Wednesday, October 31, 2012

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!


Happy Hallowe'en from your Hump Day Word Whore!
I love, love, love Hallowe'en/Samhain. I adore the fun costumes, the candy, and oh yes, the skulls. Fall is my most favorite time of year. The leaves are changing color, the woodland is aflame with color, and I get to dig out my flannel and thermal shirts again.  

 *sigh*  

 (Don't go mistaking me for a fashionista.) 

 Before I go any further, I have to give a BIG SHOUTING MUPPET FLAILING congratulations to ALLISON on yesterday's release of TRACE of MOONLIGHT and CAROLYN on yesterday's release of MR. REAL
Happy dance for my fellow word-whores! 

 Topic wise, this week is about REVENANTS, and how to keep the undead novel--as in new and fresh. 

Dictionary.com gives us this definition of revenant

 rev·e·nant   [rev-uh-nuhnt] noun
1. a person who returns.
2. a person who returns as a spirit after death; ghost.

This tells me a revenant can be 
1.) a zombie 
2.) a ghost
3.) a vampire
I'll take the vampire behind door number 3, Charlie. 

 Duh.

 How to keep vampires fresh and new? 

 *Ponders.* Meh. You can't. I think that on the publishing about the undead expressway, vampires are in the 'romance ideas are pretty much exhausted for this archetype' lane. So I'd suggest going darker. Going grittier. Pushing the characters harder--antagonists and protagonists. Hone those scenes, that dialogue, the plot. Build tension. Raise the stakes. Hurt somebody! 
Wait! I mean ON THE PAGE...not in real life.

 At this point, I think it is less about 'a fantastic new vampire twist' and more about a damn good story that (might) just so happen to have vamps in it. But it would probably take a damn good story to interest editors. 
Pirate me! Whaddaya mean the rum's gone?
*Tap, tap on the computer screen.* Are you listening? What you absolutely can do is tell a damn good story that interests people and moves people. Learn your craft. Utilize all your skill. It's hard work, but if you can get people talking about it, recommending it to others, then you're on your way.
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4 comments:

  1. B.E. SandersonOctober 31, 2012 at 8:23 AM

    I'm a little sad that vampires are exhausted. On the other hand, if it weren't for the tired vampires, we wouldn't have books about all the other paranormal people. And there are still energetic vampires out there, if you know where to look. Like Lynn Viehl's Darkyn series. And hiding in the stories of Nancy Holzner and Mr. James R. Tuck over there. Keep 'em comin' folks.

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  2. K.A. KrantzOctober 31, 2012 at 9:22 AM

    Love the pink wig! I'm a huge fan of "darker" and "grittier," and you're right -- nothing beats a Damn Good Story.

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  3. Sharon StognerOctober 31, 2012 at 4:37 PM

    I agree! Give me a good story and fascinating character interactions. It can be about vamps, shifters or caterpillars. Love your corset by the way...and yes to the darker grittier stories. Make that caterpillar walk the line between good and evil!

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  4. UnknownOctober 31, 2012 at 5:18 PM

    Ha ha - that is the most awesome wig! (And thanks for the shout-out! See you soon!)

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