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Writing
I’m in short story mode right now, not wanting to dig into anything too thick while I await my contributor’s copy of this:
Once Flashing Swords Presents: The Return of the Sword finds my mailbox, I plan to dive right in. Until then, I’m reading short stories. I read in modes — a couple of mysteries, then some science fiction, then some fantasy, then a classic, etc. Right now, it’s mysteries.
I finished a novel the other night — Dashiell Hammett’s “The Dain Curse.” This is one of Hammett’s Continental Op detective yarns, which set the template for later hard-boiled heroes. Very enjoyable, full of curses and ghosts and weird cults and morphine and bodies dropping like rain.
Hammett’s book reminds me why I prefer to write from the vantage of a single character, rather than hopping from the mind of one character to the next. Sticking with one character is a terrific way to build suspense. In “The Dain Curse,” the reader experiences things as the Continental Op does — and if the Op’s mystified, so is the reader. The sense of mystery would be lost if Hammett jumped from the Op’s point of view to the villain’s, or to a potential victim’s, or to anyone else’s.
That’s probably why most of the really good mystery writers stick with single-character point of view, huh? It also works well for sword-and-sorcery, horror or anything else in which you want to inject some suspense. A lot of what I know about writing a sword-and-sorcery yarn comes from reading Hammett, Chandler, et al.
In “Dain,” Hammett put single-character point of view to particularly good use during the Op’s fist fight with a spectral figure. Yes, this is a mystery and it plays by the “mystery rules” so all the supernatural stuff has a natural-world explanation — but the Op doesn’t know that while he’s tussling with this weird shimmery thing in a dark room, so it reads like a horror story at this point. It’s that first-person, single-point-of-view thing at work, and it’s rather effective.
Now, I’m perusing the other end of the mystery spectrum. I’m reading some of G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown short stories. These are eloquent and bizarre little mysteries, with a mousy cleric as the detective. Don’t let that fool you, though; there is no Miss Marple cuteness to these stories. Along with the bizarre crimes, etc., there is a fair amount of psychology and philosophy to chew on. And some gentle humor, too. Father Brown is a memorable character, but it takes a while to get to know him.
And, of course, Chesterton bounces from one point of view to another, just to prove you don’t always have to stick with one character, even when writing a mystery. Chesterton keeps the mysterious mysterious by writing in third person and by having Father Brown say things that make sense to him, but leave other characters in the story — and the reader — absolutely flummoxed. The effects are mystifying and rather funny. Imagine a highly perceptive, highly intelligent fellow spouting off about things that are obvious to him, whilst the rest of the crowd wonders what the flaming goo he’s talking about. Good stuff.
When it comes to mysteries, I bounce between hard-boiled (Sam Spade, Travis McGee, the Continental Op, Phillip Marlowe) and cerebrals (Sherlock Holmes, C. Auguste Dupin, Father Brown, Ellery Queen). That’s probably why I like Rex Stout’s tales of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. Those offer an eccentric genius detective with a wisecracking, tough-guy right arm — the best of both worlds. Nero is more set in his odd ways than even Sherlock Holmes, and Archie is no fawning, befuddled Watson. They’re an entertaining, capable pair who complement and exasperate one another to a wonderful degree.
Once upon a time, I thought I’d be a mystery writer. I still might do that someday. Until then, I enjoy reading them.
Anyway, I’ve got dozens of Father Brown stories to keep me occupied until my anthology comes in the mail, all short and compelling enough that I can finish whatever I’m reading right away and then give all my attention over to heroic fantasy.
Sword mode!
The Return of the Sword anthology includes a never-before-published Faceless Sons story from me, called The Mask Oath. I’m also eager to read what Ty Johnston, S.C. Bryce, James Enge, Michael Ehart, Bruce Durham and others have written. I can’t get enough of that sword-slinging goodness.
Click the button below if you feel the same way.
– Steve
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Hello, and welcome to the blog of a sword-and-sorcery writer. Most of the stuff here is about writing fiction, but you'll also find some stuff about beer and Godzilla, a few bits of Zen, really short film reviews and my now-and-then rants about social injustice.Use the box below to search for topics within this blog.You also can find topics by category, using the list further down in this sidebar.
