PenTwist

Horror – The Divine Comedy
By David Pyle

A few nights ago, I had a conversation with a very clear-minded, newly adopted child of mine about horror fiction.  Not about plots and scenarios or themes, but about the validity of creative horror fiction.
Our collaborative conclusions focused on the absolute comedic absurdity of horror in the context of horror fiction.
My interpretation of horror in fiction stems from the belief that the basest element of horror is merely a scalpel that exposes the internal workings on today’s society and morality.  Horror in itself is nothing less than a satirical allegory that has the ability to scrape the rust from the bottom of the kettle of our souls, displaying a glimpse of the tragedies lurking inside.
     Ignoring the contents inside would be the true tragedy.
I often hear comments from Writers and Readers’ and yes even the Religiosity alike, blasting horror fiction as heinous and destructive, as if in itself Fiction contains some supernatural power to incite…, no…, conjure fear to arise.
(Admittedly it is a powerful catalyst!)
Laughingly, those same people ineptly scan the ingredients of every box and container on the grocery shelf in an attempt to filter or understand the emulsifiers and sulfides they are about to ingest.
Horror fiction is merely the content label that exposes what already exists in the heart and mind, hidden in the darkness, even from ourselves.  In muting that fear, we end up unable to communicate with our own hearts.
I suppose that could be the reason that the majority of all fiction today in both the cinema and literature is concentrically attached to horror in more or less degrees.  At the local movie outlet, the shelves are profuse with horror-related genre – From Abattoirs to Zombies!

Why?

The fact that our audience waits on the edge of their seats for the next event or its sequel is the best conclusion to be drawn.
Happily, some of those same aforementioned critics return week after week and year after year to the theater to peer around the corner into the darkness, then run screaming back to the safety of their own theatre of life and flip on the evening news!

Ha!  What fun….

As in Dante’s Inferno, Horror Fiction truly is the Divine Comedy.

“There is nothing to fear, but fear of  fear.”
D. Pyle

Critical Critiques
by David Pyle

With the advent of online bookstores, e-books, and e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc…) the proverbial literary barn door has swung wide to a vast new audience.
Personally, I love the Kindle Fire I received as a Christmas present.  It was a stroke of marketing genius to give avid readers and students the ability to carry around an entire library in a pocket or purse sized device.
(I still purchase hard covers of my favorite authors)

As a result of these new toys, people who most likely haven’t turned a page in a good novel since high school or college have suddenly found themselves being force fed a glut of Novelry they otherwise wouldn’t have given a second glance.
To exacerbate the dilemma, more novels are being published now than in all of recorded history.

My point you ask?
Because of this, suddenly everyone has become self-ordained hyper-literate critics over the last year or so.  Suddenly, even miraculously, these same people feel the ardent need to critique every single paragraph of every book they’ve pasted before their bleary eyes.

If you’ve purchased a book from any of the aforementioned outlets, then you have seen the “reader reviews”.  Many of these negative page long expert reviews are simply a heated and biased opinion based on the reader’s personal preferences.

My request to my audience is that you favor the positive reviews lurking just below your proposed purchases.
I discovered just recently that had I allowed myself to be swayed by some of these gutting reviews I would have missed out on some fantastic tales, by some fantastic storytellers; even with (God forbid) grammatical errors.

As a published author, I know from personal experience that copy editors are only human and can mess up spelling and grammar, software can puke all over your meticulous formatting, and that there are unscrupulous publishers that will publish your raw work unedited.

As a matter of etiquette, any reviews found here on pentwist.com are chosen because I LIKED the book and believe my audience would enjoy reading a particular medium from a particular author.
Regrettably, I have been forced to give reviews of books in online book clubs simply because it was a requirement for receiving a pre-published review copy.  Not all books, even well edited books are to my liking and for conscience sake, I have discontinued accepting review copies that require a written review.
However, this does not mean that an author I didn’t care for does not have an audience that will like the style or voice or the content of their published work.  It simply means that I didn’t like it and therefore refuse to pass judgment.

Please Click Here to view a few personal favorite reads.

Or Click Here to download the list— (.doc format)

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Another quick gem I found in one of the many books by Dean Koontz.  Like some of my previously mentioned authors, I found several gems in Relentless that are blatant and wonderful peeks into the mind of the author / writer:

Relentless
By Dean Koontz

Page 67 – Paragraph 5

“This happens often when writing fiction.  Outlines are a waste of time.  If you give your characters free will, they will grow in ways you never anticipated, and they will take the story places you could not have predicted, raising themes you might or might not have intended to explore.  Characters shape events; events illuminate the characters.  The people in a story begin as seeds, become buds, and blossom in surprise him with their intentions and capacities.”

My only comment is that I  believe Outlines are NOT a waste of time for fiction, however they are not God. 
I use outlines for anchoring the ideas of a story for future reference when my Muse flies by, then when I do my research, and begin the rough draft, I allow the outline to grow as my Muse intended.

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Please remember during the upcoming Holiday Season to buy some American products along with all your shopping. 
Don’t forget to give the gift of a good book for the cold winter evenings! 

Thanks to everyone and Happy Holidays to all.

David

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Between Life and Death (Second Edition is Here)

Debut Novel by David Pyle
Between Life and Death is a
Supernatural Thriller centered in
historical Natchez, Mississippi.

Released in 2009
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If you’d like some reading material, I plan on adding massive content to my review section next month.

Check back?

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