In the “spirit” of Halloween, I just posted a free ghost story on my website. “Burn After Writing” is a tale of betrayal, plagiarism, and revenge from the beyond the grave.
Although the story was finished months before his death, it is dedicated to Harlan Ellison, one of my favorite writers of all time. Hope you enjoy it and Happy Halloween!
Harlan Ellison once said of the term “blog” that it sounded like “something you upchuck or go to a hospital to have removed from your body.”
Harlan Ellison didn’t care much for personal computers and despised the Internet. He used an Olympia manual typewriter throughout his enviable writing career, which spanned approximately fifty years and over 1,700 stories, articles, scripts, comic books, and novels.
Harlan Ellison was one of the most honored writers of all time, having won multiple Nebula, Hugo, and Edgar awards and many others. Click here to take a tour of his awards.
Harlan designed the Bram Stoker award for the Horror Writers Association. He was named Grand Master of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 2006 by SFWA (but don’t call Harlan a Science Fiction writer, he preferred “speculative fiction” or “fantasist”).
Harlan Ellison was also a fearless purveyor of passionate opinions, a man who harbored absolutely no inhibitions toward expressing his thoughts to anyone at any time. In that way, he was probably one of most courageous people I ever met. Click here to watch Harlan’s touching tributes to writer Robert Bloch and Isaac Asimov and tell me you don’t get choked up.
Or click here to watch Harlan’s impassioned plea to the SFWA to grant the Grand Master award to several aging legends of the genre.
I use the past tense because today, Harlan Ellison died.
I started reading Harlan’s work in high school and never looked back. I have several signed short story collections such as Paingod and Other Delusions, The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, Ellison Wonderland, and Shatterday as well as the famous anthologies he edited—Dangerous Visions, Again Dangerous Visions— and of course, no Ellison fan should be without The Essential Ellison.
In recent years, I managed to add Partners in Wonder, Phoenix Without Ashes, No Doors, No Windows, Memos From Purgatory, The Other Glass Teat, Stalking the Nightmare, and The Deadly Streets.
I took some of these to a convention called I-CON back in 1999, along with several Star Trek and Starlog magazines, and his book documenting his experiences writing the best original Trek episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever”. Among all of these was a book called Doomsman which I had not yet read.
I was nervous yet exuberant when I stepped up to the autograph table and placed my stack of books before the master. Harlan began signing them and restacking them… until he came to Doomsman. He offered to buy it. I said No.
I said “No” to Harlan Ellison. People make mistakes in life. They step on land mines, they play with loaded guns, they say “No” to Harlan Ellison. All typically suffer the same general consequences.
Harlan tossed the book across the table at me. “Then I’m not gonna fuckin’ sign it.” I was at once embarrassed and elated. Harlan dropped the “F” bomb on me. It was akin to earning a badge of honor. I knew I would wear it proudly for the rest of my writing days.
Then one of us, either Harlan or I, came up with the idea of trading Doomsman for another book on his table. This was how I ended up with Ellison Wonderland. Once the deal was done, Harlan held his treasure high over his head and yelled, ” I got a Doomsman!” That seemed to break the ice. He signed the rest of my books, took a photo with me, and that was it—all in the span of maybe 5 minutes.
In such a short time, I met one of my literary heroes, pulled the pin out of a grenade, had a photo op, and walked away with a memory I hope to cherish until I die… or end up with Alzheimer’s… whichever comes first.
But that ain’t the end of the story, folks. At that point, I still had no idea why Harlan was so determined to obtain my copy of Doomsman.
It wasn’t until a Farpoint convention some years later that the late Ann Crispin revealed to me that Harlan was on a quest to collect as many copies of Doomsman as possible—and destroy them. After researching this later, I found corroborating testimony from fans who either sold or traded their copies of Doomsman only to have Harlan tear the book in half on the spot and hand them back the other story, either Telepower by Lee Hoffman or Thief of Thoth by Lin Carter.
Apparently, the publisher (Belmont) had reprinted an early Ellison story, “The Assassin,” and retitled it Doomsman without Harlan’s knowledge. Remember what I said about pulling the pin from a grenade?
Finally, after that little mystery was solved, I came upon a later printing of Doomsman from a used book dealer at a Balticon. This one is staying in my collection.
The truth is, I love the guy. Harlan Ellison inspired me to pursue the craft of writing with courage and confidence. I admire his chutzpah, his talent, his honesty. Many were offended by his irascible, cantankerous demeanor, to the point of creating an organization called the Enemies of Ellison. Harlan’s fans, of course, responded by forming the Friends of Ellison (F.O.E). 
