Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

  • Home
  • The Blog
  • Email List/Contact
  • Interviews
  • Apocalyptic
  • Horror
  • Military Thriller
  • Sci-fi/Fantasy
  • All books

Hachette Launches “Run For It” Horror Imprint

July 22, 2024 by Craig DiLouie Leave a Comment

I have a new imprint at Hachette Book Group! Cool news as it’s a brand-new imprint dedicated to horror.

From the press release:

Hachette Book Group’s Orbit division has launched Run for It, a new horror imprint. Run for It is Orbit’s fourth imprint, alongside the flagship Orbit SFF imprint; Redhook, launched in 2013, which focuses on commercial fiction with speculative elements; and the digital SFF publishing imprint Orbit Works, launched in 2023.

Run for It will publish Orbit’s current horror authors, including Craig DiLouie and Andy Marino, with plans to add more. Its inaugural titles are slated for summer 2025.

This is good news for horror, which is going through an extraordinary surge.

Filed Under: APOCALYPTIC/HORROR, Books, Craig at Work, CRAIG'S WORK, MEDIA YOU MIGHT LIKE, The Blog, WRITING LIFE, Writing/Publishing

YELLOWFACE by R. F. Kuang

July 13, 2023 by Craig DiLouie Leave a Comment

R.F. Kuang’s YELLOWFACE is a weird atom bomb of a book, one that’s difficult to talk about because its themes are both convoluted and incendiary. I… liked it? I think. For its provocative themes alone, I found it a powerful work of literature.

The story is told by unreliable narrator June, a struggling novelist who happens to be best friends with Athena, a very successful Chinese-American writer. When Athena dies, June steals her latest manuscript and passes it off as her own, realizing all her dreams and leading to a writer’s worst nightmare.

As a professional writer, I was curious about the book, as it touches on so many things relevant in the publishing world. Writer’s block, getting published, expectations meeting reality in terms of what publishers do for you, internet witch burning complete with bandwagon virtue signaling, and sensitivity readers. This constant thread in YELLOWFACE was for me a lot of fun to read.

June rationalizes everything she does, and she’s fairly despicable if at times sympathetic–if she hadn’t stolen the manuscript, after all, it’s an entirely different book with different themes. Thematically, reviewers have found cultural appropriation and white privilege, though I personally didn’t get that out of it. There is certainly privilege here, one shared by both Athena and June, which is money. Both go to an ivy league school with plenty of connections, and while Athena’s career takes off to the stars, June’s doesn’t suffer as much as she thinks. Her first novel gets a $20,000 advance from a medium-sized press with a book tour, which had me laughing–there are hardworking and hungry writers who, how do I put this, WOULD NUKE ENTIRE CITIES FOR THAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITY.

Another theme I found in the book, which one reviewer nailed, is people being publicly performative. It’s speculated that Athena’s privilege is in part due to a hyperfocus on diversity, resulting in tokenization. Her legacy is attacked by other Chinese-Americans as not being authentically Chinese enough. When someone speculates June stole the manuscript from Athena, June is thoroughly roasted in the kind of bandwagon witch hunt that occupies writers’ nightmares. (I was once accused of being racist on Facebook for the crime of writing a review of BLACK PANTHER in which I called the movie kind of boring.) One might argue that even some of the reviews on the back cover of YELLOWFACE are performative, which would weirdly prove Kuang’s point if that is indeed what she intended. Then there are the bizarre negative reviews, full of kneejerk accusations that Kuang is a Chinese supremacist and the true racist! Either way, arguably, book publishing is more diverse than it’s ever been, which I personally think is wonderful–but is that itself performative (by readers and publishers alike) or simply the result of creating a fair playing field that recognizes good work? Personally, I’m optimistic rather than cynical; in the end, I think the latter is true.

So holy crap, yes, there is a lot to admire about YELLOWFACE in how explosive and layered it is thematically, how it makes you think, and how that easy, simple point you think it’s making is not easy or simple at all, making you think and then think again. It hits a lot of buttons glowing red in today’s internet age, and for that alone, there’s much to admire, even if the story itself often dragged for me. If you’re a writer, I highly recommend giving it a read.

