Are We Reading Bizarro? (Part 2)

This week, in my ongoing series, "Are We Reading Bizarro?" I've decided to dig a little deeper to see if I could pull the number of people reading Bizarro fiction up. In the first week I used purely anecdotal evidence from my Goodreads feed over the course of a few weeks to surmise that only three of the people I am connected to on Goodreads were reading Bizarro or Bizarro adjacent titles.

Are We Reading Bizarro?

This week I decided to up the ante a little bit. I am still using Goodreads as my measurement but instead of relying solely on what passed through on my news feeds, I dug through my friends list (812 members as of this posting), page by page to see of those reporting the titles they're reading, how many I could count off that were Bizarro or Bizarro adjacent.

The number I wound up at: 5.

Digging In Deeper For The Numbers

An interesting thing happened while I was combing through all twenty eight pages of friends statuses, There were far more than five people who's status reported they were reading a Bizarro or adjacent title. The problem was there were more of those status updates that were year old (roughly in the range of 2013 through 2017.) Obviously, I couldn't count those as people currently reading Bizarro. What I can say is that there are way more of those old statuses reporting reading Bizarro than there are currently.

I can't say that means anything or not. But, it could be an indication that we were reading much more Bizarro years ago looking at those snapshots back over years past than we are now. Again that is purely circumstantial evidence and obviously not concrete. 

I can also say that, after my first blog post in this series, several people stepped up to report that they were currently, recently or intend to soon, read a Bizarro or adjacent title. That is encouraging.

I myself, am about to finish up my first experience with Kurt Vonnegut and I have two Bizarro or adjacent titles up next in my reading queue.  As always, if you're reading Bizarro or adjacent let me know! I know someone reported trouble replying directly to the blog so let me know on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or wherever we interact!

Up next for Mr. Frank

It's a weird time to be alive but a great time to get in more reading! Be well and read weird.

Kickstart My Fart [Part 2]

How'd it go? Depends on who you ask I suppose.

In case you're not up to speed. This morning Chuck Buda and I sat down at a Panera Bread in Central Jersey to conduct a writers retreat of sorts. We were originally supposed to have author Tim Meyer join as as well, but as you'll find out if you haven't read Part 1, things changed just a tad.

The long and short of the plan is that we would spend the morning writing in a sociable setting utilizing good company and motivational chatting to kick our writing output into high gear. If all went well, we would treat ourselves to a pint or two at one of New Jersey's many local breweries. Sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday, don't you think?

The music ambiance is terrible here.

So, how'd it go? I enjoyed the hell out of the experience. It was the first time I wrote in a social situation. I was surprised to find it wasn't very distracting. Chuck and I chit chatted a bit while we ate some breakfast. Once I put away my breakfast sandwich, I popped open the laptop and got to work.

I started out by writing the blog post from this morning. I like to use the blog format to get my mind wound up into writing gear. It worked like a charm. After snapping a few shots for the blog and posting it up, Chuck and I engaged in some more writerly banter. Then it was time to get into the main project.

Normally I try to use a kitchen timer and write in 15 minute bursts but since we were trying this casual writing situation, I skipped on the timer and figured I would write in a burst that lasted as long as it would last.  I spit out a good chuck of words and I really have no clue how long the burst was.

Chuck struggled to find the words today.

I refreshed my cup of coffee and got into some more writerly conversation with Chuck. Between writing sessions we talked about what we were working on, our approaches to self-publishing and even some podcast chatter as well. It was nice, I felt productive even when I wasn't tapping away at the keys.

It went back and forth between writing and talking for about three hours. By noon I'd written better then 1500 words (never even kept accurate count from where I started to where I ended.) I could see Chuck was tapped out as well. I suggested either changing locations or grabbing lunch elsewhere or even getting to a brewery a bit early.

Chuck said he just wasn't feeling up to much else on the day. I was cool with that. We'd spent three hours together. We'd done what we set out to do even if there were some bumps in the plan. We both agreed it is something we should do again sometime soon.

