Larry Kahaner

30 Mar 2017

Don’t Feel Compelled to Publish an E-Book on Amazon and Other Life Tips

By Larry Kahaner

Be kind to unkind people. It’s difficult, so do your best.

Discover what you love doing – then figure out how to make a living doing it. Too many people do it the other way, end up in a career that makes them miserable and they’ve become trapped by their income. Law students take note.

When you have a decision to make, take fear out of the equation. Also, make scary decisions more quickly; the longer you stand on the diving board, the more frightened you become. And, speaking of fear, know that when you see hatred in a person, it usually has its roots in fear.
Don’t be overly concerned about taking a short term job that’s not quite to your liking. The benefits of making a living, making your way in the world are immense. Even a lousy job beats sitting around the house in your underwear. See the rule about loving what you’re doing.
Relationships are difficult. Be wary of couples for whom their joining always appears to be rosy.
Not everyone has to have kids.
Growing old can be difficult, but realize it’s a gift that not everyone gets.
Be grateful.
When something good comes along, take more if it’s offered except for pie. Too much pie can make you sick.
Spend money on experiences, not stuff. Never rent a storage unit for more than a few months.
Hard work can get you far, but never underestimate how much luck plays in life. Can you make your own luck? No; that’s why they call it luck, but you can be open when it comes along. Try not to be angry at people who squander their luck. Bastards.
Say ‘yes,’ to new experiences as a default. Before you die, you will regret more about the things you didn’t do, than the things you did. This rule often applies to having sex.
Money can’t buy happiness, but lack of money can make you miserable. Find a happy ratio of work vs. leisure for you.
Friends will come and go in your life. Enjoy them while they’re around, and resist figuring out why you like being with them.
Don’t feel compelled to write an e-Book and publish it on Amazon. We have plenty of books. Good ones, too. Not that yours would be bad. But it might. So, think twice, please.
Everyone is on their own journey. Try not to be judgmental about others unless they’re really doing something dumb, considering an awful tattoo, or are being hurtful to others.
Learn a few good jokes and hone their telling to precision.
Get a dog, and always be the person they think you are.
Don’t think zoos are cool. The animals would much rather be back where they came from.
Social media is a time-suck. Read a friggin’ book once in a while.
You don’t have to respond to everything said to you. Sometimes you can just smile.

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What if the US were run like a corporation and a madman was in charge? Check out my latest thriller “USA, Inc.” now available in eBook and paperback. All my books have a money-back guarantee.

Posted in plotting

12 Mar 2017

20 Comments

How Readers are Cheated Out of their Imaginations

By Larry Kahaner

I read a lot of indie books. Let me rephrase that. I read the first few pages of a lot of indie books. Most are terrible, and it’s often clear from the get-go when they’re not going to get any better.

Artist: Igor Morski

I’ve railed about the lack of excellent indie authors (and also praised some glorious finds) so I won’t do it again here, but I do want to explain one of the most flagrant early giveaways that a book is gonna stink.

It is over-description, and lately I’m seeing a ton of it not only in indie authors but some traditionally-published writers as well.

Why do some authors insist on depicting the minute details of a house, a mountain a person? It’s annoying, exhausting and pegs them as amateurs.

There are a few reasons why they do this, I think. First, they believe that it’s easier to spend time getting down to the atomic level rather than thinking about where the story goes next. And they’re right – in a way. It is easier to keep describing something in detail instead of moving the story forward. This takes guts, creativity and hard work.

Second, they believe that readers want this. Some do, but most readers want movement more than anything. They want the story to progress. They don’t want to read a page describing a twig – I just read an entire opening page describing a small branch. Brutal. – or the weather.

Third, they believe that a long description sets the tone for the book. True, but you get more ambience if the description is short, full of emotion, energy and integral to the story instead of borne from the author’s indulgence.

In his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King explains why he doesn’t overly describe characters.