(On a final side note, a word about sensitivity readers: If you’re a writer and the publisher offers one, I suggest taking it. I feel like addressing this because I see a lot of posts on social media about how they’re censorship or something. First off, any time your book is published by a company, that company will edit your work for market, which is “censorship.” If you can’t abide a single word of your work being changed, then you should self-publish. Me, I see value in a good editor. All the sensitivity reading does is employ an additional informed editing resource to ensure you represent other races and so on accurately and without negative stereotyping. As they cost money, they typically aren’t offered unless your editor feels there is a risk of you ruining your own success by stepping in a cowpie and unintentionally offending a portion of your readers (and their company’s customers). For my books, I’ve never needed a sensitivity reading, though my normal editing process does include sensitivity edits. Some made me go huh, a few were very helpful, and none of them harmed my work and in fact either had no artistic effect or improved it. Maybe other authors have horror stories about sensitivity readings, I don’t know, but speaking from my own experience, it’s nothing to be afraid of and can in fact help you.)

Back to YELLOWFACE to wrap up, I didn’t quite love it as a story, but I certainly enjoyed its themes, which offered plenty to think about. I did find the author intriguing enough I picked up her novel BABEL, which I’m quite enjoying.

Filed Under: Books, MEDIA YOU MIGHT LIKE, WRITING LIFE, Writing/Publishing

OnWriting

January 2, 2023 by Craig DiLouie Leave a Comment

Selection of articles and slide decks for presentations Craig DiLouie has done on writing craft:

Confessions of a Mid-Lister

The Best Advice I Ever Got as a Writer (Wordbridge 2023 Keynote Presentation)

This Is Your Brain on Reading

This Is Your Brain on Writing

47 Tips for Effective Dialogue, Part 1

47 Tips for Effective Dialogue, Part 2

A Few Words on Words

When Words Collide Presentation on Character Arcs

Theme, Symbolism, and Figurative Language, Part 1

Theme, Symbolism, and Figurative Language, Part 2

Theme, Symbolism, and Figurative Language, Part 3

Great books on writing and writers: ANATOMY OF STORY by John Truby, STORY ENGINEERING by Larry Brooks, TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS! by Libbie Hawker, THE WRITING LIFE by Jeff Strand.

Filed Under: Writing/Publishing

This Is Your Brain on Writing

November 16, 2021 by Craig DiLouie 2 Comments

In my last post, I described a journey I took to better understand the science of reading and what insights I could gain from it as a writer. I found the topic fascinating enough to keep going.

What about writing? What’s happening in our brains while we produce stories? What could I learn from this to be a better writer?

Writing and the brain

The process of creative formulation and physical writing lights up a whole lot of the human brain. Language, cognition, memory, visual processing, planning and control, and the ability to make associations between unrelated concepts all come into play. The prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex, Broca’s area, posterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus.

A small number of studies have looked at the concept of “story creation” and what areas of the brain might be involved. In one study from 2005 (Howard-Jones et al), participants were presented with a set of three words and asked to create a story based around them while getting a brain MRI. The researchers found activity not just in the brain’s language region but also the region responsible for making associations between unrelated concepts.

In a later study in 2013 (Shah et al), participants were given 30 words, asked to brainstorm a story, and then given two minutes to write during an MRI. The researchers found activity in the region responsible for planning and control during the brainstorming.

Writers are born and made

One can’t consider the brain of a writer without wondering if there’s something different about it that makes that person predisposed to being one.

The popular conception is that writers are born with all their talent, creativity can’t be taught, and inspiration arrives like lightning allowing the mad writer to crank out a great work.

The reality is that while creativity is a function of intelligence, the majority of people have creative problem-solving skills, and the actual skills involved in writing can be taught. Writers do not have to write in a vacuum but can benefit from criticism as long as it is thoroughly constructive. Writing is hard work, and writers have more control over their work than might be felt during the process.

In fact, practice makes perfect, and writing is no exception, as borne out by research suggesting veteran writers have brains tuned for writing. If you’re like me, you’re a better writer today than you were last year, and not as good a writer as you’ll be next year.

In one study led by Martin Lotze, German researchers observed brain activity during the writing process and discovered that brain activity is different between novices and veterans. The brain activity of professional writers is similar in some ways to the brains of other skilled people like musicians or athletes, Lotze concluded.

In short, like a violinist who has to make a lot of racket before getting good, be prepared to grow as a writer by writing.

Writer traits

What else can we learn about how the writing brain behaves?

Fortunately for us, there has been an explosion of psychological research in this area in recent years. In one study, researchers at the University of California attempted to profile the psychology of the creative writer by evaluating 30 distinguished writers over three days in a “live-in” assessment.

They found five common traits: possessed a high intellectual capacity, valued intellectual and cognitive matters, valued independence, had high verbal fluency and quality of expression, and enjoyed aesthetic impressions.

