|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John Shanahan November 29 2001 Go To Chat How To Chat Download Shanahan's Story "Thieves" The November '01 Q&A |
John Shanahan has been writing sword and sorcery, horror, and dark fiction short stories since 1995. The Cúmor stories, in their earlier guise as "The Tales of K'aa the Slayer," first appeared in Shadow Sword magazine and later on the Orphic Chronicle Web site. In addition, his work has appeared in the magazine Carpe Noctem, MindMares, Not One of Us, and Glyph, along with a smattering of e-zines. Beyond his genre work, John has also written for television and radio and contributes a regular column to the Mansfield News in his hometown of Mansfield, Massachusetts. When not writing, John's either cooking, trancing out to ambient music, or enjoying the company of his 3-year-old son Jack, who frequently makes him do scenes from Young Frankenstein. |
|
JaniceMars Hi John! Good to see you tonight! John Shanahan Thank you, Janice. Glad to be here. JaniceMars Just a second small glitch on that side. John Shanahan Must be my breath... JaniceMars LOL John I wanted to ask you a few questions about your work tonight so don't smack me if the questions I ask seem a little rudimentary okay? John Shanahan Let me strap on the armor here... Have at... JaniceMars John, what made you first decide to write Fantasy, and is that what you call what you write? John Shanahan I do consider it fantasy, but I look at it more as fantasy with a dark edge. And I'd have to say my background in role-playing games headed me in that direction. Plus, I'd always loved reading Howard and the old pulp stories. I'm a sucker for lurid prose. ;) JaniceMars LOL. so you started out role playing. what games? John Shanahan Name it. Started with D&D, of course. Tunnels & Trolls, Runequest, even once played Bunnies & Burrows, which was based on Watership Down. You haven't lived until you've role-played a rabbit. JaniceMars lol JD STONEKEEP, Lands Of Lore III here! John Shanahan I was writing well before I started into RPGs, actually. It's something I've done since I was a kid. And it's not as if I've only written genre fiction. I've written comedy, stage, television, radio, science fiction, literary fiction, journalistic pieces. But if you can take something you enjoy, such a RPGs, and convert that into the written word, then you've certainly started toward becoming a writer. JaniceMars John, did you start out writing with the intent of being a journalist or a genre writer? Writer in general, actually. JD Have you ever written a story with an Auditor as the hero? John Shanahan I have a need to capture imagery and sensations in words. It's a passion. But I find that the relatively wide boundaries of genre writing--and particularly fantasy--are very freeing. Magic works because we say so. There are two moons because we say so. And if the reader's going to come along, they have to accept that. JaniceMars Thanks John! jdharv Is the market for swords and sorcery fantasy improving or slacking off these days John Shanahan I think for short fiction, it's dismal--save for the Internet markets. Fantasy for the past decade or more has been relegated to multi-volume epics. I think that's a shame. One of the reasons I started writing the Cumor stories is because I missed fiction in the style of Conan--standalone adventures that readers could follow as they came out. Nine-book series are great moneymakers, but I always wonder why the SF market hasn't fallen into the same pit. JaniceMars Thanks John. JD What do you think of Harry Potter? John Shanahan Never read them, to be honest. I read very little fantasy because I find it very "samey." I've heard they might make it big some day. ;) John Shanahan Hello Dave! DaveKuz Hi! Astra What have you done for television, John? Fantasy? Drama? John Shanahan Heh. 12 years on a weekly public access show that was seen in a 13-town radius, and two television pilots that never went anywhere. The access show was a comedy/variety show that was pretty well-known. I enjoyed my time there. JaniceMars Thanks John. jdharv Who has influenced your writing the most? John Shanahan The pat answer is Me. I think a writer has to be his own worst critic and best influence. . You've got to push yourself to be better with each piece. But as far as influences go, Robert E. Howard really formed my fantasy style, and David Gemmel's books showed me that the real strength of any story in any genre is creating characters that readers will invest in. Put all the fantasy trappings you want in there. It still all comes to down to the fact that what you're writing about is how people. deal with the situations they find themselves in. And how they deal with themselves in those situations. If people out here haven't read Gemmel's "Legend," they need to do so ASAP. Log Hi. John Shanahan Hi. Astra SAWB in residence. Log bows deeply John Shanahan Should I be returning the bow? ;) JD Of the MANY different types/formats you write, Which is hardest and easiest John Shanahan Comedy comes very easily to me. If someone needs a light piece written, I'll bang it right out. A good