Sunday, December 9, 2012

[Link] Hancock's Points and Peeves -- No Whine Before Its Time

by Tommy Hancock

See that?  Up there.  In the title.   I've decided that'll be something that appears every now and again, followed up by words much like these you are now reading.    Sometimes it'll be a point, a tip for writing, idea creating, characterization, something that probably someone told me or I simply lifted without their knowledge and now have it in my own toolbox of tricks of the trade.  Other times, well, it'll be a gripe...a peeve of mine that someone...and even myself at times...has committed in the process of storytelling.

What follows would be of the peeve variety...

In the world of Pulp writing today, be it what we all call New Pulp or if you style yourself a writer of Heroic Fiction or whatever other label you proudly wear, there seems to be this line that writers walk between crafting a tale in a style very much influenced by the classic Pulp authors that came long before us and appealing to a modern audience.  It's a difficult one to navigate, trust me, I know both as a writer and a Publisher of said work.   There are those who succeed, however, and succeed with gusto,  delivering taut tales with two fisted accuracy and heroes, villains, and supporting motley crews that Gibson and Dent would be proud of.   And these victors in the war between Style and Relevancy range the gamut from big names writing for major Publishing Houses to many writers that I know as friends working in the small press trenches beside me.

Then there are those, again both writers attached to Large and Small concerns, who in trying to present a character that people will buy as 'modern', but also cast that same character in a mold that is obviously Pulp or Retro or however you want to mark it, just don't get it.  They fail.

Continue reading: http://ideaslikebullets.blogspot.com/2012/12/hancocks-points-and-peeves-no-whine.html?spref=fb

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