“I’m not particularly keen on writing which exhaustively describes the physical characteristics of the people in the story and what they’re wearing (I find wardrobe inventory particularly irritating; if I want to read descriptions of clothes, I can always get a J. Crew catalogue). I can’t remember many cases where I felt I had to describe what the people in a story of mine looked like – I’d rather let the reader supply the faces, the builds, and the clothing as well. If I tell you that Carrie White is a high school outcast with a bad complexion and a fashion-victim wardrobe, I think you can do the rest, can’t you? I don’t need to give you a pimple-by-pimple, skirt-by-skirt rundown. We all remember one or more high school losers, after all; if I describe mine, it freezes out yours, and I lose a little bit of the bond of understanding I want to forge between us. Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”

Those who are familiar with my blog know that I’m a fan of noir and detective novels. These past writers and their current day successors know how to cram a ton of description into a few words. Following are some recent favorites of mine. Note how these writers don’t nibble at the edges, but get right to point. Some might say the writing is over the top, too melodramatic, but I say ‘bulls-eye.’

James Sallis in Drive describes a pickup truck.

“Jodie’s former ride was a Ford F-150, graceless as a wheelbarrow, dependable as rust and taxes, indestructible as a tank. Brakes that could stop an avalanche cold, engine powerful enough to tow glaciers into place. Bombs fall and wipe out civilization as we know it, two things’ll come up out of the ashes: roaches and F-150s. Thing handled like an ox cart, rattled fillings from teeth and left you permanently saddle sore, but it was a survivor. Got the job done, whatever the job was.”

Nic Pizzolatto is not only an author but a screenwriter. He created the HBO show True Detective. Here, in Galveston: A Novel, he depicts a woman that he meets.

“A woman emerged out the room behind the counter, her flesh so grooved and dehydrated it might have been cured in a smokehouse. It was sun-baked the color of golden oak and draped across jagged bones. Squirrel gray hair. Her eyeglasses had a square of duct tape holding them together at the center, and she pushed them up on her nose.

I recommend Dodgers: A Novel by Bill Beverly whose style is refreshing, unique, and at times deceptively simple.

“The town smelled like corn cooked too long.”

In Mike Dime by Barry Fantoni, the 1940’s noir oozes off the page.

“The center of the room was filled by a four-seated, seal gray velvet sofa that Norma Summers had re-covered in gin stains. She planted herself with some difficulty on the arm of the sofa and tried to get me in focus. The flap of her housecoat fell open as she attempted to cross her legs. It let more thigh through than it should have, but her thighs were never going to bother me, and she was beyond bothering about anything but the next drink.”

And the last one. Notice how the description in Beggars of Life by Jim Tully seems common, almost bland, until the last line.

Bill had blond hair, and a sharp face. He had blue eyes, a straight nose, and a square chin. He was a heavy-set youth, and his shoulders were broad and powerful. He had no morals at all, and was as irresponsible as the wind.”

I harp constantly about authors not respecting their readers. One way writers dis them is with over-description. They’re saying: “I don’t trust you to have an imagination so I have to tell you everything.”

That’s not cool.

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What if the US were run like a corporation and a madman was in charge? Check out my latest thriller “USA, Inc.” now available in eBook and paperback. All my books have a money-back guarantee.

Posted in characters, plotting, voice, writer's block, writing description, writing tips and tagged creative writing, fiction writing, finding your voice, the writing life, writing

17 Feb 2017

15 Comments

Stop Writing Crappy Fantasy Novels

Stop Writing Crappy Fantasy Novels

By Larry Kahaner

This is one of those blog posts that gets me in trouble.

I don’t do it on purpose. It’s just that some things bug me, and I can’t be quiet about it. dummies-161x200

Here it is: Stop writing crappy dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy novels. I know I’m lumping them together, but they’re related as far as my beef is concerned. In fact, I’m just going to use the word fantasy from now on to encompasses these three genres.

Why do so many people write terrible fantasy novels? Because it’s easy.

Whoa. Writing a book is easy? No, never. Writing is hard. I know; I’ve written many books, fiction and non-fiction, and anyone who can finish a book gets an attaboy or attagirl from me.

What I’m talking about are writers who use the fantasy form to write awful books, because this form, more than any other (except maybe romance novels; I’ll get to you in a subsequent post) allows writers to be lazy and defraud their readers.