example of my lighter genre stuff is a story called "O'Rourke's Passenger," which you can still find in the archives at Aphelion Webzine. Real-world writing--contemporary, non-genre stuff--comes hardest. I think I find it too mundane. If it doesn't fascinate me, I can't convey fascination to a reader. And when that happens, I lose them. Good writing is honest, and honest writing is stuff the author can invest in personally. JD OOO, do you know the URL? jdharv http//www.aphelion-webzine.com/index2.htm JD You should try writing audit reports! John Shanahan www.aphelion-webzine.com John Shanahan Very good zine, by the by. You should try writing feature articles about platinum casting technology. ;) theca did you have anyone in particular who helped you get started? John Shanahan Not as far as a mentor goes, no. Like I said, I've always written. I remember being about 10 and working on a story about demolition derby drivers. DaveKuz Platinum casting technology? Isn't that what Hollyweird refers to as the casting couch? John Shanahan I counted on myself to develop a style and to figure out what was good and what was bad. From there, it was sending writing out. If it got rejected, well. that helps a writer develop, too. John Shanahan Someone get Dave a rimshot...on me, please. ;) JaniceMars lol DaveKuz It was, admittedly, a long stretch for that one, John. jdharv Do you prefer to write long or short fiction? John Shanahan I wanted to say that the best way for a writer to develop is simply to do it. And do it. And do it. And, again, keep a very self-critical eye on their work. I have no long fiction in me! LOL. My top is about 40k. I like short story writing for the pacing. My short pieces tend to run about 5k or so. I'm a little windy a times. I haven't really developed a sense of the kind of pacing a novel requires. I don't do short-shorts, but I'd have to say that shorter fiction is my strong suit. Log http//www2.aphelion-webzine.com/authors/ShanahanJohnC.html is the link to your stuff at Aphelion. I am enjoying O'ROURKE' PASSENGER very much right now. John Shanahan Thank you. I love that story. I intend to write another at some point. (Another with O'Rourke, that is...) Log Do I have to make birdie on three consecutive holes to get more good stuff like this soon? John Shanahan LOL. No, I just have to find my ass's gearshift. JaniceMars LOLOLOLOL John Shanahan And thank you for the compliment! A writer can't hear it enough. Log A reader can't read enough stuff like this. John Shanahan And now, I shall blush profusely. JaniceMars Thanks John. John...I've noticed something about your work that is different from many fantasists...current fantasists that is... and that is your attention to the detail of setting. Is this something you learned in school or via trial and error? John Shanahan I'd say trial and error. I tend to be very cinematic in the way I write. Mentally, I've got camera angles going on as I lay down a scene. I think much of it stems from television and also stage (I did a bit of it). It's the way I see things as I go along. But this goes back to "investment." If an author can't immerse himself in the scene and capture it in heavy detail, he can't bring the reader along properly. A writer's job is to remove the reader from their chair and suck them, body and soul, into the story. Part of that comes from capturing details. I tend to be very visceral and sensualistic in my writing. I'm concerned with conveying a tactile sense to the words. When people lift their heads from my stories, I want there to be an audible POP as they come back to the real world. JaniceMars I think I'm in love. John... are you planning on doing any conventions in the near future? John Shanahan Sadly, no. I intend instead to languish in obscurity and die of consumption like Lawrence. I find the idea terribly romantic. ;) JaniceMars LOLOL John Shanahan If someone invites me to a con, I'll show. Techyo Speaking of screen why do you think some book authors transfer better to screen than others? John Shanahan I think it's hard--very hard--to transfer a book to the screen well. Writing can more easily convey inner life. I look at Silence of the Lambs as an example. In the movie, you never understand that Lecter retains much of what little sanity he's got through his mental prowess. The fact that he can recall, in his mind, a stroll through the Louvre or a symphony note for note. Harris makes it very clear in the book and it brings an odd humanity to Lecter. Fact is when you write, you leave details and images up to the reader. When you film, you make concrete decisions about how something looks. And imagination is always--ALWAYS--the more effective tool. Barry Is franchise fiction (Star Wars, Trek, Etc) hurting or helping genre fiction markets? Are they robbing authors who write good stand alone novels? John Shanahan Well, again, in fantasy there are no more good standalone novels because the industry doesn't want them. John Shanahan I think that franchise fiction--and this is just my opinion--helps because it can bring readers into a genre. If I enjoy a Star Trek book, I may be more likely to reach for a Greg