

NOTE: This review will contain ***Spoilers***

First off, believe the hype about this one. It is singly the most brutal, depraved, horrifying, uncomfortable (insert any other adjective or synonym) film I've watched to date. 

And yes, I watch them all. From Martyrs, Cannibal Holocaust, Irreversible, Men Behind the Sun, Audition, Antichrist, Salo, to  The Human Centipede, and a host of others, I've sought out and watched every single one. Yes, most of them deliver on what is promised, and yes, most of them are truly depraved and rest among the darkest side of horror film and cinema, in general. 

A Serbian Film, in a director of lesser skill, would've been a disaster. 


Let's talk about art first -

Art is: The creation of works of beauty or other special significance. 

Art should be designed to make the reader or viewer feel something, be it revulsion, sorrow, happiness, pain, or awe. 

In relation to cinema, there's been many attempts to claim certain hardcore, disturbing films are art, and yes, some of them truly are. Even with the violence, the gore, and the sexual depictions, there was something the director and/or writer were trying to say. Some excel at this, others, not so much. 

It's hard to shock me, as a viewer or reader. I, myself, have written some pretty graphic fiction. It made me uncomfortable, but I did it because it served the story. You see, for something that is graphic, gory, and depraved, there has to be an element of storytelling, a reason for the depictions on the screen. If there isn't, then it's nothing but shock value. 

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

Their Last Dying Acts - A short story collection

Their Last Dying Acts

My second story collection (or third depending on how you look at it) has been out for a few months now. THE MONSTER WITHIN IDEA is nearing 50,000 downloads, but THEIR LAST DYING ACTS isn't enjoying the same success. If you've read my work, this collection includes some work from THROUGH THE GLASS DARKLY and a host of new work you may not have had the chance to read. 

About the book: 

Their Last Dying Acts captures the true essence of the horror genre displaying the breadth and depth of an author’s imagination. Riley does not hold back on the horror as he leads the readers through tales that feature monsters, both the imaginary and human kind, and horrific circumstances that can occur either in the darkest corners of the night or the brightest sunny day. 

From splatterpunk to psychological, from a snapshot of real life horror to a “Twilight Zone” unreality, these stories show the genius of a writer who can adapt his writing to wherever the story takes him. With stories like, Surveillance, a gritty police story, featuring a robot who would be man--a thoughtful allegory about racism in our society, very well-disguised and Heal Thyself, a story about the use of religion as a means of deception and the old motto of "What goes around, comes around”, to No Strings Attached, a weird and thought-provoking story worthy of an episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. 

Nowhere is safe in the imagination of R. Thomas Riley.


“…Captures the true essence of the horror genre.” Horrorworld

“If you like your short fiction bleak, dark and wonderful, Riley will take good care of you.” John Sunseri, author of SILENCE IN HEAVEN and others 

“Riley's style is gritty and realistic and works perfectly…” John Grover, author of CREATURES AND CRYPTS and FEMININE WILES 

“A writer that has studied his Rod Serling, channels just the right amount of Edgar Allen Poe's ghost, and taps that same Southern gothic vein that Joe R. Lansdale has been so blissfully strung out on all these years.” Matt Wallace, Author of THE NEXT FIX

Purchase your copy here - Their Last Dying Acts

“What is essential to crafting a believable horror environment?”

It’s time for halloween: ghosts, goblins, jack-o-lanterns and horror writers! We have a packed house this week with ITW’s premier horror authors. This week join David Sakmyster, Brett Talley, M.R. Gott, Michaelbrent Collings, R. Thomas Riley, W.D. Gagliani, Rick Reed, JG Faherty, Douglas Wynne and Christian Riley as they discuss the essentials of crafting a believable horror environment.

This week's International Thriller Writer's Association Roundtable discussion - October 22 – 28: Horror: “What is essential to crafting a believable horror environment?”


http://www.thebigthrill.org/2012/10/october-22-28-horror-what-is-essential-to-crafting-a-believable-horror-environment/

Lego Zombie Apocalypse build for IF GOD DOESN'T SHOW

Out of many of the things that's happened in my career over the years, this is easily one of the most awesome things to date. 

Evan Roy over at Bricks of the Dead recently created an MOC for IF GOD DOESN'T SHOW (co-written w/ John Grover). What exactly is an MOC, you may ask? Well, it's anything you create with LEGO bricks is called a "MOC", which stands for "My Own Creation". 

I was unaware that Evan was doing such a thing, so it was a very pleasant surprise to find out he'd done just that. I was curious to find out the process of how he went about creating the build. 

Also you can check out the book review here and my author interview here



Here's what he had to say:

How long did it take for you to complete the build? 

Evan: Let's see...the background buildings were already built. Believe it or not, that car took me about 8 hours. I really wanted it to look like an RPG hit it under the car and was tipping it over. I rebuilt it over and over again. I probably spent an hour positioning the mini figs. Maybe another hour playing with lighting. About 2 hours shooting it as I am learning a new DSLR camera. So yeah, about 12 hours in total. 

As I said, before, this is a pretty awesome build, not only because it's based on my work, BUT because Evan could've chose to build anything and he took the time to do this build. Thanks Evan for all the hard work. It's certainly an honor and John and I are very happy with the end result. The more I look at the build, the more details I find. See for yourself and enjoy! 

Build in Progress Shots: 

And Final Build Shot:

One of the good ones...Tom Piccirilli

As I write this, fellow author and mentor Tom Piccirilli is recovering from brain cancer surgery. In this business, it gets lonely. As a writer, you put your heart and soul into a piece of work, and that should be enough, but then there are guys like Pic, that go above and beyond for their fans. I started out as a fan, devouring every piece of his work I could find. The books, the limited editions, the short stories. Pic transported me to another world with his words and stories. Again, that should've been enough, but he's one of the great ones.

