I was at Indigo a few weeks ago and picked up a discount book called The World’s Greatest Horror Stories. A rather uninspired title, I thought, but the price was right, and it had a lot of classic horror tales that I had heard about but had never read. It wasn’t until I started reading it last week that I realized just how great a collection it was.

The book was originally published in the UK under the title H.P. Lovecraft’s Book of Horror (an equally uninspired title, but one that at least describes the scope of the collection), and opens with Lovecraft’s excellent essay, "Supernatural Horror in Literature." The stories that follow are the ones cited by Lovecraft in the essay, which I think is a brilliant idea. All of the stories Lovecraft’s discusses featured in the same book! It’s such an obvious idea that it’s a wonder there aren’t more collections like it out there.

The two stories that stood out for me were "Count Magnus," by M.R. James, and Arthur Machen’s "The Great God Pan." I’ve heard innumerable writers refer to the latter tale as a source of inspiration, and one can certainly see how many of Lovecraft’s ideas were adopted from Machen’s story – specifically, humans interbreeding with monsters, and the concept of a world imperceptible to mankind that lies just beyond our own reality.

I strongly recommend this collection to anyone who might enjoy exploring the roots of modern-day horror.

Ian

Wow. Including, the news update, I wrote over 2,700 words for the website this weekend. I’m like one of dem prolific writers or sumthin. I gots to tell Brandeen ’bout this!

Okay, so this is the first day of my summer vacation. No beach umbrella, but I have my ficus (which I’ve creatively named Ficci) and that’s almost the same thing. Time to work on za novel. I’ll also be adding a whole ton of links to the site today. I’ve been corresponding with some very nice Canadian authors, been given a few referrals to magazines that publish horror fiction, all of which has prompted me to repeat the weekend’s battle-cry that horror is back, baby! More magazines means more places to send stories, which in turn increases my chances of getting them published.

It’s the Summer of George! … er, Ian!

Ian

So the other day I made an off remark about horror writer organizations, and mentioned in passing that I had no interest in joining one. Seeing as how I have a tendency to flit from one subject to another, I thought I’d cover this now before it ends up getting lost in the dead zone.

First of all, there are many organizations out there for writers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. Unlike, say, the Screen Actors Guild, you don’t need to be a member of one of these groups to work in the publishing field. This is because novelists and short-story writers are not part of any union (and thank God for that). As such, these organizations, though they boast many strong selling points for members, are little more than fan clubs.

In my opinion, the reason why writers have never become unionized lies in the very nature of writers themselves. As I’ve said on more than one occasion, the writer is a solitary creature, a lone wolf, who may not necessarily shun sociality but may just prefer his own company. I would fall into the latter category. I don’t hate groups of people (except maybe at the mall, especially around Christmas), I just prefer to be on my own.

But this is not the only reason why you won’t see many popular novelists on the roster of these organizations (I still feel the urge to call them clubs). I’m not going to name specific groups, but for horror writers there’s only two or three really big ones, and they’re easy enough to find in a Google search. Should you happen upon one of these groups, you will notice that they boast a roster of writers that you probably haven’t heard of – that is, unless you’re very well read in the horror genre.

The reason I’m not a member of one of these groups is probably the same reason why writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, Anne Rice, and essentially any other prolific author is not a member. Most of these people simply don’t have the time for such things. It’s as simple as that. A better name for one of these groups would be The Affiliation of Authors Who Only Put Out One Book Every Five Years or So. Unfortunately, TAAWOPOOBEFYS won’t fit on the side of a coffee mug.

I’m not saying that popular authors turn their nose down at such groups, because they don’t. This isn’t about literati and book snobbery. Most writers appreciate their efforts – especially if they get nominated for one of their awards – but ultimately they have other things to do with their time, such as writing. I’m willing to bet that the greater percentage of people who join writer’s groups are the same people who go to a lot of writing workshops and probably are members in good standing of a reading circle or two. They buy the t-shirt and the newsletter, they put the little "I am an official member of …" button on their personal website (which is usually done in an atrocious color scheme), they exchange novel fragments with other members and swap saccharine praise and light-hearted criticism, they perform all the behavior of the animal that I have christened the "hobby novelist." Which is not to say they are not true writers (I will not be the one to define that term, thank you very much), but at the same time I question their motivations. The commitment is clearly there, but I suspect that such people – those who see joining an organization for writers as a boon – are probably the same ones who view writing as a social act, maybe even as a form of therapy. And while there’s nothing wrong with using writing to express one’s feelings, such people might feel more at home in one of the hundreds of online blogging communities than in an organization of people who are trying to make a living as a writer of horror, sf, mystery, romance, etc.

