Best writing advice you'll ever get: stay in chair till you finish

 I’m sitting in a room in Cross Plains, Texas, with half a dozen other writers of various genres at the inaugural REH Emerging Writers Workshop editor/authors Adrian Simmons (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly), Jason M. Waltz  and Mark Finn (of basically everything else Robert E. Howard related), straining to hear advice.

They have a lot to say, from Finn’s: “Most writing advice sucks!” To Simmons more straight forward: “Keep backstory under control. Move most of it out of the first 10 pages!”

But possibly the best? Waltz’s: “1) Put your butt in a chair. 2) Finish!”

(OK, now close your browser, sit, and write to the end. Just kidding – for now! There’s more words of wisdom waiting to be revealed.)

Why would Mark Finn, for instance, disparage giving advice about writing?

“Because it’s really focusing on the wrong thing. Everybody’s different. Instead of ‘write what you know,’ write what you care the most about. . . Write about what nobody but you can. Your passions, what you find endlessly fascinating,” which works for nonfiction as well as fiction.

Waltz inserted – “If you write about what you’re interested in, passionate about you are writing about what you know.”

Finn returned with a suggestion: make a list of three thing you care deeply about, three things you know a lot about, and three genre categories. Mix, match, see what happens.

“When you care about your subject, you will write more often. This is where your ‘voice’ comes out.”

Simmons got more specific in his advice, especially drawing on his experience as magazine editor. “You might need to have it in your head – not on the page. Focus on the first pages (of a manuscript). It’s incredibly important real estate.”

 Other caveats:

·       Despite their origins in the sword and sorcery genre, “wandering barbarian swordsmen are a hard sell now.”

·       The pointless action scene (give a fight some stakes)

·       Clever thief scenes are overdone, as are “up and coming assassin” scenes

·       Witty banter is not, usually (“you can have humor and witty dialogue – but be careful”)

Robert E. Howard & his dog Patch

Also, for writers aiming for acceptance in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly – it doesn’t like S&S parodies.

 Simmons’ focus seems to be mainly on magazine-length stories (see HFQ’s submission guidelines for word counts)

Waltz had more caveats for novel-length stories. Perhaps surprisingly, one was to write short stories before attempting a novel – “there’s a difference between the opening of the two. In a novel, you have the first page to keep an editor’s attention. With short stories, you don’t have a first page – you have (only) the first line and first paragraph.”

And, addressing the common advice to open with action, “action is forcing a decision to act. It doesn’t always have to be a fight.”

 What about character development? “Have somebody a reader can identify with, show what he loves. And know your characters. When the rainstorm hits, when the car blind sides you need to know how they react.”

Then, stay in your chair until you finish.

***

 Want more about the REH Emerging Writers Workshop? Keep an eye on the Robert E. Howard fan site and pester them until they agree to hold a repeat! 

What if Conan rode in with a gun?

 Strange though it may seem, it wasn’t his fantasy characters such as Conan the Cimmerian (aka Barbarian) or King Kull who Texas writer Robert E. Howard expected to make his reputation. It was his Westerns. He was adept at mixing Westerns with his other story genres – fantasy, horror, even his comic boxing tales. Still, I did a double take when Steve Corcoran, the antihero of today’s story proved to be a physical twin to Conan, “tall, broad-shouldered, deep-chested, lean-hipped … (whose) unruly black hair matched a face burned dark by the sun, but his eyes were a burning blue.”

Corcoran matches not only Howard's usual physical descriptions of Conan but his psyche as well, "too direct by nature, or too proud of (his) skill to resort to trickery when it was possible to meet enemies in the open. . . "

(It's also interesting to note the similarity between Corcoran's name and that of the two-fisted sailor Steve Costigan, hero of sone of the fight stories for which Howard was famous during his life.)

***

The Vultures of Whapeton

by Robert E. Howard

As the story opens, Corcoran is peacefully minding his own business – at least in as peaceful a way as he can manage, considering that he’s just shot another gunfighter – when John Middleton, sheriff of the embattled mining town of Whapeton Gulch, happens upon him. Strangely, Middleton is not in the least nonplussed to find Corcoran’s opponent, who he had hired as a deputy to help tame the lawless elements of his town, lying shot through the heart, and promptly offers the deceased employee’s job to his killer. Not that either Corcoran or the sheriff has any illusions about the character of the dead man, whose Colt’s stock is nicked with the record of those he had killed.