Here’s an example: One of your characters is trapped in a room and there’s no way out. Suddenly, they fish out a special piece of something from their pocket that transports them away. We had no clue about this magical item beforehand. It’s lazy writing. Its cheating. One of the hallmarks of strong authors is the ability to put their protagonist in a bind and get him or her out cleverly without resorting to trickery. Mystery writers are usually pretty good about it without pulling out a gun that just happened to be hidden in someone’s boot. But even some bestselling authors succumb to a savior parachuting in – a rescuer we’ve not seen before. In one mystery novel I read from a super successful author you were to wonder about the killer’s identity. As you should. Surprise. It was a long lost twin who came into the picture toward the book’s end. We had no idea this person existed and there were no clues to his even being alive. Cheater.

Fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss alludes to this problem when it comes to using magic. He writes: “If you want to write a fantasy story with Norse gods, sentient robots, and telepathic dinosaurs, you can do just that. Want to throw in a vampire and a lesbian unicorn while you’re at it? Go ahead. Nothing’s off limits. But the endless possibility of the genre is a trap. It’s easy to get distracted by the glittering props available to you and forget what you’re supposed to be doing: telling a good story. Don’t get me wrong, magic is cool. But a nervous mother singing to her child at night while something moves quietly through the dark outside her house? That’s a story. Handled properly, it’s more dramatic than any apocalypse or goblin army could ever be.”

Exactly. You can’t tell a strong story if you’re always relying on magic, bogus superpowers or outlandish ‘saves.’

How to prevent this from ruining your book is actually pretty easy. Don’t write yourself into a corner just because you want to make your work as dramatic, scary or provocative as possible. It’s okay not to know ahead of time how a character will get out of a jam, but do it in such as way that’s not ridiculous or unexpected.

Respect your readers, okay?

What if the US were run like a corporation and a madman was in charge? Check out my latest thriller “USA, Inc.” now available in eBook and paperback. All my books have a money-back guarantee.

Posted in kindle, novelists, plotting, research, voice, writer's block, writing tips and tagged creative writing, dialogue, erotica, fiction writing, novel writing, the writing life, writer's block, writing, writing tips

25 Jan 2017

10 Comments

Book Reviewers Can be Jerks

By Larry Kahaner

Whether you are a seasoned author or just published your first book, reviews play tricks on your self-confidence as a writer. Like everything else in life, some people like your stuff and some people hate it (thanks, Captain Obvious) and there’s nothing you can do about it. review-book

Every book has its supporters and detractors, and if your head isn’t screwed on, it can be a career killer.

Let me stipulate up front that most reviewers, indeed, the vast majority of reviewers are writing honest, objective reviews. This blog is about the other ones.

I offer some points to remember if you decide to read your reviews. I say ‘if’ because many successful authors never read reviews. I used to think this was BS, but it’s true. These folks understand the reality of reviews.

And here they are:

Reviews are supposed to be objective, but they’re not. Readers bring themselves into the review based on their own beliefs. Here’s a personal example. I published a book titled AK-47: the Weapon that Changed the Face of War. Pro-gun people said I blamed all the world ills on this ubiquitous weapon. Anti-gun people said that I glorified the weapon. Both can’t be true. Right? I even read one review that chided me for not including more pictures of guns. Hello… it was not a gun-porn book, but a political view of the world’s most-used weapon.

Some reviewers and readers are pissed off about a specific subject matter so they give a low rating hoping that potential readers will ignore a book. Think books about climate change. Others love the topic so they give a high rating hoping that others of their ilk will buy it and somehow bolster the cause. Neither reviews have anything to do with a book’s merit. Case in point: I once wrote a book about a company called MCI (not the MCI WorldCom that was later involved in a scandal). The title was On The Line. The company beat AT&T in court and this opened the way for competitive long distance phone service. I got hate reviews from those who were angry that AT&T was no longer the country’s de facto monopoly phone company and venerable Ma Bell (youngsters, stay with me on this) was being broken up. Others were glad to see the old monopoly split into regional companies which eventually ushered in the telecommunications system we have today. I even received a letter from David Packard, head of Hewlett-Packard, chiding me for writing about this start-up company which he believed would lead to the downfall of Western civilization. What about the book’s merits? Didn’t really matter. And no sour grapes here by the way. The book did really well.

