Author Archives: Leigh Galbreath

Once upon a time, there was literature. That was it. Everything was just literature. At some point, stories became so varied that they branched into distinctive categories. Whether this was something brought on by readers gravitating to certain types of stories or publishers categorizing said stories to make it easier for readers to find, or some other reason all together, I don’t know. But, over the last hundred years, fiction split into the convenient labels we know today.

This split isn’t without its controversy, though, and has created a very real divide between what’s referred to as literary fiction and genre fiction. When most people think of the difference between the two, many think of overly-serious literary writers looking down at genre writers as hacks, while genre writers run off with all the money. Tempers can run high when it’s discussed. Stephen King famously almost got into a fist fight over the very idea that genre fiction was somehow of less value than literary fiction.

But, what’s the big deal, really? What are the actual differences between the two?

When I was in college I took a creative writing class, where the teacher asked us that very question. One of my fellow students, who was a literary writer, said that literary fiction was character driven, while genre fiction was plot driven. Now, anyone who reads Joe Abercrombie knows that’s a false assumption. Actually, that student was keying to something very real, he just didn’t recognize it for what it was. It has little to do with character and plot, really, and all to do with structure. Genre fiction is built on structure. Literary fiction isn’t.

We’ve mentioned using scriptwriting as a basis for writing novels more than once. Pyr editor, Lou Anders, talks about the Hollywood formula all the time. Why? Because the Hollywood structure works. Certain beats happen at certain moments, and the story resonates better for the audience. It works. Readers like the structure, and every genre has its own. Romance, for instance, is famous for its very strict story structure — and it’s the highest grossing genre of them all.

Literary fiction, on the other hand, has a more organic approach. It lacks the structure that makes genre fiction so easily digestible for readers. Funnily, my aforementioned writing instructor confessed that she was halfway through a story when she realized she didn’t have a story arch. That’s a problem few genre writers will ever have. But, one of the things this allows for literary fiction is experimentation. You get weird little stories that are all dialogue or written in stream of consciousness or told backwards. Playing with technique and form is much easier when you don’t have to worry about story beats hitting at a certain moment. For more adventurous readers, this is great, but, like I said before, people like structure, and this may be one of the big reasons genre fiction is more lucrative.

The other real difference between the two, has to do with subject matter. Literary fiction tends to be rooted in real life far more than genre fiction. Sometimes, a little too much. I’ve heard more than one person disparage literary fiction as depressing and oppressive. At the same time, it explores life in a way that genre structure won’t allow. The killer is usually found out in the end of a mystery. The hero usually beats the evil sorcerer in an epic fantasy. The boy usually gets the girl at the end of a romance. Literary fiction doesn’t flinch from the reality that life doesn’t always end well for the good guys, if there even are goods guys involved.

Genre fiction, on the other hand, is often thought of as escapist because it deals with situations that you won’t find in everyday life. Me, I think that’s an over simplification. In truth, all fiction is escapist, even if there are no spaceships or serial killers involved. Even if you read only literary fiction, you’re not reading your own life, so it’s still an escape. If it weren’t, it would be non-fiction.

So, are you one of those writer’s who stresses over the decision to write literary or genre fiction? The differences above are, of course, generalizations. There are lines blurred everywhere. There are plenty of experimental genre stories that look at real life, especially in Science Fiction. There’s plenty of fantastic elements in literary fiction, too. And anyone saying that genre fiction makes more money really needs to look at how much genre fiction there is out there to see how easily that wealth is swallowed by the sheer magnitude of product. Even if there are more readers, it’s no easier to make it big. Besides, literary fiction has Oprah Winfrey on its side. Neither path is a surefire path to financial freedom, but neither is a surefire path to destitution either.

To me, choosing between literary and genre fiction is like choosing between landscape and abstract painting. They both have their detractors and their supporters, but their creators are also both artists who follow a craft they love. Our art chooses us just as much as we choose it. We write what we write because that’s what we feel the need to do.

So, really, in the end, it doesn’t matter which side makes more money, does it? If you feel the need to write literary fiction, you won’t find any happiness writing techno-thrillers, and your readers won’t enjoy reading them, either. Stick with your passion, even if it means you’re still stuck at a day job. You’ll never go wrong.

Villians, Villians, Everywhere-The Perfect Bad Guy For All Occasions

February 11, 2013

Leigh Galbreath

The Writing Life 10 Comments

Okay, I confess. I’ve always wanted to be an evil minion. I’m nowhere close to clever enough to be an evil mastermind, but I could totally be an evil mastermind’s go-to girl.

In all seriousness, bad guys are my favorite. Good guys, for the most part, tend to bore me, and I’m the first to admit that my fiction has few heroes. Even my protagonists have their roots in the dark side.

