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Now on the other hand, I have a hate/tolerate relationship with crime fiction. While I do enjoy reading certain types of crime fiction, I have a tendency to actively avoid stuff that creeps me out (which I had rather infamously voiced my displeasure with here), which as of late, seems to the way of most crime fiction.
Interestingly (or strangely) enough, the elements of crime fiction that seriously creep me out have found a home in a personal slush novel of mine called Time to Go. I originally got the idea for this novella from watching a particularly disgusting murder scene from an Australian crime drama.
Anywho, I tweaked the basic idea into a more thoroughly disgusting way of dispatching someone; added two serial killers; a potential victim/reluctant participant and presto! a novella that creeps me out every time I pick up pen and paper to work on it.
I mentioned that this is my personal slush novel, for the simple reason that if this novella ever saw the light of day, I think it would be somewhat detrimental to my nascent writing career. Because it's not intended for publication, I have the freedom to experiment with all kinds of things, most notably, writing in present tense/1st p.o.v.
Writing this slush novella in present tense/1st p.o.v. allows me the luxury of experimenting with a style that is more suited to the short story genre as opposed to the novella/novel genre. Additionally, that experimentation has allowed me to work out the kinks and eventually gave me the confidence to apply that knowledge to something that was already completed and that I wanted to get published.
Writing the slush novella has put me into a peculiar conundrum: on one hand, it's written in a sub-genre that creeps me out; and it creeps me out whenever I decide to work on the novella. On the other hand the words come disturbingly easy for me; and I still remember the original ending that I came up with all those months ago.
As for the other genres to dabble in, I probably won't. While I don't mind reading those other genres (i.e. westerns, mystery and YA), I really have no desire to dabble in any of them, short term or long term. To me, writing in those genre requires the kind of research that I'm not into at this juncture. Right now, I'm quite content to write my quirky paranormal R to NC17 fiction that requires the kind of research I do enjoy.
Dabbling.
Brylcream it ain't, but it still does a body good.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
8 comments:
Go on, give me your best shot. I can take it. If I couldn't, I wouldn't have created this wonderful little blog that you decided to grace with your presence today.
About that comment moderation thingy: While yes, it does say up above I can take it, I only use it to prevent the occasional miscreant from leaving thoughtless and/or clueless comments.
So remember, all of your comments are greatly appreciated and all answers will be given that personal touch that you come to expect and enjoy.
G. B. Miller
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A novel as playground. Interesting. I've done that kind of thing but mainly with short stories. They too shall not likely see the light of day.
ReplyDeleteCharles: One of the few ways that I found to help me with my writing was to write this slush novel.
ReplyDeleteWriting this thing has allowed me not only the freedom to expirement (first person/present tense) but has acted like a therapy session from time to time as well.
One result of this expirementation has been the novella that I'm currently querying, as I re-wrote the p.o.v., so instead of being in the usual 3rd, it's now in the 1st.
I should try that, I've never thought of it as a playground, like Charles says. BTW, speaking of serial killers, the keynote at my luncheon today once lived next door to Robert Yates.
ReplyDeleteM: Don't know who Robert Yates is, but will Googe him later.
ReplyDeleteYup, a playground.
Writing a personal slush novel in which you can experiment with different writing styles/genres is probably the best way of not offending people while you work out the kinks.
More folks should follow your lead and keep their scratches hidden. If its good, keep tweaking, bury it again. Pull it up in a year and send to someone that you can count on for straight honest opinion. Then, maybe. My own scratches are becoming less and less.
ReplyDeleteDavid: I probably will do that in the long run. From the time that I wrote this post to when it was published, I decided to take it back out and work on it again.
ReplyDeleteI've been spending the past few days reading it so as to refamiliarize myself with it. And once again, the same conundrum rears its ugly head.
My friend Karin Slaughter writes crime fiction. I like it (except it's so violent.) :)
ReplyDeleteLynn: I do like the crime fiction genre. My only beef with it is that some writers have really gone to scraping the bottom of the barrel in order to come with a "good" story.
ReplyDelete