Mar 22, 2023·edited Mar 22, 2023Liked by Amanda Saint
I deeply grok the point you make here, though this assertion may sound strange coming from a horror writer. I share your ongoing detachment from "the news," your sense of alienation from the techno-consumerist anti-utopia that we have collectively created over time, and your focus on filtering out all the noise to hear the real signal in one's creative calling and find the organic community of others who are similarly attuned.
Regarding horror in art and entertainment, there are different flavors and inflections of it. The type that has immersed me over the past two decades is the cosmic "weird fiction" type that interrogates reality itself and finds something disturbing in the deep nature of things, and/or in our subjective relationship to it. It's right in tune with your March 8 post that asks "What is real?" and points out that "the nature of reality is nebulous and our writing can be, too." Both the writing and the reading of such fiction and creative nonfiction can contribute to the overall project we're both talking about: the clarification of who we really are, what the world really is, what we're really called to do, and where and how we may be living in hyperworlds of illusion, delusion, distraction, and abstraction away from the Real, thus cutting ourselves off from the answers to these vital questions.
Which, I suppose, is all to say that I appreciate what you're doing here.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Matt. Yes I think I should have been more specific about the type of horror I no longer read/watch - the gory kind, with lots of violence, death and mayhem, which I read/watched a lot of when I was younger. I love weird stories. I think this kind of horror engenders a sense of unease rather than upset, a creepiness, an off-kilterness, that makes you think about what is really going on and what is really real. And I am all up for that! Please do share any cosmic weird fiction stories/writers you'd recommend as I am always looking to discover new authors that are looking at these questions.
Not surprised that you like weird stories. Like you, there was a time when I was into ultra-gore. It's a strange space to inhabit, mentally and spiritually speaking.
As for writers to recommend, if I limit myself strictly to those who are currently living, for me Thomas Ligotti stands at the forefront. The Penguin Classics combined edition of his Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe is a great place to start. I might also recommend Kelly Link, John Langan, and Nathan Ballingrud. My own book To Rouse Leviathan collects stories across a span of 20 years, some of which might be of interest.
Amanda, You are spot on target. What we put into our being becomes us. An interesting thought - writers spend a good amount of time reading and editing their own work. I tend to think they are infusing themselves with their own words. Great post. D
Thanks Dave. Yes you’re right, I’m infused by my words! I worked as a freelance journalist for many years writing about climate change and environmental sustainability and that led to me writing a dystopian climate-fiction novel. I’ve stopped that freelance work now as realised immersing myself in that narrative wasn’t doing my happiness levels much good at all!
Your words really resonate with me, and I too stopped watching news programmes (and soaps!) a long time ago. I am also very careful what I expose myself to in fiction and film. Lots of food for thought, thank you.
Changing stories is so important. We are our stories, and we live in them, helpful or unhelpful. I also hope that we "recover from us." I also do not watch the news:)
I just discovered this post from your archive. I think this is hugely important. I am pondering ways in which more positive stories might be framed, without losing the 'tension/conflict' that seems to be requisite to an engaging story. I find it disturbing that so much YA lit is dystopian... young people are struggling enough with life (which is probably why they relate to dystopian narratives), but still I think they need more hope and possibility to hang on to. 💜
Hi Phoebe, thanks for reading and commenting. I get why people are drawn to dystopian stories too. I read them and I wrote a novel in that genre. I don’t think we need to stop writing about conflict/difficult/dark things as they are a part of life. But in how we portray people who do “bad” things.
I wrote a post previously about this, in which I said:
“Writing stories that are ultimately about love and connection doesn't mean we can't write about difficult things. But instead that we show that we're all in this together and yes, some people behave badly and do terrible things, but we should try to understand why rather than vilify them.
So it's about how we explore behaviours and portray characters when they commit crimes, hurt people, and do wrong. We should write them with nuance, kindness and understanding rather than making them 'the bad guy' and that's all they are. All of us are a product of the way our societies are and what I am encouraging us to do in our writing, is to bring us closer together to work through our problems and understand each other, rather than writing stories that create more ‘them and us’ division.”
I deeply grok the point you make here, though this assertion may sound strange coming from a horror writer. I share your ongoing detachment from "the news," your sense of alienation from the techno-consumerist anti-utopia that we have collectively created over time, and your focus on filtering out all the noise to hear the real signal in one's creative calling and find the organic community of others who are similarly attuned.