In another qualitative study, researcher Jane Piirto studied writers listed in the Directory of American Poets and Writers. She collected and analyzed interviews, memoirs, and biographies.
She too found five distinguishing traits: high levels of ambition (and envy!), high concern with philosophical issues such as the meaning of life, high levels of frankness and risk-taking, high value on empathy, and a keen sense of humor.

Yes, writers are awesome.

But… they’re also more likely to have certain mental issues.

Researcher A.M. Ludwig compared 59 female writers to 59 matched controls and found the writers suffered from higher levels of depression, mania, panic attacks, generalized anxiety, eating disorders, and drug abuse. Members of artistic professions, he found in subsequent research, were twice as likely to suffer from two or more psychological disorders as people in other professions.

At the same time, it is interesting to note that despite this, writers remain prolific, which is a sign of resilience, health, and strength of ego.

Fortunately for us, writing is also therapeutic. It’s commonly used as a therapeutic tool based on the premise that writing’s one feelings causes emotional trauma to fade along with growing self-awareness and self-development. And it just feels good.

The flow

Now let’s get into the creative process. The process of writing is highly varied depending on the writer, but scientists have attempted to identify the stages in the creative process.
One of the most popular is the Wallace 4-step process: preparation (gather information), incubation (subconscious works on ideas), illumination (make connection between ideas), and implementation (ideas become reality via critical thinking). To which creative frustration may be added (is this story working?).

M. Csikszentmihalyi conducted a qualitative study of creative people, including prominent writers, who described experiencing “flow” during the process of writing. The writers described flow as a state of extreme concentration, challenge, skill, and reward.

SK Perry advised writers on how to get flow going. Be passionate about your project, get feedback, engage in preparation rituals—such as stopping work in the middle of a scene or sentence, allowing you to start again quickly next time—and minimize anxiety about a critical reception for your work.

I think that last one is a crusher—the fear nobody will like what you’ve created—necessitating very supportive and constructive feedback.

One way to get creativity flowing is to become exposed to others’ creative ideas. In one MRI study, 31 participants were asked to come up with alternate uses for everyday objects. Some of the participants were shown ideas of others, which resulted in increased neural network activity and subsequent greater originality.

For writers, this might mean reading the work of other authors, joining writing groups, attending writing conventions, and finding a constructive Ideal Reader.

Writer’s block

Sometimes, creativity doesn’t come easily, and it’s hard to get into the flow. Writers call this “writer’s block.” But is this a problem of producing words, or of coming up with what happens next?
Some writers freeze up at that commitment because of fear or lack of confidence. Again, that sense all this hard work will only lead to harsh criticism.

“Writer’s block is a highly treatable condition,” wrote Dr. P. Huston, University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “A systematic approach can help to alleviate anxiety, build confidence, and give people the information they need to work productively.”

He wrote a whitepaper on how to treat writer’s block. The document was aimed at academic writers, but I think it’s readily applicable to fiction.

Basically, he says if there’s a mild blockage, establish realistic expectations, allow yourself to be imperfect (write a draft), sidestep whatever is blocking you, and optimize your writing conditions. If there is moderate blockage, imagine you are someone you admire writing, talk through your work with a sympathetic ear, write stream of consciousness to prime the pump, or take a break. And if the blockage is severe, consider cognitive or behavioral therapy or imposing a system of negative consequences (such as an app where you have to give money to a charity you hate if you miss a writing goal).

Parting words

“What an astonishing thing a book is,” said scientist Carl Sagan. “It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.”

Thank you for joining me on this journey to uncover the scientific foundation for this magic, which I hope you found as inspiring as I did.

Filed Under: Cool Science, Craig at Work, WRITING LIFE, Writing/Publishing

This Is Your Brain on Reading

November 16, 2021 by Craig DiLouie Leave a Comment

A number of years ago, a woman told me that one of my horror novels had made her cry. As a horror writer, I found this music to my ears.

Afterward, I started to think about what exactly had happened there. I typed up a bunch of words that popped into my head as complex ideas, they were printed as abstract symbols, her brain decoded them, and then she felt a visceral reaction.

We take this all for granted, but it’s pure magic.

But it also isn’t magic. Something happens between the writer and the reader.

What are the underlying mechanisms?

This started me on an exploratory journey—a meditation on what happens to our brains on reading and writing, and what insights we can glean from that.

In this first post, we tackle the reading brain.

Reading and the brain

At a basic level, reading involves decoding a string of abstract symbols and translating it into complex ideas. In reality, a whole lot more is going on.