Last one: Reviewers are swayed by what the reviewer thinks the author stands for. The classic case is Salman Rushdie who penned a novel in 1988 titled Satanic Verses, which caused a stir among many in the Muslim community. They accused Rushdie of blasphemy, and in 1989 the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie. Many death threats followed and Rushdie went into hiding with armed guards. To show their support for Rushdie and their dislike of the Ayatollah many people bought the book – it became a best seller – and critics offered rave reviews because they supported free speech and wanted to strike a blow against radical Islam. It had been reported at the time that many Western consumers bought the book but never read it. They just wanted to make a point. Rushdie says he is not anti-Muslim. He was born into a Muslim family and now considers himself an atheist. By the way, many reviewers wrote about the controversy itself and not the book. That’s not their job.

My final point is this. You can’t please everyone. Mind you, I’m not talking about warranted, even constructive criticism, but make sure a review is about your book and not about you or anything else before you react. Write your book the best way you know how and work on having a thick skin or don’t read reviews at all. Your choice.

Coda: I have a good writing buddy who also is a reviewer for a respected trade publication. I often send him my blogs to gut-check them before posting. He had this remark: “Perfectly reasonable blog, though it will never make anyone feel better about a bad review. They always hurt, even if you know you were treated unfairly.”

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What if the US were run like a corporation and a madman was in charge? Check out Larry Kahaner’s latest thriller “USA, Inc.” now available in eBook and paperback. All my books have a money-back guarantee.

Posted in amazon, book reviews, novelists, plotting, voice, writing tips and tagged fiction writing, the writing life, writing, writing tips

19 Jan 2017

9 Comments

Writers: Don’t be a Victim of Beginner’s Luck

By Larry Kahaner

How many times have you read an author’s first book and it was terrific? The second, not so much, and the third, well…

Beginner’s luck is crucial to this story.

Were they blessed with beginner’s luck, the phenomenon that allows first-time fishers to catch the big one and novice archers to hit the bull’s-eye?

I’ve been thinking about beginner’s luck since re-reading The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. In this story, the shepherd Santiago enjoys beginner’s luck when he decides to travel to Africa. He sells his sheep quickly and easily (that’s the luck) to finance his trip and is on his way to fulfill his ‘personal legend.’ The rest of the road is rocky and he encounters many situations that test his mettle. He does indeed meet an Alchemist whose last words to Santiago are: “Every search begins with beginners luck and ends with the victor being severely tested.”

Questions come quickly when it comes to writers and beginner’s luck. Is that all they had in them – that one amazing book? Was it a publishing industry fad fluke? Did they take their talent for granted and not try harder? And, the classic, ‘success went to their head and they got lazy.’

I chalk it up to beginner’s luck which is not some magical belief but a real thing that can work to our advantage if we understand how it operates. Here’s how:

Beginners have nothing to lose. Writers artists and musicians do their most imaginative and inspired work when they don’t have an image to maintain, and when they don’t care about how it’s received by critics. They are free to create a work that is unique, using their own voice, and without preconceived notions holding them back.
Beginners don’t know the rules. They see the world in their own way and don’t feel the need to conform to standards of creativity pushed by others. I find this aspect common in writers who pen the most avant-garde first novels then are afraid of keeping up the pace and thus revert to less exciting prose because they’re afraid of reaching for new heights again. Failure is easy; success is hard.
Beginners rarely have expectations beyond finishing the work. This allows them to keep an eye on the final goal and not what others will think of it. This eliminates self-censorship, a serial killer of creative writing. Say, what was that annoying song? Come From the Heart (I had to look it up.):

You got to sing like you don’t need the money

Love like you’ll never get hurt

You got to dance like nobody’s watchin’

It’s gotta come from the heart

If you want it to work

Great lyrics, excellent advice, but it was irritating to hear lousy versions of it played at every wedding and bar mitzvah I have attended for the last twenty years. Here’s a good cover by Guy Clark. His wife Susanna Clark composed the song.

