I’ve spent much of the week reading Donald Maas’ Writing the Breakout Novel. I owned the workbook version a decade or so ago and even did some of the exercises, but back then, I still didn’t know who I was as a writer (or a person, really), so I’m not sure I even grasped it. The book is twenty years old now (I’m actually writing this newsletter on the twentieth anniversary of its release, which wasn’t planned at all). Unlike Save the Cat, which reduces writing to paint-by-numbers, Maas (a highly successful literary agent) breaks down what a story is, its various structures, complex characters, subplots, and theme. He also provides great examples of these elements in action by featuring excerpts of bestselling “breakout” novels.

But Lucas, isn’t that all basic stuff? You’ve been doing this for a dozen years now. Do you really need to learn any of this?

First of all, no matter what someone has learned or accomplished, they can always learn more, or at the very least get a refresher. We’re constantly evolving, developing new ways to comprehend information or process content. That’s why it’s fun to revisit movies or reread your favorite books. The person who reads Stephen King’s It at sixteen is not the same person who picks it up again in their thirties.

Second, yes, I’m a two-time Splatterpunk Award-nominated author. Yes, books like Gods of the Dark Web and Saint Sadist continue to find new readers several years after publication. Yes, newer writers tell me I’m an inspiration and actively seek me out at conventions to meet me because they respect my work. I’m grateful for all of this, but none of this means I should stop trying to improve.

Maybe that’s something to think about with it being a new year and all.

I’m fairly confident that I’ve got a good handle on voice and the prose itself. However, I’d like to tell more complex and sprawling stories, with secondary characters as well-drawn as my main character. It's definitely time.

The Bleak Season, my collection of ghost stories, is now available on Kindle and in paperback. I’ll also have signed copies in the next few weeks, so let me know if you want one of those. All of the stories are, well, bleak, but ‘tis the season.

But hey! It's a New Year, and I am a new me. You are a new you. We are not who we were.

Only our stories remain from those past lives. I guess that's why I love fiction.

Anyway, it's a short one this week. Thanks to all my subscribers old and new. You make all this worth it. While I’d probably still write in the dark with an audience of zero, I deeply appreciate the opportunity to share with all of you! Thanks for sticking around.