Consider the sentence, “The baker had a kindly face.” Reading something basic like this, we are using the language processing parts of our brains. Notably Broca’s area, which enables production of speech, and Wernicke’s area, which enables comprehension.

Now consider this sentence: “The baker had an open jar of cinnamon under his nose.” A whole different brain area lights up—the primary olfactory cortex, which enables detection of odors. As if we were actually smelling it ourselves.

In a 2006 study conducted in Spain, researchers had subjects read words strongly associated with odors along with neutral words, and then conducted MRI scans of their brains. (These scans are very useful for neuroscientific research because they show relative blood flow in the brain. More blood means work is being done there.) The researchers found that when reading odor-associated words like “cinnamon” and “coffee” and “perfume,” the subjects’ primary olfactory cortex became stimulated.

Now read this: “The baker held the jar in his leathery hands.”

Our sensory cortex just engaged. This was discovered by research such as a 2012 study at Emory University, which found that sensory metaphors like “velvet voice” and “leathery hands” stimulated the sensory cortex—as if the readers were touching something themselves. Cliché figures of speech like “a rough day” and general descriptions like “a pleasing voice” did not.

It goes to show that evocative language awakens the reader’s senses, while clichés and non-evocative language does not.

Our story goes on: “Inspired by the baker, she jogged home and hammered out a first draft on her keyboard.” Reading this, of course, stimulates the motor cortex.

This was discovered in research such as a 2013 study at the Laboratory of Language Dynamics in France, which found the motor cortex became stimulated when subjects read a sentence describing a physical act, such as, “Pablo kicked the ball.” In fact, the brain activity was specific to parts of the cortex when motion was related to specific body parts.

So what does all this mean? The brain, it seems, does not make much of a distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life. In each case, the same neurological regions are stimulated.

“The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonists,” said Dr. Gregory Berns of Emory University. “We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”

Theory of mind

Finally, read this: “After she was done writing, she looked around her empty house and felt alone and unloved. She knew what she had to do. She would…”
So, what does she do next?

Think about it.

Have an answer? Good. You just used a whole other part of your brain: the prefrontal cortex that enables cognition, personality, decisions, and social behavior; and the superior temporal sulcus, which enables multisensory processing. A whole lot is going on as networks in your brain used to navigate interactions with other people are put to work.

In 2011, Raymond Mar conducted a meta-analysis of 86 MRI studies and discovered a major overlap in the brain networks we use to understand stories and the networks we use to interact with other people. In particular, interactions where we try to figure out what other people are thinking and feeling. This ability to conceive a map of other people’s intentions is called “theory of mind.”
Stories exercise this ability as we identify with characters’ feelings, figure out their motives, and track their intentions. Because of this, reading is not only enjoyable but also biologically adaptive.

“Fiction narratives supply us with a mental catalog of the fatal conundrums we might face someday and the outcome of the strategies we could deploy in them,” wrote Harvard University’s Steven Pinker, author of How The Mind Works.

Besides this, there is evidence reading improves vocabulary, fosters empathy and emotional intelligence, is therapeutic, and changes minds. Combined with the experiences and wonder it offers, reading is simply one of the most enjoyable things humans can do.

Writing for readers

When I think about reading’s effect on the brain, I can’t help but recall one of my favorite quotes from Wonder Boys: “She read everything every spare moment. She was a junkie for the printed word. And lucky for me, I manufactured her drug of choice.”

How do we as writers stimulate the reader’s brain in just the right way? While the science of reading became far better understood just in the last one or two decades, interestingly, writers have known all along. In other words, the research reinforces the basic tenets of story.

Hook the reader’s attention by capitalizing on human interest in danger and surprise. Build a connection with the protagonist quickly to stimulate oxytocin, an empathy chemical in the brain. Challenge the protagonist with obstacles to achieving their goal. If your story has theme, connect the protagonist’s struggle and transformation to the broader world shared with the reader. Use language to produce as sensory and engaging an experience as possible. And take the time to learn craft until it’s internalized and becomes a toolset used as needed.

In a subsequent post, “This Is Your Brain on Writing,” we’ll take a look into the brain of the writer while they’re doing all this.

Filed Under: Cool Science, Writing/Publishing

THOUGHTS ON THEME, SYMBOLISM, AND FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: Part 3

September 1, 2021 by Craig DiLouie 1 Comment

In this post, we’re gonna talk about figurative language and how writers can use it to tell better stories.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

When people say, “it’s a figure of speech,” they’re referring to one of the many types of figurative language shown here. What they all have in common is their use can be very stimulating to a reader’s brain if cliché is avoided. When readers praise “good writing,” a lot of times, they’re talking about this stuff.