First, let’s be clear. When I talk about bad guys and villains here, I’m not necessarily talking about a story’s antagonist. Though they often are cast as characters whose goals are in direct opposition to the protagonist of the tale, a good villain should be able to take any role. For example, when we’re introduced to Hannibal Lecter, one of the best bad guys around, in Silence of the Lambs, he takes the role of the mentor, helping the protagonist, Clarice, find the real antagonist, Buffalo Bill. In comics and graphic novels, the hero’s arch-nemesis often starts as a friend, and villains often switch from good to evil and back again as the story dictates.

So, what makes a great bad guy? Here’s four traits that I think really get to the root of that very question.

First, and probably most important, a great bad guy never believes they’re bad. As the actor Willem Defoe famously said, everyone believes they are the hero of their own story. Your villain is no different. In fact, while your actual hero might struggle with their identity, the best villains have no doubts. To them, they have only the purest motivations. Everything they do has an extremely good and rational reason.

A great litmus test for your bad guy is to have them take part in a “good vs evil” scene, where both sides lay out their case. The best ones should almost convince the reader to join the evil side of the argument.

In short, a great bad guy can rationalize like nobody’s business.

This brings us to trait number two, which I think is intrinsic to every morally questionable character. They either have no concept of or don’t care about consequence. Unintended outcomes are usually a secondary factor, if a factor at all. To these characters the ends always justifies the means. This capacity is, I believe, one of the main reasons we love villains. They do what we wouldn’t dare. While a hero struggles to find a way around bad consequences and is emotionally affected by having to choose between necessary evils, a good bad guy focuses on the goal and doesn’t let anything get in the way.

We see this all the time with villains who want to save the world, even when it means doing something horrendous. The first season of the TV show Heroes had a group who wanted to blow up New York, sacrificing millions for the sake of the rest of the world. Watchmen has a villain who kills billions for the same reason — and the ploy actually works.

The third main trait is unpredictability. A baddie’s untrustworthy nature is a huge draw because we always want to know what they’ll do next. They always keep us guessing. We see this in various forms, my favorite being when they’re acting as what Tracy Hickman calls the contagonist. A contagonist is the conniver, the untrustworthy ally that has a goal that might run parallel with the hero, but who in the end, isn’t out for the same things. They have their own agenda that can, at any moment, complicate the story.

We see Hannibal take this role in the novel Red Dragon, where he helps the hero just as he did with Clarice to find a killer, but in the end, his real agenda is to get revenge on said hero for putting him in prison. He plays along, all the while working his secret agenda to bring about a goal that has nothing at all to do with the main plot of the story.

In that vein, always be careful that you don’t reveal too much about your bad guy. When the reader completely understands a character, they lose their unpredictability. While we may be hooked with tantalizing hints into why a bad guy went bad, the best ones always remain something of an enigma that can do anything at any time. A fantastic example of this is the Joker from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, who never does what’s expected because his end game is never fully understood. We get a bunch of theories, but no definite answers. At the same time, our friend Hannibal suffers from over sharing. Over a succession of books, Thomas Harris tells us everything about the man from his childhood onward. For many readers, this ruined the innate menace of the character.

Though, while you’re keeping the reader in the dark for the most part, remember that every big bad is also a person, never completely evil, just as a hero is never completely good. This brings us to trait number four — every great bad guy has a spark of light in that dark little soul of theirs. Something should always give us hope that this character can find redemption, no matter how bad they might behave. I think this last bit is why the best bad guys can bounce around the story in whatever role they like. They might be a protagonist serial killer who only kills criminals the justice system can’t catch, a thief sidekick who’ll do anything to start over clean, or an antagonistic Norse trickster god who just wants his daddy’s approval, bad guys should have something the reader can identify with. A little sugar with their spice always makes their mayhem a little more interesting.

So, got any other traits that can turn a so-so bad guy into a great one?

Who Wants to Go to Worldcon?–Me, Me, Me!

January 21, 2013

Leigh Galbreath

Conventions Leigh Galbreath Publishing The Writing Life WorldCon 2 Comments

So, we’ve been talking about workshops, seminars, and conventions this month, and we couldn’t possibly go without mentioning Worldcon. With the World Fantasy Convention (WFC), this is one of the big ones for writers starting out. There is no cap for Worldcon, as there is for WFC, so this convention has a higher guest count and a much higher fan to writer ratio. It’s not as intimate an atmosphere (if you can call 750 people in one hotel intimate), but it’s a very good place to go for new authors.

At a workshop I went to a few years ago, Pyr editor, Lou Anders, said that if you’re looking for a publisher and/or agent, go to WFC. Once you get a publisher and/or agent, go to Worldcon.

I’ll be honest. I’ve never attended a Worldcon in the past, but this year, it’s in my back yard, so to speak, so I’m totally planning to go. In addition to the huge amount of programming they have every year, there are plenty of parties to attend and lots of pros to meet running around the place.

Hugo Award winning author Mike Resnick wrote a great guide for beginners attending Chicon7 (this past year’s Worldon). It’s a really good read for those, like me, who will be attending for the first time, no matter what year you’re going. The official site also has some advice for first time goers here.

