Read Online Writing the Paranormal Novel: Techniques and Exercises for Weaving Supernatural Elements Into Your Story. by Steven Harper - Free Book Online
Authors: Steven Harper
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secret supernatural world, magical elements may be behind a given idea's popularity. Who's to say fairies weren't quietly boosting Tickle Me Elmo? And perhaps the “I've fallen and I can't get up” commercial was an unconscious reference to werewolves and their prey. Anne Rice, of course, put her vampire on stage in a popular rock band in The Vampire Lestat , creating a fictional music sensation that bled over into the real world for a short time.
In a sunlit supernatural world, you can easily imagine the impact of the paranormal on pop culture. Although there might be much to fear from the supernatural, people would also flock to it, especially if it turned out to have good fashion sense. Music, TV shows, movies, food — all these industries and more would rush to incorporate cool supernatural elements into themselves if such elements revealed themselves to the world. Can you imagine real-life fairies showing up and McDonald's not using them to promote their Happy Meals? Me neither.
One way to explore the ramifications is simply to take an element of modern culture and add the supernatural. The fashion industry is built around expectations of impossible beauty. What would happen if you added impossibly beautiful elves to it? Reality TV shows pit ordinary people against each other in strange contests. Imagine pitting two rival clans of werewolves against each other. Hollywood complains that agents suck blood from the studios. What would a vampire agent be like? Running with an idea in this direction is a great way to explore theme as well. (More about that in chapter twelve.)
BUT WILL I USE ALL THIS?
Absolutely not.
Every writer creates reams of notes that no one else will ever read, forms ideas no one else will ever hear, writes histories that will never see the light of day. And so will you.
A couple years ago, I took a research trip to Ireland. For ten days, I wandered Dublin and County Meath. I crawled through Stone Age tombs, and climbed over ruined castles. I drove on the left, drank Guinness, and got lost in Irish bogs. I learned how to behave in an Irish cathedral, start a fire with dried peat, and speak with an Irish accent. But I didn't learn everything there was to know about Ireland — or even about Loughcrew, the small, fairly obscure tombs I'd come to study. I didn't learn how immigration works, or how to use the Dublin train system, or how to open a bank account. But you can be sure that all these things existed while I was there! The banks and trains and immigration system all operated quietly in the background, and I barely noticed.
You're essentially taking the reader on a ten-day tour through your world. There's plenty they don't need to see but which you need to know about. Your deeper knowledge of the world will keep the world consistent and stop you from making mistakes in the way your characters react within your setting.
CULTURAL CHECKLIST
Have you considered each of the following areas when creating backgrounds for your supernatural characters?
TYPE OF WORLD
Secret Supernatural
Secret History
Sunlit Supernatural
Old (Long-Existing) Supernatural
New (Recently Arrived) Supernatural
SUPERNATURAL PEOPLE ARE:
Superior
Equals
Persecuted
CULTURE
Government (Type: )
Formal
Informal
Economy
Spirituality
Family and Community
Art and Recreation
Food
Tools and Technology
Weapons
Transportation
Medicine
Production
Slavery
Communication
Popular Culture
Impact of pop culture on the paranormal
Impact of the paranormal on pop culture
CHAPTER 4: Seeking the Paranormal
T he McNamara Federal Building in downtown Detroit doesn't look like it's full of people with guns. It's a tall, gray block of a skyscraper with a really ugly sculpture out front made of smashed-up cars set in an arrangement vaguely similar to Stonehenge. I parked my car and dropped quarters into the meter. For once, I was wearing a shirt with a button-down collar, slacks, and decent shoes
In a sunlit supernatural world, you can easily imagine the impact of the paranormal on pop culture. Although there might be much to fear from the supernatural, people would also flock to it, especially if it turned out to have good fashion sense. Music, TV shows, movies, food — all these industries and more would rush to incorporate cool supernatural elements into themselves if such elements revealed themselves to the world. Can you imagine real-life fairies showing up and McDonald's not using them to promote their Happy Meals? Me neither.
One way to explore the ramifications is simply to take an element of modern culture and add the supernatural. The fashion industry is built around expectations of impossible beauty. What would happen if you added impossibly beautiful elves to it? Reality TV shows pit ordinary people against each other in strange contests. Imagine pitting two rival clans of werewolves against each other. Hollywood complains that agents suck blood from the studios. What would a vampire agent be like? Running with an idea in this direction is a great way to explore theme as well. (More about that in chapter twelve.)
BUT WILL I USE ALL THIS?
Absolutely not.
Every writer creates reams of notes that no one else will ever read, forms ideas no one else will ever hear, writes histories that will never see the light of day. And so will you.
A couple years ago, I took a research trip to Ireland. For ten days, I wandered Dublin and County Meath. I crawled through Stone Age tombs, and climbed over ruined castles. I drove on the left, drank Guinness, and got lost in Irish bogs. I learned how to behave in an Irish cathedral, start a fire with dried peat, and speak with an Irish accent. But I didn't learn everything there was to know about Ireland — or even about Loughcrew, the small, fairly obscure tombs I'd come to study. I didn't learn how immigration works, or how to use the Dublin train system, or how to open a bank account. But you can be sure that all these things existed while I was there! The banks and trains and immigration system all operated quietly in the background, and I barely noticed.
You're essentially taking the reader on a ten-day tour through your world. There's plenty they don't need to see but which you need to know about. Your deeper knowledge of the world will keep the world consistent and stop you from making mistakes in the way your characters react within your setting.
CULTURAL CHECKLIST
Have you considered each of the following areas when creating backgrounds for your supernatural characters?
TYPE OF WORLD
Secret Supernatural
Secret History
Sunlit Supernatural
Old (Long-Existing) Supernatural
New (Recently Arrived) Supernatural
SUPERNATURAL PEOPLE ARE:
Superior
Equals
Persecuted
CULTURE
Government (Type: )
Formal
Informal
Economy
Spirituality
Family and Community
Art and Recreation
Food
Tools and Technology
Weapons
Transportation
Medicine
Production
Slavery
Communication
Popular Culture
Impact of pop culture on the paranormal
Impact of the paranormal on pop culture
CHAPTER 4: Seeking the Paranormal
T he McNamara Federal Building in downtown Detroit doesn't look like it's full of people with guns. It's a tall, gray block of a skyscraper with a really ugly sculpture out front made of smashed-up cars set in an arrangement vaguely similar to Stonehenge. I parked my car and dropped quarters into the meter. For once, I was wearing a shirt with a button-down collar, slacks, and decent shoes
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