Figurative language really is stimulating to readers. In a study conducted by the University of Ontario, participants read a story, some of which included metaphors and some that didn’t, and then evaluated photographs of eyes to identify true emotional state. Those who read the stories that included metaphors were significantly better at identifying the emotional state.

In a second experiment, participants listened to stories being read and then rated the speaker. Speakers who used metaphors were judged to be friendlier and more intimate. This makes figurative language powerful stuff for a writer.

Let’s look at a few of the more popular forms.

Metaphor

A metaphor describes something as being like something else even though they’re not literally equivalent. Usually, the comparison is between something abstract or unfamiliar with something familiar, such as, “All the world’s a stage” or “life is a burning candle.” The result can express symbolism or be generally stimulating.

The metaphor can be explicit, making it a metaphor, or implied, as in the example, “It was another day playing my part with the same old script.”

Simile

Another type of metaphor is a simile, in which one thing is compared to a different thing with a similar characteristic to make a point or enhance a description. “Life is like a box of chocolates.” Similes are easily recognizable as they use the word “as” or “like” to make the comparison.

On a final note, the comparison is usually similar in a simile. If the comparison is between two things that are very different, it’s called a conceit. An example is “fit as a fiddle,” though conceits don’t always use “as” or “like.”

Using Metaphor and Simile

The first bit of advice is obvious, which is to avoid mixing metaphors and similes in proximity in the text. And to avoid mixing incongruous metaphors, and mixing similes together. You can write, “This truck is a rock, it forges ahead no matter what,” and the reader will understand the meaning of the sum, but it just doesn’t sound right because the individual ideas don’t mesh in a congruent way. In dialogue, of course, you can do anything if it serves the character, but in narrative, not so much. Personally, I subscribe to the theory that the best writing goes unnoticed so that the reader becomes more immersed in the story. If you’re going to call attention to your writing, however, you always want the reader to go, “Nice,” rather than, “Oh, that’s right, I’m reading a book.” For me, that’s my primary guide.

Otherwise, avoid cliches unless you’re going for an intentional effect. Be provocative but clear, functional, relatable to the point of view, and supportive of the tone or theme. When possible, try to arouse the reader’s senses such as taste, touch, and so on.

One clever way to use metaphor or simile in a science fiction or fantasy novel is to make up new ones for a specific world or culture. While it may be tempting to say, “solid as a gloobnorb” for color, it would probably work better if the reader was informed previously what a gloobnorb is.

Here’s a bunch of examples. As you can see, simile can go a long way to add color, stimulate the reader, and aid immersion.

Analogy

An analogy uses a metaphor, simile, or conceit to make a larger point. It’s not a figure or speech but instead a type of argument. When Forest Gump says, “Life is like a box of chocolates,” that’s a simile. When he adds, “You never know what you’re gonna get,” he’s making an analogy. By explaining how life is like a box of chocolates, we learn something about both.

Other Figures of Speech

And that’s it! Thanks for checking out this little series on theme, symbolism, and figurative language. I hope you find out it useful.

Filed Under: Craig at Work, The Blog, Writing/Publishing

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 22
  • Next Page »

Categories

  • APOCALYPTIC/HORROR
    • Apocalyptic
    • Art
    • Film Shorts/TV
    • Movies
    • Music Videos
    • Reviews of Other Books
    • Weird/Funny
    • Zombies
  • COMICS
    • Comic Books
  • CRAIG'S WORK
    • Armor Series
    • Aviator Series
    • Castles in the Sky
    • Crash Dive Series
    • Djinn
    • Episode Thirteen
    • Hell's Eden
    • How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive
    • My Ex, The Antichrist
    • One of Us
    • Our War
    • Q.R.F.
    • Strike
    • Suffer the Children
    • The Alchemists
    • The Children of Red Peak
    • The End of the Road
    • The Final Cut
    • The Front
    • The Infection
    • The Killing Floor
    • The Retreat Series
    • The Thin White Line
    • Tooth and Nail
  • GAMES
    • Video & Board Games
  • HISTORY
    • Other History
    • Submarines & WW2
  • MEDIA YOU MIGHT LIKE
    • Books
    • Film Shorts
    • Interesting Art
    • Movies & TV
    • Music
  • POLITICAL
    • Politics
  • SCIENCE
    • Cool Science
  • The Blog
  • WRITING LIFE
    • Craig at Work
    • Interviews with Craig
    • Reader Mail
    • Writing/Publishing

Copyright © 2025 · Author Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in