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 |
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!