Here’s the skinny on Worldcon 2013, or as it’s been titled, LoneStarCon3:

This year, the convention will be in San Antonio, Texas, August 29-September 2, 2013.

Membership is $200 for an adult attending membership until April 30, 2013. More info can be found on their membership page.

There are two host hotels right on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Bookings opened on the website today, January 21, 2013. The Riverwalk is a major tourist attraction, so the prices can be a little high for many people ($154 for single/double occupancy; $175 for triple/quad). But there are plenty of other hotels in the vicinity that are a little more affordable, and it’s always a good idea to bring a friend or two to cut costs.

Programming isn’t up yet, of course, but there’s always a huge amount to see and do. On the programming page there are links to the programming from previous Worldcons. Check it out to see what you might be looking forward to.

In addition to the programming and parties, there’s also a writer’s workshop, if you want spend some time with a couple of pro authors working on your craft while you’re at the con. According to the workshop page, there’s a fee of $15 to reserve a spot. Reservations open in July.

As for me, I have to say, I’m already kinda jazzed to go this year. Since it’s open to everyone, I can actually convince some of my friends who don’t write to go with me, and the wealth of pros going is always a great draw. And since it’s only a few hours drive from my house, I won’t have to shell out big bucks for airfare, which is always a plus. Honestly, just taking a look at the official site makes it seem like there’s entirely too much to cover everything, but we’ll surely have a ton of fun trying.

So, anyone gone to a Worldcon before or going this year? Share what you’ve enjoyed in the past and/or are looking forward to this year. Help us first-timer’s figure out what to get ready for.

See ya there!

Planning for the World Fantasy Convention 2013

January 11, 2013

Leigh Galbreath

Conventions Leigh Galbreath World Fantasy Con 2 Comments

I’ll admit, my track record with attending the World Fantasy Convention (WFC) is a bit spotty. I usually end up going every other year. My last was in 2011 in San Diego, so this year is my year to go again, and I’m finding myself quite jazzed about that.

As a writer, I’ve got a few books that will definitely be in shape to be pitched, and I’ll hopefully already be submitting those, so I’ll actually have a few things to talk about with people. In the past, I haven’t been as aggressive at conventions as I should be. It’s one of my goals to fix that this year, and WFC always pulls in great authors, publishers, editors and agents focusing on speculative fiction. It’s a great place to network with people in the industry. Since it’s got a membership cap, it’s pretty easy to rub elbows with the right people. This is a working convention rather than a fan one, so it’s a good place to start for those of us who want to break into the business and get advice from professionals.

As with any convention, there are panels running pretty non-stop and parties for socializing and networking. And of course, if you’re really interested in getting some business done, one must spend quality time at the bar.

As a reader, WFC has always been a great place to find new books to read–more than any other convention I go to. The dealer’s room can burn a whole in anyone’s pocket especially with the number of writers running around, there’s no problem finding signed copies of things or hard to find items. Or you can bring your own books for the evening where all the writers show up for one mass signing event. I’ve learned to leave extra room in my suitcase because I always come home with a huge stack of new books. Heck, you usually get a bag full of books when you arrive just for showing up.

Okay, I’ll confess that part of my enthusiasm in wanting to attend WFC this year is the location. I’ve always wanted to go to the UK, and here’s a great excuse.

Of course, this means I’ll have to put in a little extra effort–a bit more planning–than when WFC is held in North America. Frankly, this trip is gonna get expensive fast. Flights alone from the US right now are over $1000. That’s more than I usually spend on the entire trip to this convention. And, come on, what’s the point to going to England just for one three day convention? Might as well stick around for a few days extra to at least visit London, which is about an hour away.

Wanna come, too?

First, check out the website here.

Membership costs 125£, roughly about $200. With the membership cap, it’s a good idea to register early. Make sure you fill out the registration form as well as make your payment because you have to have both to be registered for attendance. While they claim that refunds are at the “discretion of the convention”, they usually don’t do refunds, but you can transfer your membership to someone else should you not be able to attend after all.

The host hotel, the Hilton Brighton Metropole, sold out in less than 24 hours after reservations went online. The convention is working to find overflow hotels but hasn’t posted anything yet, though they have put up a link for finding other accommodations.

The WFC 2013 homepage has a list of publishers attending, and there’s a list of currently registered members so it’s always a great idea to look both over and plan out who you might want to meet.

If you want to keep up with what’s going on, they now have an app for that for both iPhone and Android users.

If you’re like me and live in the US, there’s also the host of logistics to plan for: passports, electrical adaptors, making sure your phone works in another country, all those little things that are easy to forget when you’re going out of the country. Seriously, it’s a lot of work to go from one place to another.

So, have you gone to WFC in the past or plan to go this year? Leave a comment and let us know what you’ve enjoyed in the past and/or look forward to.