Tuesday, October 08, 2013

 H. P. Lovecraft on Writing Weird Fiction

"Atmosphere, not action, is the great desideratum of weird fiction. A wonder story is a vivid picture of a certain type of human mood." (H.P. Lovecraft)
 
The above quote can apply quite well to flash fiction too which often depends on atmosphere and human mood. It's always a good exercise to read the many stand-out writers of previous eras to learn effective techniques for putting forth our own flash fiction stories today. Lovecraft is an excellent writer to study.
 
Here's Lovecraft's interesting and useful essay, "Notes on Writing Weird Fiction"

And here are some Lovecraft stories to take a look at:  
http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/sources/mw.aspx

The writers of yesterday have plenty to teach writers of today. 

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3 Comments:

At 8:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you, Pamelyn, for these links to Lovecraft material! I will admit, I don't think I've really paid attention to his works, probably with disdain regarding it another antique-worded work I would have to think too hard about. Having read a little now, I think I will bookmark the website for future reference.

 
At 8:21 AM, Blogger Pamelyn Casto said...

I'm so glad the material's of interest to you, John. I'm rather like you in that I've not paid that much attention to Lovecraft before and now realize what all I've been missing. So we'll both play a bit of catch up, yes?

 
At 8:38 AM, Anonymous London Accountant said...

I love HP Lovecraft, he is really very underrated! His embracing of the weird is truly admirable.

 

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