Lots of writing: Happy. No beer: Sad.

So when our schedules clear and the Meyer household is back in good health, we'll once again assemble and write the next Great American Novel around a table at a cafe somewhere in New Jersey.

And I'll be sure to bore you with all the details as a selfish writing exercise. Until then keep reading and keep writing.

A Challenge To Zombie Writers

In June, I had the unique opportunity to interview over twenty different authors of zombie fiction for The Summer of Zombie Blog Tour 2014. In fact, this was my third year conducting these interviews for this annual blog tour. Each year, among other questions, I've always asked the same two questions in one form or another:

1) Do you think zombie fiction has become over-saturated?

2) Does the genre need to evolve lest it become a victim of its own popularity?

Each and every year, the majority of the responses to these two questions is always the same. The genre is not over-saturated and zombie are fine just the way they are.

I am first and foremost a reader of zombie fiction. I am, I'm afraid to admit, a Johnny-come-lately to the subject. It wasn't until I opened up World War Z that I became entranced with the subject. Soon after, I began to consume all matter of zombie fiction I could find. From big press to indie authors, I loved it all. In fact, it was because of zombie fiction that I came to embrace and respect self-published authors and indie press.

But then something awful happened. I read so much I began to realize I was reading the same story time and again. It was becoming monotonous. The dead had risen from the grave. They were hungry. A small band of survivors. A safe place to live that ultimately becomes compromised. A boat. An island. A crossbow and a machete.

And sinew. Always sinew.

I am afraid that zombie fiction is becoming what hair metal became in the late 80's. Zombie fiction will drive itself into the dirt riding on the wheels of its own mediocrity. I think it's time for Nirvana.

You could reinvent the zombie. It's happening already. Some zombies are fast now. Some have emotion. Some are aware. In my short story collection, SCARED SILLY, there is a story called Old Scrote that is centered around a zombie who has an appetite for something other than brains. I challenged myself to write a different kind of zombie story and the first place I decided to change was the zombie itself... and not by much. All I did was change its appetite and asked how would things be if this zombie wanted to eat a penis? The result was one of my favorite pieces to write and I have garnered a lot of positive responses to its different point of view.

What if instead of the survivors being a rag tag band of misfits or a reluctant loner forced with an adolescent charge or a military or police officer leading a pack of less than resilient civilians, the survivors are a tribe in Africa?  Maybe they could be that tribe in Africa that elongates their necks with a series of rings stacked up around their necks. Their heads, and thus their brains, are now out of reach of the average zombie rendering them the last living people on Earth left to deal with the scourge of the dead. You can take that ball and run with it, just credit me in the beginning of the book and send me a free copy!

 

Strip it down and reconstruct the whole thing. Why do the dead have to come back from the grave? Why can't something like food come to life period? Another alternative zombie story you will find in SCARED SILLY is entitled, GROSSeries. In it, a husband laments a trip to the grocery store to shop for his wife who is caught working late. To make matters worse, all the food becomes animated and leaps off the shelves to attack the shoppers. The reluctant hero must fight, aisle by aisle, to escape the ravenous food products and encounters a baby he must rescue along the way. Will they escape? Will escaping the confines of the grocery store be enough to survive? I guess you may have to read to find out.

I don't think it takes much to nudge the entire genre into a more interesting direction.  So I challenge you, the writers of zombie fiction, to write a book, a short story or a flashy little blog piece. Try something different. Take it in a new direction. Find an road that you haven't found traveled and follow that path to see where it takes you.  And when you take up the challenge and come up with an end result, be sure to share it with me.

I sure would love to read that!

My short story collection, SCARED SILLY, features the alternative zombie stories Old Scrote and GROSSeries as well as three other frighteningly funny tales to tickle your funny bone.  It is available in paperback as well as eBook from Amazon, Barnes&Noble and other major eBook retailers.