When I think of these groups and their efforts to recruit new members (young writers who may feel they have to be a member of such a group to get published), I’m reminded of a quote

by Quentin Tarantino after he was asked to explain his whirlwind success. "I didn’t study film school," he said, "I studied films."

Although he’s talking about making movies, the message applies to any creative field. Don’t talk about doing something, just get out there and do it. If you want to be a writer, write. And if you write a lot, then you are probably not the type of person these groups are looking for.

But be nice to them, because they might have an award for you one day.

Ian

I don’t watch very much television, which is probably why I discovered my new favorite program, Trailer Park Boys, by downloading it off the Internet. It’s a suprisingly clever show that has a lot more going for it than the cliche gags of a bunch of dirts living in a trailer park. It’s a great Canadian program that hasn’t tried to hide the fact that it’s shot and takes place in Canada. The cast appeared in a recent video by The Tragically Hip, and what’s more Canadian than that?!

The premise of the show is fairly straightforward: A camera crew follows around a pair of trailer park boys, Julian (he’s the guy always with a rum and Coke in his hand) and Ricky (the guy with the hair helmet) as they attempt to pull off various get-rich-quick schemes (that usually involve dope). The secondary cast includes Bubbles (the "googly-eyed bastard"), the park supervior Mr. Lahey and his shirtless assistant Randy (who sometimes doubles as a cheeseburger hustling male prostitute called Smokey), and a white rapper named J-ROC ("Jay-to-the-R-O-C!") played by Jonovision’s Jonathan Torrens. The show is equal parts silly and cerebral. I won’t go so far as to say it’s deep, but anyone who writes TPB off as simply cheap laughs obviously hasn’t watched it. Having seen all four seasons, I can say it’s truly one of the funnier programs on television right now (and on Showcase, no less!).

I recently picked up the first three seasons on DVD, and there are a plethora of really great extras – that is, the kind I would actually watch, as opposed to some of the garbage they dump on other discs. In addition to the aforementioned Tragically Hip video, there’s deleted scenes/alternate scenes, audio commentary with the actors and director, and some hilarious outtakes.

Normally I wouldn’t mention something like this here because, really, who cares what the hell I’m watching? But this is a really great show, and it’s Canadian, so I feel justified in supporting it on the website.

I’m posting this now because a friend showed me an article in Thursday’s Metro newspaper caled "Tales of Hollywood Stupidity, Cont’D," in which I learned that an American film company had attempted to buy the rights to the series, peremptory to makign a Trailer Park Boys movie. This could have been a good idea until I read further about how the company in question had closed down negotiations after "conflicts over casting." You see, the American filmmakers didn’t want to use the actors of the TV show in the film incarnation.

This reminds me of little-known fact about another Canadian program you may have heard of, Degrassi Junior High? Well, a long time ago, a man named Aaron Spelling contacted the creators of Degrassi and offered to buy it for American television. The only stipulation was that Mr. Spelling wanted to replaced the existing roster of actors with more attractive faces – you see, many of the kids on Degrassi were kids first and actors second; they had to wear their own clothes for the program, and the girls had to do their own make-up; in order to give the show a more realistic feel. As you might have already figured out, the show was never sold, though Spelling decided to go ahead with his own TV program about beautiful high school kids. Beverly Hills 90210. The American Degrassi that never was.

Ian

Today was the last day I’ll have to take the TTC for a while. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the construction of the new CNIB building is complete, and as of September 7, I will have my forty-five-second commute back. Kathryn, on the other hand, is not impressed.

But before that happens I’m on vacation for a week. Vacation is a bit of misnomer , though, since I’m going to be using the majority of that time to work of my novel. I haven’t set a deadline for completion, because, although I think pressure can be a good thing, I don’t think this would be putting on the good kind of pressure. I’d be liable to rush it, and that’s not usually a good thing to do. But I am putting a lot of energy into getting it done, and right now that’s good enough for me.

Part of the reason I have so much time now to work on the novel comes from having finished a few short stories, and having sent three of them to magazines. It’s more than I usually have out there, and it feels pretty damn good. It takes a bit of the pressure off (the bad kind, that is) that I’m not doing enough to "make it." I don’t want to talk too much about those stories, though, because I have a big news announcement planned for tomorrow, in which I’ll give you all of the details.

