In space, no one can hear you scream…
Around here, I’m using some of the real estate behind the blog to publish some longer works that have appeared online elsewhere beforehand. Think of this as a ‘Greatest Hits’ or reprint edition.
For a quick jump into a selection of short stories, check out My Work
You can find longer or more experimental pieces of fiction over on the Deeper Space page (right now I have classic scifi and magic realism, but not together;)
As always, you can find my most recent releases on my Amazon Author page where I currently have a twinned collection of short stories — LIGHT and DARK — FREE for Kindle Unlimited Subscribers.
Most of this blog contains my thoughts on horror, fiction, and writing in essay form. You might say I’m a spooky intellectual. Welcome to it. I’ve got essays and ramblings galore — you can find a monstrously huge essay about monsters right here.
I’ve tried to organize blog posts by general theme (and yes, there’s overlap). I included links and excerpts below, stick around and check things out, you’ll be glad you did.
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POSTS ON WRITING
Dear Reader,
Without you I am nothing. Truly I am.
But let me explain.
My basic approach to writing is quick and dirty – purging or a cognitive dump, if you will. you might call it spewing. I get it all out, and worry about the details afterward.
The end result is often a barebones outline… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING DEAR READER
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DITCHING THE MUSE AND HOW TO WRITE LOTS
How to write:
Step one – turn off your internet, cell phone, TV, and all social media. Shut door if possible.
Step two – write.
Simple advice, but true.
Reduce distractions for yourself and just start. Sure, your first few (or thousand) words might be utter crap. But keep going. Who knows where it’ll take you… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING DITCHING THE MUSE AND HOW TO WRITE LOTS
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READING AND WRITING… WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
My sink full of dirty dishes and un-swept floors will tell you that there’s sure not much else in my life (friends and family aside); but even still I haven’t been seeing much of them lately. I’ve been holed up writing, and although that work isn’t ready to share yet, I’ve been doing a heap of reading too – namely revisiting some old faves and rediscovering new ones… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING AND WRITING… WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
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POSTS ON FICTION
All stories, especially good ones, tell the truth. Or, it may only be a certain version of the truth, or let’s say a culturally sanctioned version of the truth, but stories tell the truth.
Take good ol’ Cinderella for example… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING TRUTH IN STORYTELLING
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POSTS ON HORROR AND FANTASY
WHY WRITE DARK STUFF — IN PRAISE OF MONSTERS WHO SPEAK THE TRUTH
So spare me your stories of designer handbags and millionaires (excuse me while I puke) and bring on some seriously twisted dark love stories – maybe Dracula or Jane Eyre or one of my all-time favorites, Wuthering Heights. And I know I’ve talked about this before (and my deep love for Gone with the Wind ‘cuz Rhett and Scarlett are simply well dressed sociopaths who don’t even play nice. And we love them for it. But I digress.)… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING WHY WRITE DARK STUFF — IN PRAISE OF MONSTERS WHO SPEAK THE TRUTH
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LIFE ON THE EDGES — MARGINALIZED CHARACTERS
The old adage in English literature is that marginalized characters are the most truthful; from their decentralized perspective, they see things that ‘mainstream’ characters do not, and due to their frequently limited power and status, they have nothing to lose by telling the truth… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING LIFE ON THE EDGES — MARGINALIZED CHARACTERS
A MONSTROUSLY HUGE ESSAY ABOUT MONSTERS
Liz here — this originally appeared over at Twisted Sister lit mag as a highlight in their monster issue, and you’ll see it reposted in various forms back there over the next couple months. Here’s the essay in its entirety — a truly monstrous undertaking.
There’s truth in all of it, my friends.
And I’ve already talked about truth in fiction over at my blog – a sort of two truths and a lie approach writing; but the secret is, the more distorted and fantastic your version of reality is (in effect, the lie) the more honest it becomes, and in doing so, actually speaks the truth of the people and situations it involves.
Let that sink in a moment. How it works is the distance provided by a monster or fantastic reality gives the clarity of vision only achieved from great heights – imagine looking down from a mountaintop on to the town below. You see everything in a way that you never could while immersed in that town.
Satirist Jonathan Swift deliberately used distance to speak the truth this in Gulliver’s Travels, but it works in subtler ways too. Don’t believe me? I talk about truth and marginalized characters on my blog – check it out.
So those monsters you see shambling across books and movie screens – be careful with them. Not only do they bite, but they bite hard, because in their very existence they tell us the truths we might not want to see.
To get started, let’s revisit a few classics for a bit… CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING A MONSTROUSLY HUGE ESSAY ABOUT MONSTERS
For more on about me, check out my ABOUT page and for excerpts and links to my stories and other essays, be sure to check out MY WORK. You’ll be glad you did.
~ Liz
liz mcadams 
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