Shaun Hutson Has The Best Advice For Professional Writers Out There

Chances are good that a lot of you out there have no idea who Shaun Hutson is. If you have heard his name before, though, chances are you know him from novels like Slugs, The Skull, or Progeny. The Godfather of Gore, among other names, Hutson has released a frankly staggering number of novels over his career. While some of them are greatly entertaining, and most of them have been the subject of controversy due to their lurid content, the author himself seems to ignore what people say both good and bad.

However, in an interview I saw with him recently, he said something that I feel a lot of writers out there need to hear... especially those who expect to make a living in this trade.

For those wondering which part of the interview I'm referring to, it's the quote around the 5-minute mark. "When somebody says, 'Here's an obscene amount of money, Shaun, would you like to go and write a book?' then the muse descends with incredible speed."

That, right there, is the most important piece of advice I've been giving to people at cons and Q&A's for years, and it's coming out of the mouth of someone far more successful than I am. As a writer, do not buy into your own bullshit... you've got a job to do, so knuckle down and get it done!

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"How Do You Get Into a Mood To Write a Sex Scene?"

About a decade ago I was primarily writing romance fiction for a small publisher as a way to earn a few royalties, and to make some connections in the industry. Even back then I'd learned the primary lesson every author needs to internalize, which is that you need to do as much of your own promotion as you possibly can if you expect to get the word out about your books. To that end I'd asked my publisher if they had any go-to reviewers or interviewers they could hook me up with to start getting the word out about some of my releases.

They did, and to this day I have never forgotten what was probably the most insulting question I've ever been asked by an interviewer.

"Who's a good little author?" Miss, please, can we keep this professional?

I received an emailed list of questions, many of which were pretty straightforward. What's your story about, where can people find it, is it a standalone or part of a series, etc. About halfway into the questions, though, was this gem. Paraphrased, it was, "How do you get ready to write a really steamy love scene? Do you pour yourself some wine, have some chocolate, etc.?"

I re-read this question several times, processing it. It was, perhaps, the most blatant example I'd seen of the myth of writing writ large on the page right in front of me. It was like method acting applied to the written word, and the idea was so ludicrous that I had to laugh. It felt like someone who watched shows like Castle, or movies about really successful authors where they have ludicrous lives and massive bank accounts, but played totally straight. And the fact that this question was still present, in what looked like this reviewer's standard copy-and-paste questionnaire, meant I wasn't going to just let it slide.

While I contemplated putting out an elaborate, sarcastic routine that I went through in order to put myself in the proper frame of mind, I instead chose to be more honest, and less sexy. My response boiled down to, "I pop a top on a fresh can of cherry Coke, crack my knuckles, and write the scene. Same way I write intro prose, action scenes, and dialogue. Sex scenes aren't special, they're just another part of the story."

As Hutson says, sometimes the ideas don't flow freely. Sometimes you stare at a blank screen, trying to order your thoughts. Or you type a few sentences, delete them, and try again. But you don't sit around just waiting for inspiration to drop out of the sky like Newton's apple. You're a professional, and you've got a job to do.

The best thing you can do for yourself, and for your career, is to figure out wherever your switch is so that you can flip it on command. Because publishers have deadlines, and the reading public isn't going to wait around if your muse happens to have a club foot and a bad knee.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

What Makes A Barbarian Hero?

A few weeks back I talked about what makes an anti-hero in Getting Back to Basics When it Comes to Anti-Heroes. So I thought I'd continue examining the archetypes and styles of our stories this week, and delve into one of my personal favorites... the Barbarian Hero!

Things are about the get ripped in here.

Classic Heroes (Through The Lens of The Barbarian)

As I said when we were talking about anti-heroes, the first thing you need to do is to establish the traits and qualities of your Classic Hero. Not to beat a dead horse, but some of the traits you run into included:

- Prowess: Classical heroes were good at things (typically fighting, but other stuff, too).

- Surety: Classical heroes knew what to do, and usually wasted no time doing it.

- Looks: Classical heroes were usually handsome, and were prone to being admired.

- Cause: Heroes of antiquity fought for themselves, while heroes in the middle ages tended to fight for king, god, and other rulers. The difference between Hector and Lancelot, in this one.

- Flawless: Classical heroes had either no flaws, or their single, Tragic Flaw. Sometimes physical, sometimes more metaphorical.

- Special Bloodline: Whether it was from gods or kings, heroes were born special more often than not.

While there was some variation from story to story and culture to culture, this was the typical mold for where heroic characters fit. And from Achilles to Aragorn, this mold is very much a part of our modern storytelling toolbox.

So where do the barbarians come in?

The Barbarian Hero has always been a part of our stories, our legends, and our tales; he didn't just show up a century or so ago under the pen of Robert E. Howard. From ancient myths that described characters like Enkidu the beast man, to Cu Chulainn and his legendary riastrad, and into the modern day with characters like Kull the Conqueror, Tarzan, and the Forgotten Realms' own Wulfgar, the barbarian hero has always been with us.

But what makes the Barbarian Hero different from classical heroes?

The first thing a Barbarian Hero requires is an uncivilized aspect. Whether it's someone from civilization being raised in the wilds like the Earl of Greystoke, or a character who was born and bred in the wilds of the world like Conan, that lack of a civilization is essential to these characters. It should be noted, also, that some characters are merely treated as throwbacks; uncivilized people born into civilized times. Often it's this inherent lack of civilization that acts as the source of the character's power in some way, shape, or form (the savage furies of the north, the rippling thews of the southern jungles, etc.).

Beyond that uncivilized aspect, though, the Barbarian Hero is a creature of both raw physicality, and unstoppable willpower. Many of them are great in stature, as it represents they are different than most men, and even those who are of an average size have a strength far greater than those around them (you see this in The Jungle Book 2, when Mowgli is far stronger than average men because he was raised by wild beasts). Barbarian Heroes also tend to be stronger-willed than average characters, and despite being seen as uncivilized brutes by many, they usually possess a wide variety of skills and experiences, as well as a firm grasp of logic and reason.

One of the final aspects of the Barbarian Hero is that they are often (but not always) positioned opposite their nemesis of the Sorcerer. For while a Barbarian Hero is a rampantly physical character, their greatest opponents are those who use trickery and magic to confound or challenge that strength. In many of these matches it is the Barbarian Hero's sheer force of will, as well as their cat-like reflexes, that allow them to win the day.

This mixing of the heroic with the savage, and keeping many aspects we recognize while mixing them with ones we do not, tends to create interesting characters. And while it is a mold that has waxed and waned over the years, it is not one that has ever really gone away.

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction?

One of the odder things about the barbarian hero, as an idea, is that there's some truth to it. According to TV Tropes, older societies often dealt with a slew of problems that could be directly attributed to the problems of civilization. From disease running rampant, to difficulties with inbreeding, to the issue of feeding a large number of people in one location, you often saw weakness that wasn't present in more nomadic, less-developed societies.

That was probably part of where this archetype came from in the first place... because sometimes our actual history influences the stories we tell in some truly bizarre ways.

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!