Here’s the takeaway. Allow yourself to write every day with beginner’s luck and know that you can keep receiving its gifts if you pay attention to its pitfalls.

(If you’re curious, you can read more about beginner’s luck on Wikipedia. There’s some science behind it.)

Posted in indie publishing, plotting, voice, writer's block, writing tips and tagged creative writing, dialogue, fiction writing, novel writing, the writing life, writing, writing tips

13 Jan 2017

10 Comments

Why I Chose Fiction Over Fact

By Larry Kahaner

A friend recently asked me why I have turned to writing novels instead of continuing my non-fiction book career.

The answer is two-fold. First, I wanted to try something different, transferring what I’ve learned from the non-fiction world to novels. Call it a professional challenge; it’s the thrust of this blog. why-fiction-quotes

Second, I’ve been a non-fiction book author all my working life, and I thought I was really making a difference in people’s lives. I have, and I’m proud of my work, but the world has changed.

We may be heading into a post-journalism world (and by ‘journalism’ I mean unbiased, fair reporting and writing that informs people) and my cynicism is growing. Lately I’ve been thinking that maybe, just maybe, fiction may be in the forefront of telling truths that last with us and make us better people.

I’m not the first to notice this, of course. Barack Obama, in his farewell speech cited the character Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird who said: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

How many minds were changed by this simple message in a book read by millions?

How many of us have been moved to think in new ways by classics like Catch-22, Lord of the Flies or any of the current dystopian novels such as the Hunger Games, that warn us about who we might become if we’re not mindful. Consider the parable The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho or almost anything written by Haruki Murakami. They simply make us more aware of others and ourselves.

We cannot remain unchanged after being fully engaged in reading about the life of someone else, especially if that person is made up. If we read the biography of a remarkable person, we see what the author wants us to see. If we read about a fictional character, we can go beyond the author’s description and see ourselves, too. We can put ourselves in their lives instead of watching from the outside. This offers a greater opportunity for introspection and growth.

I believe the power of fiction – books, movies, TV – is becoming stronger than ever as we become more polarized in our consumption of news and non-fiction books. Conservatives read their books; liberals read theirs, but everyone can agree to read an entertaining piece of fiction or watch a compelling movie.

I’m not saying that every story needs to have an earth-shattering, world-changing message. Sometimes a tale is just tale, and that’s fine. And neither am I talking about deliberate, heavy-handed propaganda disguised as fiction. I hate that.

I’m talking about telling a story with a moral, a story that moves us to think beyond our everything assumptions. The story doesn’t have to be true, but the message does.

My hope for my latest book USA, Inc., – aside from being a good read – is that it may inspire people to think more about the damage that occurs from the confluence of greed and power. I confess without shame that my main goal was not to preach but entertain. I just wanted to write a compelling book that got readers to turn the page.

Consider it a twofer.

What if the US were run like a corporation and a madman was in charge? Check out my latest thriller USA, Inc. now available in eBook and paperback. All my books have a money back guarantee.

Posted in plotting

04 Jan 2017

17 Comments

Hey, Writers: Stop Your Freakin’ Whining

By Larry Kahaner

Most of my working life, I’ve been a non-fiction writer. I’ve penned over 15 books some with my name and some I’ve ghosted. I know a lot of non-fiction writers. They’re my friends and colleagues.

Don’t be like this writer.

When I decided to write a novel, USA, Inc., which was just published, (shameless plug) I started hobnobbing with fiction authors, some established but mostly newbies like me. In fact, I started this blog to help me move from non-fiction to fiction. I hope I’ve helped others do the same, because many non-fiction writing traits, habits and experience are transferable.

Right off the bat, though, I noticed that fiction writers are different than non-fiction writers — and not in a good way.

They are a bunch of whiney-babies.

They complain about money. They grumble about how the work is difficult. They whimper about how they can’t find the time to write. They moan about plots, themes, dialogues, characters, distractions, attention deficit issues, emotional burnout and their muse being on holiday. Oh, and let’s not forget ‘writer’s block’ which is just a made up malady for not feeling like working today. (Do plumbers have plumber’s block? Do doctors have doctor’s block?)