The 2008 documentary, Dreams With Sharp Teeth—covering Harlan’s life and career—is entertaining, edifying, and utterly addictive. I have it on DVD and I watch it at least four times per year. I recommend it not only for Ellison fans, but for writers of all genres. It also features appearances by Robin Williams, Neil Gaiman, and others. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 100%.
Funny, every time I visit a used book store lately, I note the absence of Harlan Ellison books. They’ve become almost impossible to find these days. I wonder… could it be that people are unwilling to give them up?
I sure as hell won’t.
This week, Anna Elliott offers three tips for “kicking your readers right in the feels” while Chris Winkle and Damon Suede explore various facets of character. Peter Selgin boils fiction down to two plot types and explains how to introduce foreshadowing in your story’s opening.
Juliet Marillier defines the fantasy genre, Blake Morrison delves into the often distressing burden of managing a deceased writer’s estate, and Olivia Mason presents a top-ten list of best works from one of my all-time favorite writers, Harlan Ellison.
All that and a little more… Enjoy!
3 Tips to Hook Your Reader’s Emotions by Anna Elliott
What Is Fantasy, Exactly? by Juliet Marillier
Take Cover! by John Gilstrap
The Six Traits of Strong Characters by Chris Winkle
Characters: More Than Just Imaginary People by Damon Suede via Jami Gold
How Works of Fiction Can Be Boiled Down to Two Types of Plots and How Your Story Opening Foreshadows What’s to Come by Peter Selgin
Up in Smoke: Should an Author’s Dying Wishes Be Obeyed? by Blake Morrison
The Best of the Best: 10 Must-Read Works by Harlan Ellison by Olivia Mason
Scam Down Under: Love of Books Brisbane / Julie “Jules” McGregor by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
For ten weeks in 1954, then twenty-year-old writer Harlan Ellison adopted the alias of teenager Phil “Cheech” Beldone and joined a NYC street gang called the Barons all in the name of research—an endeavor that nearly cost Ellison his life on more than one occasion, from the gang initiation ritual to the final savage, bloody rumble against a rival gang in Prospect Park.
Fast-forward seven years to 1961 when Ellison attended a gathering in NYC and encountered an old “friend” named Ken Bales to whom Ellison had loaned a typewriter—which Bales promptly hocked. While at the party, Ellison took the opportunity to demand compensation from Bales. A few days later, two detectives arrived at Ellison’s apartment based on an anonymous report of drug parties and illegal weapons. Was Bales the caller? Ellison seemed to suspect as much.
Known for this vociferous anti-drug lifestyle, Ellison explained to the detectives that there were no illegal narcotics in his apartment and the weapons, taken from a street gang, were now used as part of his popular lectures on juvenile delinquency. After allowing the detectives to search his apartment, Ellison is relieved to learn that no charges will be filed for narcotics—but they will have to arrest him on possession of an unregistered firearm, as a .22 caliber pistol was among the gang weapons.
Thus begins the second part of this memoir—Ellison’s vivid and dramatic description of his 24 hours in jail. Here is where the narrative runs longer than necessary and I can understand why many readers consider it whiny.
Memos from Purgatory is an unflinching, up-close-and-personal examination of street gangs and the callous NYC legal system of the times. It was one of Harlan Ellison’s bestselling books for nearly 25 years. While the material is obviously dated, the color of Ellison’s honest and raw narrative has not faded. I think the same can be said for most of his work.
Of course, what Harlan Ellison book would be complete with an expository introduction? In this case, my 1983 ACE paperback edition contains three intros, one written for this book and two from each previous printing. Ellison’s commentaries are nearly as enjoyable his stories!
Goodreads is kind enough to send a weekly email alerting me to recent blog posts from some of my writer friends. With my project load and generally frenetic schedule for the past four to five months, it’s been a struggle to maintain my own blog, let alone keep up with everyone else’s.
However, today I took the time to read the latest three posts from Kristen Lamb on her Warrior Writers blog. The first one caught my attention because it’s something that’s been on my mind for more than a few years: Is Facebook Dying? What’s Killing It? In her analysis, Kristen posits that when social media was new, it was FUN and people enjoyed connecting with one another. Further, most people maintained a friendly rapport, but then we became comfortable with this novel method for connecting (and in many cases reuniting) with others.
We all know that it doesn’t take much to ruin a good thing, and if the human race excels at one specific skill, it’s destroying almost everything we touch. Additionally, it only takes a few to ruin it for the majority.
Spend a just minutes on any social media platform and you’ll see what I mean—posts and comments replete with hatred, racism, threats, abuse, derisiveness, and good ol’ fashioned ignorance—especially during election years and most especially during this one. As the old adage goes, there ain’t nothing new under the sun. Humanity has always found a way to quickly turn every method of communication ever invented into a shit show.
