Reflections on World Horror Convention 2011
A couple of weekends ago, I attended the 2011 World Horror Convention in Austin, Texas. Despite my intentions to write it up immediately, I found myself in the thick of a busy workweek and post-con exhaustion (as well as some other writing projects I’ll announce soon). But better late than never!
I’d never been to WHC so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I primarily went to see old friends and do some more Rigor Amortis promotion (thanks, Edge). But I had a fantastic time. I had planned to write up the panels and discuss in detail all the things I did while there, but in the process I came away with two realizations about my writing that I wanted to talk about instead:
1) I’m more of a horror writer than I thought.
I used to be much more into reading horror when I was younger. I cut my teeth on short stories by Stephen King (especially Night Shift, which I re-read many times.) I devoured books by King, Wilson, and even Koontz. I loved the creepy thrills of Alien, The Shining, and the gore fests of Friday the Thirteenth and Nightmare on Elm Street. Oh, and Jaws. That giant shark has haunted my dreams ever since.
As a writer, I have mostly been interested in fantasy, though as I get older, my stories are becoming darker and darker. Maybe it’s all the stuff I see going wrong with the world. With my zombie story in Rigor Amortis getting some attention, I’ve found myself wondering if maybe I haven’t strayed as far from the horror path as I’d thought. Even the novel I’m beginning to work on is as much horror as fantasy.
And that leads me to the second realization.
2) I’m ready to start my first novel.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Every beginning writer hears they should cut their teeth on short stories. I believe this. I’ve lived it. I’ve had success. I’m not ready to quit writing shorts, but I feel it’s time to face that novel and conquer it. (I’m not the only one to have decided this recently.)
Several serendipitous conversations at WHC only strengthed my resolve, and so I’ve decided to make a novel my “summer project.” I may even tie that into the Clarion West write-a-thon coming up. Stay tuned.
So thanks to the organizers and attendees of WHC 2011. I had a blast, and I look forward to the next one!
Special thanks to my WHC posse, too: Lauren, Lucas, John, Galen, Erika, Jaym, Steve, Bear, Sandra, Robert, Andrew, Molly, Jesse, Orrin, and Selena.