The carping seemed endless.

Even Google thinks so.

I was surprised at this infinite hole of discontent and unhappiness. I tried to understand it, but I couldn’t. Maybe it’s because I write for a living so complaining all the time would be soul-breaking. If I didn’t like the work, I would have obtained employment in a different area. Yes, writing is difficult; it’s even harder to make a living at it. I get that, but why do these fiction folks keep knocking their heads against their respective walls and tell the rest of us how hard their writing lives are? They seem to savor their arduous fiction-writing lives and relish telling anyone who will listen.

I’m not saying I’m totally right, but here’s what I think is going on:

Many fiction writers have this romantic notion that artists must suffer. They believe that if they’re not suffering and complaining then they’re not true creators. Where did they get this idea? Well, from many famous writers and artists who have hidden their anguish with alcohol, drugs, bad behavior and annoying habits that drive those around them nuts. They wore the displeasure of their craft like a badge of honor.

The other errant notion is that creative types, like writers, are extreme, eccentrics or misfits and if you want to enter that group you must behave accordingly – and that includes telling everyone around you how difficult your craft is. If you don’t, then you’re not being really a creative.

Such nonsense.

You don’t have to be crazy and, moreover, you don’t have to act cray-cray just to fit into a misplaced notion that writers are a little off, weird or different. You can be normal and be a writer. All you have to do to be a writer is do the work.

I will concede that being a writer requires an open emotional life and that can manifest itself in day-to-day pain, discomfort and dislocation from society, but you don’t have to be a jerk about it to others or yourself. I will also acknowledge that good writers must dig deep inside to turn feelings into words and that can be a frustrating and often painful process. Doing this on a daily basis can make you a tad squirrely and you may want to vent. My advice is don’t. Try to foster a work/life demarcation like others who deal with raw, unsettling emotions like police, lawyers or Walmart employees.

One last point: Writing is a hard life and the work is difficult. The money doesn’t always come. You suffer rejection and disappointment in the pit of your being. You may not have the talent or temperament to be a writer, so why do it? Why do people insist that writing a novel is some pinnacle to be scaled no matter what the physical, emotional or spiritual cost? Not to sound harsher than I’ve been, but we don’t need any more books published. There are plenty. And…shhh… don’t tell anyone… if you don’t write your book, the world will still spin.

If you do continue to write, for god’s sake, stop freaking complaining about it. I’m tired of hearing it and guess what… so are your friends and loved ones.

Okay? Thanks.

PS – The irony of complaining about complaining did not elude me, so take that off the table when you’re composing your snarky responses.

What if the US were run like a corporation and a madman was in charge? Check out my latest thriller USA, Inc. now available in eBook and paperback. All my books have a money-back guarantee.

Posted in plotting

18 Jul 2016

6 Comments

Why Writers Should Watch “The Fear of 13”

By Larry Kahaner

If you agree that all prose – fiction or non-fiction – comes down to compelling storytelling, then the documentary The Fear of 13 is a must-watch. All writers can learn from it.

Click the image to watch the trailer

The movie concerns Nick Yarris, a convicted murderer who has spent 23 years on death row. Except for some flashbacks, the movie focuses on Yarris talking into the camera. Dressed in prison garb, seated in a dark cell, Yarris weaves a can’t-look-away tale of his incarceration, escape from prison (he was on the lam for about a month), then brought back to prison where he was beaten and abused by guards. He tells stories about his childhood, his drug addiction, the lives and loves of gay prisoners, how he met and married a woman who visited him behind bars, and how the new science of DNA would set him free – or would it? Did he really want it? At one point, fed up with prison he petitioned the court to comply with a convicted prisoner’s right to have his execution carried out. He wanted to die even though he professed his innocence.

This push-pull is the brilliance of director Don Sington. We are kept off balance as we rethink what is before us: Is Yarris still in prison or is the background simply a dark empty room? Is Yarris wearing convict clothes or a prison-type shirt? Was Yarris already executed and this is the story of his life? As his unbelievable account unfolds, you never know – until the end – and I’m not going to tell you.

