Week in Review: October 30 - November 5, 2022

Review of last week, a story submission, a favorite storytelling medium, and a recommendation

Happy Monday, all! Another week is done and gone. A new month begins with the holidays and end of 2022 soon approaching. Let’s hop right into it.

Reading

Last week there wasn’t much reading done: a few short stories and poems from Robert E Howard and a couple of chapters of a western novel.

Short Fiction:

• The Shadow Kingdom - Robert E Howard

• The Tavern - Robert E Howard

Poetry:

• The Ghost King - Robert E Howard

• Recompense - Robert E Howard

Novel:

• Showdown - Louis L’Amour (57% completed)

Writing

Last week I submitted my latest story to Clarkesworld Magazine and I’ve written 1,100 words towards a new story. As always any acceptance and rejection letters received will be posted on here.

Something on my mind

If you're a long time reader of The Pulp Fictioneer, you may recall one of my earlier articles titled The Case for Short-form Storytelling. If not (or you want a refresher) follow the link and give it a read. Think of this article as a sequel.

I’ve spent most of 2022 reading and writing short fiction originally as a fun way to pass the time. It wasn’t long before it morphed into obsessive, self-directed study with aspirations to one day become a professional writer and storyteller. Since March 2022, I’ve discovered new authors, unearthed out-of-print volumes, rediscovered a few favorite writers, taken a few online courses, worked under a mentor, formed friendships with other writers, and penned a handful of stories.

It all goes back to my love of the short story.

Short fiction is such a unique form that can be twisted, bent, and constructed in all neat little sorts of ways making it fun for the reader. The current culture reigning supreme in today’s entertainment, and Hollywood especially, is the opposite. We are given epic (read long winded) stories in expensive movie, TV, and gaming franchises that serve only to build out the next great “universe” in the latest sequel, prequel, trilogy, remake, reimagining, soft reboot, series, etc.

This is not a critique of the current field of entertainment. There are plenty of people who have entered that arena doing a fine job waving their fists in the air. In the end, it is what it is. I simply wish to propose an alternative.

For your consideration - The TV Anthology Series

Television has redefined entertainment since its inception back in the 1950s. It replaced Radio and the audience’s reliance on sound, music, and imagination to tell a story with a small screen of moving pictures that became largely financed with advertising dollars. Through the years, the medium of Television has evolved from fat sets to thin ones, 50’ inch plus screens, 24/7 news programs, the coming and going of cable networks, endless commercials, and now the dominance of streaming platforms. Through it all, anthologies continue to pop up here and there to tell all sorts of stories.

There is a high chance I may be alone in this, but I have deep admiration for this medium. For those unaware, these shows are usually a format where each episode serves as a standalone story with its own characters and their own unique set of problems. Each episode usually runs for 30-40 minutes which only gives the writer/director a limited amount of time to tell a complete story. These self-contained tales can be fun and full of creativity if done successfully and, like some of the best short stories, can pack a formidable punch by the ending.

Most anthologies cover three genres: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy. Some shows are stronger than others but it ultimately comes down to a person’s taste. Most of my young peers truly enjoyed Black Mirror. For me? Meh. Not so much. Love, Death & Robots? Now that’s my shit. But that just comes down to my own personal taste.

Series anthologies, though old as TV, still pop up from time to time. The latest being Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix. I’m about two episodes in and so far not bad. A few months back I watched the entire first season of the animated anthology Infinity Train by Owen Dennis and enjoyed each bit size episode.

There is plenty of room for more of these shows to pop up. I’m not a Hollywood producer, studio head, or financier but I’m willing to wager there is an interesting business model here. If I were a producer with big enough track record of past success, I’d seek out interesting writers of the short fiction scene today and start a conversation about licensing their work for an [Insert Anthology Series] and make magic happen¹. Science fiction, animation, horror, fantasy, even hardboiled crime could be fun. Roald Dahl did this with his short fiction that was adapted into the TV series Tales of the Unexpected, a great show!

I love this format of storytelling. It is packed with fun, creativity, and endless possibilities. I’m always willing to explore a new anthology both in TV and book form.

Aaaaand speaking of books. I cracked into this powerhouse book of pulpy weird western stories last night. A Fistful of Demons is edited by Ryan Williamson & Jessica West and includes a killer roster of terrific professional writers and fictioneers. Over 600 pages of pulp fiction goodies all for $4.99.

I’m a few stories in and it doesn’t disappoint. Be sure to grab a copy.

Well, that’s all she wrote. ‘Till next time.

1. As a writer of short fiction, I am happy to take calls with Hollywood power brokers interested in licensing my work for an upcoming series. Try me, Netflix. I’m pretty cheap.