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| Donald Tyson |
Q: How long have you
been writing, and what kind of stories do you most like to write?
A: I've been writing
horror and suspense stories for more than thirty years. They are not
as well known as my nonfiction occult work because I haven't been
attempting to sell them -- it's a reality of the writing profession
that nonfiction sells more easily and pays better, so that's where
most of my energies have gone over the years. Even so, my heart has
always been with weird fiction.
Q: What sparked the
idea for your story in Unearthed? Can you remember?
A: I started with the idea
that horror can be found in the most unlikely places, and with the
most mundane of objects. Then I asked myself, what is the most
everyday, harmless thing anyone can imagine. The story evolved from
there. There is a kind of awe that verges on panic (in the classic
sense of the word) in solitary settings far removed from any human
trace. While walking in the deep woods, I've sometimes felt this
myself. That's why I set my story in the north woods of Manitoba, up
near the tree line. To be further removed from the ordinary reality
we all live in is to be nearer to the uncanny and extraordinary.
Q: What's the title
of your story in Unearthed? In general, do you get the title first, or
do you write the story first? Do you remember what prompted this
particular title?
A: Usually the titles for
my stories come automatically, so that I don't even need to think
about them. I favor short titles that get to the point, without
giving the plot of the story away. In the case of my story "Grass"
it was a no-brainer. The story could not be called anything else.
Q: Please tell us:
one book you've read recently, one book you're reading now, and one book on
your to-read list.
A: This is fun -- I like
talking about my reading. A book I've read recently is the novel The
Tomb, the first in the Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson,
the author best known for his novel The Keep, which was made
into a popular horror movie. The book I'm currently reading is
actually three novels combined into one -- it's The Turner Trilogy
by the mystery writer James Sallis. In the near future I'd like to
read the novel Neuromancer by William Gibson. It's a modern
classic that somehow has escaped me until now.
Q: What's the
best/worst writing advice you've ever been given?
A: Probably the worst
advice that I've taken seriously at one time or another is the famous
advice given by the great science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein.
His three rules for writing are as follows: 1. You must write. 2.
You must finish what you write. 3. You must never rewrite except to
satisfy the demands of an editor. The first two rules are fine,
but the last one is terrible! Every story or novel needs to be
rewritten not just once, but at least several times, before it is
even halfway worth keeping. The best advice I've ever been given is
the old saw "Write what you know." I'm following it more
and more these days. Many of my recent horror stories are set in my
native Nova Scotia, and the last two I wrote take place right here in
Cape Breton.