 The thing is, the sheriff says, Whapeton is overrun with a gang of outlaws who call themselves the Vultures. What sheriff Middleton wants is not good character but “. . . a man who can handle a gun like a streak of forked lightning . . . I’ll offer you the same terms I meant to offer him. . . You know what to do with the really bad men. We’re not bringing any more murderers into court to be acquitted through their friends’ lies!”

Image: wikimedia commons

 And before readers can say, gee, sheriff, that offer smells downright fishy, Corcoran is installed as the newest deputy of Whapeton. The Vulture gang, he soon learns, has spies all over the little town, giving them word of any shipment of gold or goods in or out of town. And the town’s newest lawman also begins to have serious doubts about the law-abiding nature of his fellow deputies.

He manages however, to gain the friendship of some of Whapeton’s citizens, including golden-haired Glory Bland, when he prevents her from braining one of her fellow bar girls in a saloon brawl that has left Glory’s dress suggestively torn and her bosom suggestively heaving. No matter what the other woman’s offenses, Corcoran tells Glory, “(t)hat wasn’t no excuse for makin’ a public show of yourself. . . If ladies have got to fight, they ought to do it in private.”

 In spite of his sententious words, readers have to believe it’s Glory’s fighting nature as much as her disheveled clothing that has caught Corcoran’s eye and heart. And if you’re wondering whether Glory’s friendship will be enough to ensure Corcoran’s survival in the rattlers’ nest of deceit and betrayal that is Whapeton Gulch, read it for yourself here.

 (Note that although the story’s original publication in Smashing Novels spelled the town’s name “Whapeton,” the notes of Howard and his agent use the spelling Wahpeton. You’ll find it listed both ways in the REH canon.)

Is Conan the Barbarian Texas' greatest hero?

Hey, y'all -- it's time for REH Days, the annual tribute of fans of Texas writer Robert E. Howard, in his hometown of Cross Plains, Texas. This year the festival runs from Thursday through Saturday (June 11-13). It's mostly free, so drop by if you get a chance. In REH's honor, I'm re-running some of my previous about him and his stories -- including some you may  not expect!

***

People of the Black Circle

by Robert E. Howard 

Conan-creator Robert E. Howard a specialist in spunky heroines? Possibly, it's not the first characteristic that leaps to mind in considering the king of 1930's pulp fiction. But I dare you to find a single spiritless, or even resigned woman in Howard's stories. Especially not in one of his best, People of the Black Circle, whose heroine Yasmina defies protocol, not to mention loss of life and sanity, to rescue the soul of her beloved brother from wizardry.

Image by Hansuan for pixabay

And despite the racy cover of the September 1934 Weird Tales, which serialized the novella, Yasmina, in typical Howardian fashion, wins without stooping to the exploitation of her sexuality. Not even to gain the aid of the warrior Conan, turning up in a surprisingly non-Hyborian context.

Briefly, as Bunda Chand, king of Vendhya, lies dying, he reveals to his beloved sister, the Devi Yasmina, that he has been “ensorcelled by the wizards of the Himelians,” who are intent on imprisoning his soul in the body of a demon. The distraught Yasmina determines to free her brother’s soul. To do so, she travels incognito to the borders of Himelian territory, determined to find the famous Conan and force him to aid her in penetrating the wizards’ fastness.

The Devi finds the tables turned on her more than once in a typically twisty Howard plot, but she and Conan will eventually acknowledge each other as the best of enemies.

“. . . of all the Conan-girls, I have a special fondness for Yasmina,” writes the reviewer at http://www.pulpanddagger.com/conan/people.html/. “Somehow, Howard combines in her a perfect blending of imperious strength and fetching vulnerability that makes her stand out from all the rest.”

Conan thought so, too.

As the story ends (spoiler alert!) he tells Yasmina, now queen of her own country, “‘I will collect your ransom in my own way, at my own time. . . And I will come with fifty thousand men to see that the scales are fair.’”

“She laughed, gathering her reins into her hands. ‘And I will meet you on the shores of the Jhumda with a hundred thousand!’”

Where did Howard (not to mention Conan) get this appreciation for strong women? In spite of the disapprobation heaped on Howard’s mother, Hester Ervin Howard, who added her surname to the name of her only son, I suspect he appreciated her strength, both as she and his father argued famously and as she endured an agonizing death from tuberculosis.

But not surprisingly, Howard never married. And although Conan sometimes appears about to take the plunge, I can’t remember one of his stories that ended with a wedding, either.

(Want more Howard? Listen to a free audio trial of People of the Black Circle at www.audiobooks.com or stay tuned here for more!)

This way to crowds of summer literary confabs!