A few years back, I worked up the nerve to email him and tell him how much I enjoyed his work. To my surprise, he wrote me back. He was humble, a down to earth guy. Since then, occasionally, I've emailed him as a writer, not a fan, and he's been extremely gracious with advice and encouragement. He even read something I wrote one time and it was an honor that he even took the time out of his busy schedule to do so.

Pic, as a person, is a stand up guy. He pays it forward. He helps out upcoming writers, such as myself, and countless others. I don't think he'll ever realize just how much his words of encouragement help other struggling authors out there.

I've never met Pic in person yet, but I want to someday. I'm sure he'd be just the same as he is online and in emails. Personable, eager to talk shop, and offer great advice. There's simply not enough guys like him in this business.

When I heard he was going into surgery, I immediately jumped at the chance to donate to help with his recovery. Why? Because he has given so much to us fans, and he's one of the good guys.

Below, you'll find some links to his work and his fundraising page. Please consider donating something to help. He's been there for us, now it's time for us to be there for him.

Get well, soon, Pic!


these links were compiled by Brian Keene, another one of the good guys, so thanks to him for putting all this in one easy to find spot.


http://www.briankeene.com/?p=12584

Ginger Nuts of Horror reviews THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS

"...This novella is a lot of fun, it opens as many westerns do with a figure on a distant hill surveying the land and town in front of him, cliched yes, but a classic way to start a story.  It's not long before this great novella spurs the the reader into an action packed, gripping and rip roaring story.  Having William Quantrill, the legendary, and mythical Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War is a stroke of pure genius..." 


Read the full review here

Writer's Block?

It happens to every writer at some point in his or her writing endeavors. Many of us don’t care to explore too candidly. Sure, we talk about it, moan about it, but we don’t really like revealing too much.

It happens to the best of us. Sometimes for weeks on end, and in worse case scenarios, for months, sometimes years.  We just don’t like talking about it. Why? If it happens to every writer, what’s the harm in talking about it? Because, it makes us frustrated, angry, and depressed to talk about it, even though we all know we’re going through it.

So what am I talking about?

The blank page.

At some point, every writer arrives at this point. What’s next for the story? We started the story all fired up and eager to explore what our characters had to say and then we hit the proverbial brick wall.

Writer’s block.

Some of us claim it doesn’t exist, while others know this feeling all too intimately.

According to Wikipedia, writer’s block is “a condition, associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task in hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked" writers have been unable to work for years on end, and some have even abandoned their careers.”

There can be many factors as to why this happens. For me personally, after my divorce in 2006, I had a strong desire to write, but I couldn’t find the ability to write anything I didn’t end up deleting right after I wrote it. My head was full of ideas and thoughts, but I couldn’t formulate them into anything of coherence. Not writing had a physical effect on me. I couldn’t sleep because my mind was racing so much. I was depressed because of the divorce, losing my son, and a host of other factors and not being able to concentrate long enough to write frustrated me even more. I was a mess, to say the least. Yet, I still had to function, get up, go to work, and put a smile on my face when in public. I kept it hidden pretty well, but my insides were churning and my head was spinning.

I ended up not writing for almost a year. I just stopped. I knew not writing was a factor in the way I was feeling, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Eventually, I found myself in front of the computer one night and I just started writing. Everything I’d been dealing with, struggling with, came pouring out. I was scared that if I stopped, I wouldn’t be able to find this place again. So, I pressed forward and when I finished I realized I felt better on many levels. I realized at that point that writing was ingrained in me. It was no longer a hobby or a fun lark; it was something that was very dear to me. It took me losing many things in my personal life to come to this realization. Looking back, I honestly wouldn’t want anything to be different, because everything that happened has brought me to this place where writing is once again, magical, healthy, and exciting.

Sure, I still have days were I want nothing more than to not to sit in front of the computer and bang out words. Talking about writing and actually writing is what separates the wannabe from the professional. Even when I don’t feel like writing, I sit down and do the work. Sometimes, I force myself to turn off the TV, quit surfing message boards, or hanging out on FB and sit down and put words on the paper. I’ve found the first few minutes can be pretty hard, but once the words start flowing things even out. Face it, if you write for long enough, there will be days where you don’t feel ‘it’, they’re going to happen, but you can’t let it get the best of you.

What has worked for me is something called free writing. I simply sit down and write whatever pops into my head. This could be describing a location, or a conversation between a couple of characters. I save everything I write. Those bits and pieces go into a file and eventually they get used down the line. By doing this, I have files upon files of snippets to draw upon if I get stuck. I’ve even combined two different stories a few times in the past.

If everyone always wrote when they ‘felt’ like it, then not a lot of writing would get done. Watching some of my friends in the business hammering out two or three novels a year to pay the bills used to scare me. I’m a slow writer because I tend to obsess over every plot twist or word when I write. I’ve gotten better over the years of just writing and worrying about editing after a first draft, but I still catch myself editing while I’m crafting a sentence. Don’t get caught up in counting words. Write at least a little a day, whether it is only 100 words or 1,000. Words on paper are words on paper. If the words aren’t coming, take a break, do something else for a little bit, and then come back. 

I’m not saying this will work for everyone, but it works for me. Main thing is to keep at it no matter how frustrating it gets. 

Eventually the words will flow, trust me. 

(Originally appeared on Apex Publications Blog, March 2010)