Post by evenlarks on Nov 12, 2022 0:01:39 GMT
First, I've never done a board thing before so sorry if I'm doing this all wrong.
Such a fan of your work, John. “The Fisherman,” helped me leave my traditionally published work behind like a shed skin. I recently read, “Bor Urus.” The echoes of mythology in the spaces between lightning, that unseen world (also revealed as a different reality in, “The Fisherman,”) were flashes into my own subconscious, thus, so well done. These fabulous stories are horrific, yet I wouldn’t categorize them as what most think of as horror. Am I wrong? When I ask people I know (not writers) it seems blood and perhaps sharp objects are involved in revolving locales in what they think of as horror. Also Stephen King. “The Willows,” one of my favorite stories of all time, isn’t a “horror” story in today’s genre, but rather a weird story.
When I read that Blackwood story, I was a young teenager. I pulled it off my grandfather’s shelf. He was born early in the 20th century and I don’t think he knew what “Horror,” was, other than movies like “Frankenstein,” etc. I hadn’t yet read Stephen King, but I wouldn’t put King and Blackwood in the same boat.
I don’t know what “horror” means today and I’m confused what to do with the things I write. Not horror, not fully literary, not scifi, not….Was this a problem when you started out, or did you know places that would be at least, receptive? I’m sorry if this seems a dumb question. I’m new to giving myself the appellation of weird/horror writer. I actually don’t like these labels. A good story is a good story if it sticks with the reader, just as “The Willows,” has always stuck with me. Just as “Bor Urus,” will do the same. Is labeling important now if only to get people to read? Although when asked for recommendations, I’ve said, Blackwood, Machen, Onions, etc., I’ve not often been able to even get smart people I know to read, “The Haunting of Hill House.”
I realize this is a subject that's been debated, and now it seems that "horror" is being swallowed up by the mainstream--or is it? Can we discuss? What if your writing falls between genre cracks in today's publishing world?
Such a fan of your work, John. “The Fisherman,” helped me leave my traditionally published work behind like a shed skin. I recently read, “Bor Urus.” The echoes of mythology in the spaces between lightning, that unseen world (also revealed as a different reality in, “The Fisherman,”) were flashes into my own subconscious, thus, so well done. These fabulous stories are horrific, yet I wouldn’t categorize them as what most think of as horror. Am I wrong? When I ask people I know (not writers) it seems blood and perhaps sharp objects are involved in revolving locales in what they think of as horror. Also Stephen King. “The Willows,” one of my favorite stories of all time, isn’t a “horror” story in today’s genre, but rather a weird story.
When I read that Blackwood story, I was a young teenager. I pulled it off my grandfather’s shelf. He was born early in the 20th century and I don’t think he knew what “Horror,” was, other than movies like “Frankenstein,” etc. I hadn’t yet read Stephen King, but I wouldn’t put King and Blackwood in the same boat.
I don’t know what “horror” means today and I’m confused what to do with the things I write. Not horror, not fully literary, not scifi, not….Was this a problem when you started out, or did you know places that would be at least, receptive? I’m sorry if this seems a dumb question. I’m new to giving myself the appellation of weird/horror writer. I actually don’t like these labels. A good story is a good story if it sticks with the reader, just as “The Willows,” has always stuck with me. Just as “Bor Urus,” will do the same. Is labeling important now if only to get people to read? Although when asked for recommendations, I’ve said, Blackwood, Machen, Onions, etc., I’ve not often been able to even get smart people I know to read, “The Haunting of Hill House.”
I realize this is a subject that's been debated, and now it seems that "horror" is being swallowed up by the mainstream--or is it? Can we discuss? What if your writing falls between genre cracks in today's publishing world?