Bear novel. Or if someone sees me reading one and recommends Ender's Game, I may be more likely to try it because I know I like the style. For fantasy. ugh. One of the reasons I like Gemmel is because for so long, he wrote standalone novels. And they're great. But his latest work is a trilogy. I think readers would love a novel they didn't have to invest half a lifetime in (did someone say "Jordan"?). But the industry doesn't want standalone fantasy. I blame Stephen Donaldson. ;) davekuz Do you every collaborate with other authors? John Shanahan I did once, for an online project that never got off the ground. I co-wrote a story with Weston Ochse, without knowing it was him. It was interesting. Beyond that, I haven't tried it. I don't feel I've laid out enough of my own stuff yet. jdharv Tell us a bit about the writing of THIEVES. John Shanahan I wrote Thieves years ago and still haven't managed to get it published. JaniceMars That's the story that can be downloaded from http//www.cybling.com/artists/shanahan.html btw. John Shanahan Something in the writing of it demanded present tense, and editors can't get past that aspect of it. I think readers will enjoy it--and historically have--because there's an honesty in it, part of which is this weird conviction to having it present tense. It makes the story, I feel, more intense, more immediate. JaniceMars Thanks John. I found the story compelling. John Shanahan I do hope people will get the story and let me know what they think. Thank you. Some of the characters in Thieves reappear in one of the Cumor stories. Log POP! I never thought I'd be enjoying a game of virtual golf in space, JS. Thanks. John Shanahan Glad you liked it! Clearly, the world needs more of O'Rourke. ;) Log Is it as difficult a task as I imagine, to write short, funny fiction like the O'rourke series? John Shanahan That came pretty easily, actually. (Not to sound flip!) Log Please note that I said "series". menacing look\ John Shanahan As I said, comedy is one of my strong suits. The funny thing is, the mention of golf at the beginning and the ending of the story (I don't want to give it away) weren't planned. Log Yeah. It goes with the big floppy shoes pretty well. [G] John Shanahan The connection came as I was out walking, trying to figure out how to end the story. DaveKuz Ba-da-boom-ba-da-bang! John Shanahan And as far as series. could be. ) Ara Where do you get your ideas? John Shanahan Everywhere. Everything that goes on around a writer is a potential idea. I published a story once based on riding an elevator and noticing that between certain floors, the floor indicator was an "X." You look around, you take it in, and then you ask "What if?" Ara No kidding! John Shanahan Go from there. Good writing is a product of extrapolation. DaveKuz Tell 'em the truth about the idea clearinghouse in New Jersey... John Shanahan Every normal situation can be rendered abnormal--and therefore genre--with a single twist. Astra Elevator? perk Iog entry lol Kuz John Shanahan Yeah. The story was called "Between Floors" and it ran in a Not One of Us annual. I think (think) you can nab a look at www.angelfire.com/ma/mrshanahan/floors.html Might still be there. Dave, don't make me drive over there. [g] jdharv What is your current writing project? John Shanahan Trying to write. D My book, Cumor A Warrior of D'Alshon, is coming at some indeterminate time from The Fiction Works. It's a collection of fantasy short stories very much in the style of classic S&S and pulp stories. Beyond that, I'm trying to redirect my writing and find the style I'm comfortable with now. But given some of the responses here, more fantasy and perhaps an O'Rourke story may be in the offering. Nothing inspires like praise. ;) DaveKuz John, I wish you good luck with your writing. Sorry, but I have to leave now. If you're interested in a collaboration, email me. Good chat. Night! John Shanahan Thank you Dave. Log Yup. Still there. Almost makes me want to get on an elevator. John Shanahan I should also mention my infrequent newspaper column. You can find links to it on my web site at www.angelfire.com/ma/mrshanahan JaniceMars Folks, let's take a moment and thank John Shanahan for joining us tonight, and John... John Shanahan (I sense an ultimatum coming) JaniceMars Do you think that a writing campaign to your publisher might get CUMOR out a little faster? John Shanahan I'd hope so. If people want to pester the folks at the Fiction Works, tell them you heard about the book here and you'd like to see it...SOOON. Go to www.fictionworks.com and tell them you need to read Cumor A Warrior of D'Alshon. Astra applause DerHexer Thanks, John John Shanahan Thank you all. JaniceMars Folks, let's thank John for joining us tonight. Log Thanks, JS! I enjoyed the two stories of yours that I read this evening. Baryon Thanks John, great chat John Shanahan I enjoyed this immensely! JaniceMars We'll just have to get you back out here when CUMOR becomes available then! John Shanahan Please do. JaniceMars Okay John, excellent interview... John Shanahan Good night, all. jdharv Take care and have a good all. JDH Baryon night all |
|
|
|
|
|
|