While the director brings his skills, so does the convicted killer. At one point, before being thrown in solitary, a prison guard points Yarris to an empty cell and says “take those books with you.” Yarris, who only went as far as the 8^th grade, complies. Is this another cruel bit of torture? Will the guard grab the books back or is it another way to catch Yarris breaking a rule so the guard can beat him? You don’t know until Yarris explains that this tiny act of kindness started him reading books for the first time. He consulted dictionaries to learn all the words he didn’t know. And there were plenty. Indeed, that’s where the title comes from. Yarris is proud to have learned the complicated word ‘triskaidekaphobia,’ the fear of the number 13.

As a prisoner, he had plenty of time to read. He says that he devoured over a thousand books, mostly popular novels, and this is clearly were he gets his storytelling prowess. He obviously learned what all writers know. If you want to tell stories, you must read, and read, and read.

His ability to grab the viewer and pull him in is outmatched by anyone I’ve read or seen in recent years. Again, the room is empty. It’s only Yarris. It’s only words, yet he never loosens his grip on you. You’re forced on the ride, and it’s a dark ride for sure.

His stories are so fantastic – and I mean that in the true sense of the word: “fantasy-like” – that the director was forced to disclaim at the beginning that Yarris’ stories have been verified. Whether he did or not really doesn’t even matter.

I defy anyone – writer or not – to watch Yarris and not appreciate his immense power of storytelling.

(P.S. – The movie came out in 2015. It’s available on Netflix and elsewhere.)

Posted in characters, dialogue, plotting, research, writer's block, writing tips and tagged creative writing, fiction writing, how do you write a novel, how to write thrillers, larry kahaner, novel writing, writing style, writing tips

13 Jun 2016

4 Comments

A New Era of Pulp Fiction?

By Larry Kahaner

I have been waiting for an announcement like James Patterson’s “Book Shots” to cement my ongoing belief that the modern age of pulp fiction is upon us.

Patterson’s new book machine is producing novels “under 150 pages for under $5.” It promises: “Life moves fast – books should too… Impossible to put down. Read on any device.” The website also touts: “All Thriller. No Filler.”

Swell, baby.

The reason for this foray into modern pulp with their short-page count and compelling covers is obvious. Our attention spans are shorter, and we all carry our phones and devices around with us. But the idea is cleverer than that. These books are first focusing on thrillers and romances therefore adhering to the top two reasons why people read novels: entertainment and escape. These genres offer both – in spades, sweetheart.

As many of you know, I’m a fan of pulp novels. I relish the fast pace, the vivid language and colorful characters. These pulps (named for the cheap paper they were printed on) spawned a stable of fast-writing authors who were paid miserly and, in order to make a living, churned out books by the cartful. In between books they wrote serials and short stories for magazines like Black Mask and Argosy. They moved back and forth with ease.

The books were short, cheap, (yes, I mean inexpensive) engaging, had tons of action, and their lurid covers promised titillation. Ditto for the pulp magazines.

From these pulpster ranks came great writers like Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett, L. Sprague de Camp, John D. MacDonald and Robert Heinlein. They honed their skills by writing fast and hooking readers even faster.

What I see now mimics the age of pulps. Online magazines have taken the place of physical magazines along with lots of writers who are writing lots of books. I especially see this in the indie book explosion where many authors produce books by the score charging low prices and even giving away free copies to entice readers to their later works.

But here’s the killer difference. Most of the modern-day pulpsters are not working for publishers who pay them a pittance. (I don’t know what Book Shots pays.) They’re taking a flyer on themselves, paying their own way into the self-publishing game and ginning up their own covers. They no longer need a jamoke with a printing press.

What happens next? Will we see world-class writers emerge from this burgeoning sea of modern pulp authors? Will publishing history repeat itself?

I certainly hope so. Between prolific indie authors and commercial powerhouses like Patterson’s Book Shots, everything is in place for a new generation of writers to pay their dues and take their place with the break-out pulpsters of the past.