Ian

This is turning into a very busy week. A very busy month, actually. Moved into the new apartment at the beginning of August, and now I’m getting ready to move at work, from our temporary offices at Yonge and St. Clair back to the BakerWood complex. The new building is very modern, full of technological goodies to assist blind and visually-impaired people maneuver around, and I have a pretty decent office on the second floor. No complaints. But I happen to be the move coordinator for my department, and it’s turned out to be a lot of responsibility. My primary goal seems to be making sure my boss’s desk doesn’t end up in Vancouver, but overall it’s about ensuring everyone is comfortably uprooted (an oxymoron if there ever was one) from one location and deposited in another. Lots of fun, but it’s a lot of work, too.

On top of that I had my performance evaluation today. My manager and my boss are extremely happy with my work to date – mostly because I not only achieved my goals but completed a couple that weren’t even on my list. I’m not some overachieving asshole; it just sort of happened that way. Despite all of that, I’ve been confronted with something of a conundrum.

I am being offered the chance to pursue a career, a serious career, in the business side of the organization, and to be an active participant in many of the CNIB’s projects. They’ll pay for me to take a bunch of courses, just so I can get a job that pays more money. It’s a rough life, huh?

It’s a great opportunity, and I’d be stupid to turn it down, but my manager, who is aware of my literary aspirations, has confirmed that it will require more of a commitment than the duties I’ve been performing of late. He knows that I’m more than capable of moving forward with what he and my boss have set out for my future. The question is, do I want this? My manager, who really is a great guy, put it even better when he asked me flat out, Can you divide your heart between your job and your dream? I didn’t have an answer for him, nor did he expect one right away. As I said, my manager is understanding of my hope to become a career novelist, and he and my boss are very supportive (both of them are bibliophiles like myself). But I will have to make a decision eventually.

I knew this would happen sooner or later. It’s not a bad thing; opportunity, big or small, never is. But this has far-reaching benefits (or consequences, if you like) that may require more of the time that I would normally devote to my writing. How much time? Well, that’s the question, isn’t it.

No matter what happens I’ll never stop writing and I’ll never stop sending out stories. Who knows, it might even make me work harder – the fear of becoming trapped is a great motivator. I’m hoping it won’t come to that, and I don’t think that is the case in this instance. I love my day job, which is more than most struggling creative types can say. It’s not like I’m shucking fries at Mickey D’s. Things could be worse. And nothing that’s happened so far has changed my passion for writing, or my dream of doing it one day for a living. If anything, I want it more.

On a light note, my gf, ever aware of my preoccupied mind, sent me my horoscope for today. I don’t really believe in that kind of stuff, and neither does she, but we both thought this one was particularly apt:

Ian

A couple of Russian airliners crashed today, killing a total of 86 people. Hearing about it reminded me of other such reports and how the newscaster will sometimes mention (depending on the country he or she is reporting from) how many of those killed were American or Canadian. For example: "Pan Am Flight 108 crashed today, killing all 107 passengers. 3 of the deceased were Canadian."

I don’t get it. Should that information make me feel worse about the crash? And if so, by that same reasoning should I be less upset if a plane crashes and none of those killed are Canadian? That’s what it sounds like to me.

In other news, Toronto made the national headlines today.

Musta been a slow news day.

Ian

I know I mention Stephen King a lot on this website. And no, I don’t have a wicked hard-on for the guy. Yes, I am a fan, but e’s one of a dozen or so writers whom I consider among my favorites. It just so happens that he is one of the surprisingly few writers out there who talks openly and honestly about the craft of writing. He’s accessible and helpful and he’s published dozens of articles (and three books) on what he feels are the essentials of writing fiction. He doesn’t advertise it this way, of course. His attitude is This is what I did and it worked for me. That he’s also very entertaining and funny certainly helps to encourage other fledgling writers like me.

I find most writers either don’t want to talk about the craft or they simply are unable to. Some hoard it as if it were the Caramilk secret, while others are plain indignant when it comes to giving young writers good advice. In their defense, the writer is not the most sociable animal. But still, I find it hard to understand those who act as if imparting some tips is the literary equivalent of that dip on the FOX network revealing all the magician’s secrets.

If I ever succeed in making a living from my writing, I would be more than happy to do the interviews, speak to the classrooms, and do whatever I can to thank the people that made it happen and give some advice to others who want to do the same. It seems only fair.

Ian