Regarding horror in art and entertainment, there are different flavors and inflections of it. The type that has immersed me over the past two decades is the cosmic "weird fiction" type that interrogates reality itself and finds something disturbing in the deep nature of things, and/or in our subjective relationship to it. It's right in tune with your March 8 post that asks "What is real?" and points out that "the nature of reality is nebulous and our writing can be, too." Both the writing and the reading of such fiction and creative nonfiction can contribute to the overall project we're both talking about: the clarification of who we really are, what the world really is, what we're really called to do, and where and how we may be living in hyperworlds of illusion, delusion, distraction, and abstraction away from the Real, thus cutting ourselves off from the answers to these vital questions.
Which, I suppose, is all to say that I appreciate what you're doing here.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Matt. Yes I think I should have been more specific about the type of horror I no longer read/watch - the gory kind, with lots of violence, death and mayhem, which I read/watched a lot of when I was younger. I love weird stories. I think this kind of horror engenders a sense of unease rather than upset, a creepiness, an off-kilterness, that makes you think about what is really going on and what is really real. And I am all up for that! Please do share any cosmic weird fiction stories/writers you'd recommend as I am always looking to discover new authors that are looking at these questions.
Not surprised that you like weird stories. Like you, there was a time when I was into ultra-gore. It's a strange space to inhabit, mentally and spiritually speaking.
As for writers to recommend, if I limit myself strictly to those who are currently living, for me Thomas Ligotti stands at the forefront. The Penguin Classics combined edition of his Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe is a great place to start. I might also recommend Kelly Link, John Langan, and Nathan Ballingrud. My own book To Rouse Leviathan collects stories across a span of 20 years, some of which might be of interest.
Thank you. I will check them out. I love the title Songs of a Dead Dreamer.
It really is a wonderful title, isn't? There's a perceptive New Yorker review and discussion of the combined SOADD/Grimscribe volume at https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-horror-of-the-unreal.
Amanda, You are spot on target. What we put into our being becomes us. An interesting thought - writers spend a good amount of time reading and editing their own work. I tend to think they are infusing themselves with their own words. Great post. D
Thanks Dave. Yes you’re right, I’m infused by my words! I worked as a freelance journalist for many years writing about climate change and environmental sustainability and that led to me writing a dystopian climate-fiction novel. I’ve stopped that freelance work now as realised immersing myself in that narrative wasn’t doing my happiness levels much good at all!
Good for you! A change like that is not easy to make. D
Our environment is so important. The drip-drip of negativity is poisonous. A good reminder.
Your words really resonate with me, and I too stopped watching news programmes (and soaps!) a long time ago. I am also very careful what I expose myself to in fiction and film. Lots of food for thought, thank you.
Changing stories is so important. We are our stories, and we live in them, helpful or unhelpful. I also hope that we "recover from us." I also do not watch the news:)
Glad to hear of a fellow news avoider. Everyone I know who does watch it tends to be stressed!
I just discovered this post from your archive. I think this is hugely important. I am pondering ways in which more positive stories might be framed, without losing the 'tension/conflict' that seems to be requisite to an engaging story. I find it disturbing that so much YA lit is dystopian... young people are struggling enough with life (which is probably why they relate to dystopian narratives), but still I think they need more hope and possibility to hang on to. 💜
Hi Phoebe, thanks for reading and commenting. I get why people are drawn to dystopian stories too. I read them and I wrote a novel in that genre. I don’t think we need to stop writing about conflict/difficult/dark things as they are a part of life. But in how we portray people who do “bad” things.
I wrote a post previously about this, in which I said:
“Writing stories that are ultimately about love and connection doesn't mean we can't write about difficult things. But instead that we show that we're all in this together and yes, some people behave badly and do terrible things, but we should try to understand why rather than vilify them.
So it's about how we explore behaviours and portray characters when they commit crimes, hurt people, and do wrong. We should write them with nuance, kindness and understanding rather than making them 'the bad guy' and that's all they are. All of us are a product of the way our societies are and what I am encouraging us to do in our writing, is to bring us closer together to work through our problems and understand each other, rather than writing stories that create more ‘them and us’ division.”