Shameless plug: To read an excerpt from my Kindle Scout book “USA, Inc.” click here. If it is nominated, you get a free e-book and my appreciation.

Posted in amazon, indie publishing, kindle, Kindle Scout, novelists, writer's block, writing tips and tagged finding your voice, larry kahaner, modeling successful writers, novel writing, novelists, writers voice, writing style, writing tips

06 Jun 2016

Why an Establishment Author is Doing Amazon’s Kindle Scout – Part 2

Part 2: The Hidden Cleverness of Amazon

By Larry Kahaner

Amazon’s Kindle Scout program makes my head spin. It’s clever in ways that you don’t see. (Read “Part 1: The Weirdest Writing Thing I’ve Ever Done.“)

USA Inc 25 May 2016 KINDLE

Amazon has disrupted the traditional publishing business which consists of the following flow: the author who writes the book, to the agent who acts as a filter for publishers and the publisher who produces the book. The last link in the chain is the bookstore. In the olden days, the publisher would not only acquire, edit and print, but market, promote and sell the book. However, in the past few years, publishers have taken less of a role in marketing, promotion and publicity, leaving much of it to authors. (Except for top authors who still get this treatment even though their books don’t need it.) And publishers certainly do far less editing and working with authors’ writing than ever before.

At every step in this worn-out process, Amazon has inserted their monkey wrench. They took on bookstores by making physical browsing obsolete. You now can read the first few pages of any book on line without charge. You can even return an e-book if you don’t like it. For better or worse, bookstores are disappearing or morphing into coffeehouses.

Next, e-books. Although they didn’t invent e-books, they made it a real business. E-books cut publishers hold on physical printing. Unfortunately, e-books led to lot of crappy books, because Amazon and others made publishing e-books just too easy. It’s a shame because a lot of really good books, from unknown and even known authors, are being drowned in a sea of publishing dreck. We need a filter, someone like an agent.

Behold: Kindle Scout.

When an author submits a book to Kindle Scout, the editors at Amazon (many of whom are highly-skilled editors laid off by the publishing industry during the recession) become the first filter, the job of agents. They don’t accept every book that comes their way which is a plus for potential readers because they don’t have to wade through a ton of poor books to find one they want to read.

But it gets better.

Readers, who are attracted to the cover and the teaser line, read the excerpt and vote if they would like to read more. Authors, of course, are compelled to not only produce a ‘selling cover’ but the promotional material, and then cajole readers to sample the excerpt. In essence, authors are doing the jobs that traditional publishers have given up on – which publishers now expect most authors to do anyway. As an incentive for doing this work, Amazon gives authors about half of the proceeds, a much larger chunk than traditional publishers.

But wait, there’s more.

If your book is not chosen to be published by Kindle Scout, many authors will then self-publish because they already have a great cover, followers who voted for their book and the confidence and marketing/promotion skills they learned during the campaign. Kindle Scout is like a training program for authors.

The best part is that readers have their pick of professionally-written, vetted books that are a cut above the slap-dashed self-published books that are flooding the market.
Bottom line for Amazon: They get to sell better-written books with compelling covers by authors who know the business side of writing.

Amazon is just so damn clever.

Shameless plug: To read an excerpt from my Kindle Scout book “USA, Inc.” click here. If it is nominated, you get a free e-book and my appreciation.

Posted in amazon, indie publishing, kindle, Kindle Scout, novelists, plotting, writing tips and tagged creative writing, fiction writing, how to write novels, how to write thrillers, larry kahaner, modeling successful writers, myths about writing, novel writing, novel writing success, writing tips | Leave a comment

Larry Kahaner

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How Readers are Cheated Out of their Imaginations

Stop Writing Crappy Fantasy Novels

Book Reviewers Can be Jerks

Writers: Don’t be a Victim of Beginner’s Luck

Why I Chose Fiction Over Fact

Hey, Writers: Stop Your Freakin’ Whining

Why Writers Should Watch “The Fear of 13”

A New Era of Pulp Fiction?

Why an Establishment Author is Doing Amazon’s Kindle Scout – Part 2

Part 2: The Hidden Cleverness of Amazon

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