In the case of social media, just as it was in the case of bulletin boards back in the 90’s, it’s easy to talk trash when you’re sitting at a keyboard, using your favorite movie, TV, or comic book character as an avatar and posting under a fictitious name.
With anonymity comes ersatz courage.
Here’s an episode from Harlan Ellison’s Watching from the early days of the Sci-Fi channel, when they actually knew how to spell “Sci Fi”. In this segment, Harlan discusses the appalling behavior of computer bulletin board users (remember those days?). Ignore the inane vampire novel ad in the middle of the episode.
Just goes to show, this behavior ain’t new, folks! Technology may change, but human behavior is a constant. Today, people continue their proud displays of disgusting ignorance on Facebook and Twitter (and other social media sites that I do not frequent and probably never will) with increasing fervor.
Kristen compares this adolescent stage of social media to the petulant and volatile demeanor of teenagers, something I’ve often pondered, considering how even allegedly mature adults conduct themselves like juvenile-goddamn-delinquents!
The question is, will social media ever mature beyond this? Probably not, and honestly, I don’t have time or patience for it.
Kristen concludes her post with a theory that Pokemon Go might actually be the next level of social media, and one that could kill Facebook—or at least deliver it a solid punch in the gut. One cannot argue that Pokemon Go is drawing people out of their houses and into the wild. It’s forcing people to interact face-to-face (y’all remember how to do that, right?), providing physical activity, and returning “social” to its original definition.
Now, I’m a child of the 70s and 80s. I don’t need an online game to get me outdoors. I love the outdoors. I love walking, I love fishing, I love the beach, I love state parks. Get me outside as often as possible! However, if Pokemon Go is what inspires the troglodytes to vacate their caves for a few hours, then I’m all for it because most people have a tendency to mind their manners when face-to-face than when face-to-screen.
Kristen follows up her post about the imminent demise of Facebook with Breaking Facebook Dependence–How to Create an Enduring Author Brand. In summary, Kristen explains that social media sites may come and go, but a good blog is forever. She encourages writers to post their thoughts and experiences on blogs rather than social media sites. Not only do blogs “offer an intimacy with authors second only to the books they write”, not only do they “make us leaner, meaner, faster and cleaner at what we do: writing”, but the reach of social media is limited and anything you post there is ephemeral. Most of it is invisible to search engines and it’s gone in a few days after all of your friends and contacts have “Liked” and commented on it and have moved onto the next 50 captivating posts-du-jour from their other social media friends.
Yet, blog entries, if properly titled and tagged, are searchable and will remain as long as the Internet. People can and will continue to find and/or stumble upon your blog posts years later and could potentially become subscribers or readers who purchase your books.
Now, please don’t take this as a string of excuses, but in addition to writing and editing, I work full time in the IT industry. When I come home, I often have a few hours of chores and errands to complete and possibly a 60-90 minute workout to destress and keep myself in shape before I can sit down to work on the current writing project. I’m often up until midnight, and no, I’m not waking up at 3:30 or 4AM to write when I already need to be up at 5AM for work. The only other activity that gets me out of bed that early is fishing.
So I cannot always make the time to blog consistently. I do not blog “two to three times per week” as some experts recommend. I blog as often as I can. Look, if you asked me, “How would you like to use this next hour or two—make progress on your current writing project or write a blog post?” My answer will ALWAYS be “work on the current writing project”. EVERY TIME. It is far more important to me to finish the the next short story, the next scene, the next chapter in the novel, or to research something for a story, than it is to write a blog post.
While I agree with Kristen that blogging makes us write “leaner, meaner, faster, and cleaner”, so does short story writing, so does flash fiction writing, and so does a few rounds with an experienced editor over your novel.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not at all against blogging. After all, you’re reading this missive now. I blog as often as I can and I enjoy it. In fact, I’m writing this blog post over my lunch hour, when I had originally planned to start my next short story, because Kristen’s comments struck a chord.
My point? In order to maintain sanity as writers, we should prioritize our workload. This is nothing revelatory, you all know this. That doesn’t make it any less challening, though, does it? Or any less frustrating.
For example, over the winter, I finally outlined a science fiction novel that had seen minimal progress over the past five years, while I wrote and published other books and stories. Excited that I now had a fully developed plot, I wrote the first four chapters from January to April—then put the project aside as my publisher and I were prepping a new anthology to be released on August 1, but the pre-launch was scheduled for July at Shore Leave 38. It went very well and you can read about it here
Elsewhere in the Middle Eternity is the second installment in a speculative fiction anthology series that I created. I
am not only the editor, but the project manager as well which means I work with the writers and the artist to bring stories, cover art, and interior illustrations together. We financed the project through Kickstarter, so I had to record the video for that, write the blurb, and create the reward levels.