 (Updated 9:08 a.m. June 9 to include information about writing workshops at FenCon and ArmadilloCon.)

Is it summer already? Unseasonably boggy weather has kept temperatures in North Texas at far from balmy levels. And those crowds of kids I’d expect to see? Time lost to the pandemic as well as last winter’s one-two punch of killer cold and equally deadly power outages has extended the school year weeks longer than usual.

At least, we have plenty of literary conferences to look forward to, in a mix of in-person, virtual, even hybrid venues. I’ll concentrate on those with a Texas twist. But in a virtual world, around the country – or the world – can be as close as our hometowns, starting with:

June 10-12: REH Days

Image: wikimedia commons

celebrates the life and works of Conan creator (and Texas native) Robert E. Howard in his hometown of Cross Plains, Texas. Of course, it’s in person – we’re all barbarians! – but feel free to mask up. (Maybe with one of the stylish Conan versions available online?) Free, as always. The only paid event is the annual banquet which is already sold out. Access to Howard’s home and museum, the Cross Plains library’s collection of original typescripts and memorabilia, readings, and more. Cross Plains is approximately a three-hour drive from Dallas. Lodging is available at nearby towns, including Brownwood, site of REH’s grave. See the REH Days site for full list of events.

June 11-13: Houston Writers Guild’s annual conference goes virtual. Saturday speakers include Dallas-own Arianne “Tex” Thompson Agent/editor panel, agent pitch sessions, plus sessions on marketing, networking, genre writing and blending, memoir writing and more. Early bird registration (ends June 11), $30 plus processing fee. Editor/agent pitch sessions (which still appear to be available) are $25 each. See the site for details and registration.

June 21-27: Historical Novel Society North America’s annual conference will be virtual. This year’s guest of honor is Lisa See (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan), with special presenters Libbie Hawker and Jane Friedman, master classes, panels, and more. Unfortunately, it’s too late to register for agent pitches. Registration: $259 for HNS members, $289 for nonmembers. See the site for complete schedule.

June 28-July 1: Thrillerfest XVI stays virtual. Options include master classes ($399) consulting ($75) and pitching ($50 sessions), and more. There’s also a free “Best First Sentence Contest,” open to registrants. Deadline for registration by mail as well as entries for the Best First Sentence Contest is June 15.

July 22-24: When the conference goes virtual, location is not a problem. So, although the Writer’s Digest reports itself to be sad not to see participants in person, it’s eager to proclaim a virtual conference. Pre-conference workshops July 22 ($199 each), and a choice of fiction or publishing business tracks for the main conference July 23-24 ($199 each). See the site for add-ons, including recordings.

August 25-29:  BoucherCon, the world mystery conference, plans to meet in-person in New Orleans, with guest of honor Michael Connelly. Registration is $195, fully refundable if an in-person meeting in deemed to be not available. See the site for tentative schedule and list of special guests.

***

How many literary conferences have pushed their normal summer dates back in order to proceed in-person? Lots! Including the Writers League of Texas in Austin, Texas, now scheduled for September 17-19.

Those are also the dates for the Dallas-area science fiction/fantasy convention FenCon. A Facebook message stated that due to limited staff, FenCon will not have an organized writing workshop this year. The convention is considering what it terms "workshop-style panels" for 2021 with a return to the formal workshop in 2022. 

The hands-on event, Writers in the Field returns in person October 9-10, to Mansfield, Texas. Registration opens in June, with more information to come.

The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference plans a hybrid conference – part in-person, part by Zoom – October 15-16. The site says plans are still being made but assures that the traditional writing contests and networking opportunities will be part of its lineup.

The Austin, Texas, science fiction/fantasy convention ArmadilloCon is delaying its return until October 15-17. At this point, information only appears to be available at the convention’s Facebook page. A Facebook message stated that ArmadilloCon will have an in-person writing workshop October 15, with format similar to previous years. More information will be available when the website is updated.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Writers Conference follows on October 23-24, in Hurst, Texas. Early registration (through October 10) is $379 for both days. Saturday only registration, which includes the keynote address, is $289; Sunday registration, which includes the Query Gong game show) is $239. I’ll update as more information is available.

***

Still to come: The Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference will be held virtually in November. Check the site for details.

Worldcon, the World Science Fiction Convention, is moving its 2021 dates to December 15-19, with provisions for a virtual conference if necessary.

The World Fantasy Convention is still monitoring the pandemic situation but hopes to have an in-person event in Montreal this year, apparently sometime in late fall.

As always, I’ll update this blog as new information arrives.