I don’t usually talk to my family about my work. Why? It’s not that they aren’t interested or that they don’t support me. They do. But for the most part those in my familial circle aren’t terribly interested in the genres in which I write.
So, I tend to let that part of my world be removed from family. And I’m okay with that.
But every so often a conversation about my fiction does leak out into mi familia. Last weekend, such an event did occur…and I’m glad it did.
Let me set the stage.
Watch the accompanied video above to learn more on this subject.
I’m about to finish writing the first draft of fEaR3 for Devil Dog Press (get fEaR and fEaR2 on Amazon now). As usual, I’m waiting for the universe to tell me what it is I am meant to write next. Well, that happened recently and, it appears, I am to write a gothic ghost story for my publisher. I cannot even remember what inspiration led me to that conclusion, but when it happened I immediately took notes on the idea.
This past weekend I shared the idea with the wife. Although she was excited that I was finally going to write something she’d definitely be interested in, her immediate response to the idea was, “You always go for the out there.”
I gave that some thought, with regards to the idea for the next work. As I pondered this, I thought, “Let’s pull it back a bit.” What do I mean by that? Simple. I’m already venturing into the “out there” by writing a ghost story set in a very gothic world. On top of that I had layered a dash of serial killer and a bit more evilness into the mix. When the wife brought that to my attention I realized the layers were a bit too much. And then it hit me:
Why not pull it back far enough that the haunting alone was the driving force of the story.
Ghosts.
That’s enough. That’s the book.
Of course, it’s not just ghosts (because that would be way too simplistic for me), but it’s enough to serve as a foundation.
Less is more.
A haunting is plenty to drive a narrative.
I tend to lean toward very complex ideas. The more layers the better. But sometimes it’s good to peel back those layers and expose the core of a story and give it an absolute and undiluted focus. To many layers of narrative can reduce the overall effect of a story, especially one that is already layered by the very nature of the setting.
That’s exactly what I’m going to do with my next novel. And I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about it. Because I’m setting it in a gothic period, it’ll give me a chance to use language like I did with both Frankenstein Theory and Dracula Theory. And because ghost stories are all the rage, it should be something everyone will want to sink their spooky teeth into.
I should begin writing this new novel within the next week or so.
Until then, be safe my friends.