What’s more, it was spring, which always brings with it yard work and one or two home renovations and yes, spending time outdoors!
I didn’t completely put aside writing during all of this. For the past few years, I’d wanted to enter a story into the annual Rehoboth Beach Short Story contest sponsored by Cat and Mouse Press. Rehoboth Beach is a quaint coastal town in Delaware with the feel of an old neighborhood rather than a resort town. I consider it my second home—if only I could afford a house there! Well, this year, the contest’s theme matched a story that had been percolating in
the back of my mind for a year or more so I finally wrote it in April and submitted it in May. Winners will be annouced on August 1, the same day Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity will be released. Should be an interesting day so stay tuned!
During the month-long Kickstarter campaign in May, my blog was active with semi-weekly author interviews for our anthology, which generated spikes in donations. Since then, I’ve been promoting the book on my blog, of course, but I also heeded Kristen’s advice and began blogging about “high concept” topics like vacations, day trips, museum visits, and even this post about social media and, yes, blogging. At the moment, I have a fair number of followers, but I’m working to build my audience here.
Addtionally, July gave my wife and I a scare as a family member was rushed to the hospital for life threatening complications and again days later as a result of a severe infection.
After all that rambling, have you forgotten about the science fiction novel I was working on? Wouldn’t blame you if you did. Well, I didn’t forget about it and now that the dust is settling on the aforementioned projects and emergencies, I hope to get back to it again…in between editing stories for the third annual anthology to be published by my local writing group next year and the final two Microsoft exams I need to take to complete yet another IT certification.
If it ain’t one damn thing, it’s another…or two…or three…
I’m burned out again just from writing about everything that’s been burning me out all year! As such, it was refreshing to read Kristen’s latest post, Stress & Burnout—How to Get Your Creative Mojo Back, where she explains how and why your mind and body react to stress and what to do about it. I already practice some of the advice offered, such as freewriting. Don’t overthink it, just break away from your current project and write something different. For example, I did that back in June over another lunch hour, and then revisited the piece earlier this week. After some revisions, it resulted in a lovely vignette that will be my submission to the aforementioned writers group anthology.
This was probably the longest blog post I’ve ever written. My apologies, but I hope I’ve directed you to some useful information on Kristen’s blog.
There are quite a few excellent entries in this collection of what Harlan considers his suspense and mystery tales. I would argue that some of these are crime dramas with a twist. One entertaining story in particular, Eddie, You’re My Friend, seems to be the odd one out as it does not fit the theme of this anthology.
I found it hilarious—and typical of Harlan—that the introduction is 40 pages, about four times longer than the average story in the book!
My favorites include:
Status Quo at Troyden’s – When Mr. Huggerson’s monthly check from his son is $20 less than usual, he worries that he will not be able to afford rent and food. After working up the temerity to ask his landlord for a reduction in rent, Huggerson ends up in a position he never expected.
Nedra at f:5.6 – Veteran photographer Paul Shores has photographed countless women in his career. Nowadays, the most gorgeous models—nude or otherwise—no longer arouse him. Then along comes Nedra, and everything changes. She agrees to pose for him—and much more. Yet, there is something odd about her pictures…
Toe the Line – Professional car thief Eddie Cappen is finally getting out on parole and thanks to the warden’s favorite catchphrase, Eddie conjures a nearly foolproof method for jacking cars—until he makes a fatal mistake.
Pride in the Profession – Ever since he witnessed his first hanging at the tender age of eight, Matthew Carty became fascinated by the art and science of the gallows. Years later, Matthew builds a reputation as a master executioner—until his final job shows him that even the best make mistakes.
The Children’s Hour – With the Earth on the brink of destruction, the United Nations meet to discuss matters of peace. Somehow, a horde of children manages to enter the hall and disrupt the meeting with a simple warning: stop fighting or we’re leaving the planet.
Thicker Than Blood – After a poor business decision, Roger Singer finds himself $12,000 in debt. After his pleas for help are rejected by his wealthy in-laws, Roger hatches a dangerous scheme against them.
Ormond Always Pays His Bills – After his secretary learns of his corrupt business practices, corrupt construction company owner Hervey Ormond murders her and attempts to dispose of the body—using his company’s concrete. However, Ormond soon learns how much of an utter bitch karma can be.
Tired Old Man – While attending a party of has-been writers, successful author and screenwriter Billy Landress encounters veteran suspense writer Marki Strasser. After an intense and deeply personal conversation, Billy steps away to get a glass of water for Strasser, only to find him gone—or was he ever there to begin with?
