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Acolyte, v. 1, issue 4, Summer 1943
Page 29
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four-letter Anglo-Saxon word every time they run across it in print, they wouldn't miss so much of what they're reading. And that, I think, disposes of Mr. Warner. But getting back to plot, I think that all that is necessary is to exerices the imagination sufficiently to, as Woodford expresses it, hang new ornaments on the old Christmas tree. So help me, that is the truth in a nutshell. The hard part is finding ornaments that are really new....And finding someone else who also agrees they are new. No one will ever satisfactorily resolve the ancient enigma of why the material that is so scornfully turned down by one editor will be so eagerly snapped up by another. Be that as it may, no matter what you or I should say about plot, somebody else would always disagree. So I hold that instead of worrying about plot, writers should worry about writing a damn good [[underline]]original[[end underline]] story--and not even plot can compete with originality. And if you kick something out of the sum total of your own experience, instead of out of the sum total of your reading, it's bound to be original, n'est ce pas? MANLY BANISTER. -oOo- I do not agree with you that the best fantasy does not see print, or is never written. I have noticed that many ideas offered as examples of your claim are frequently of a very flimsy or fragile (almost ethereal) nature. They lack both the quality of excitement demanded by such magazines as [[underline]]Unknown[[end underline]] and, from their very nature, the quality of credibility required by the slicks. In a world where a magazine must sell in the tens of thousands every month to pay its way, the tastes of a half-dozen individuals here and there cannot possibly change the pattern. Personally, I think that it will be a long time before anyone writes, or even thinks about, better stories than those A. Merritt turned out during his best years. A. E. VAN VOGT. -oOo- Particularly interested in the comments by Warner, Banister, and Lorraine. For some time, Sam Russell, Morrie Dollens, and myself have had our "dream-mag" in mind--a professional science-fiction-fantasy magazine free from editorial tabus, pulpish format and illustrations, and the other dissatisfactory qualities inherent in the pulps of today. This proposed publication would not be comparable to any of the mags of the past or those now in existence---it would be something entirely new. It would take pages and pages to describe all the ideas and suggestions which have been broached--suffice it to say that we are some day planning to realize the dream, fantastic though it might sound. PHIL BRONSON -oOo- Your mag. received and convents noted with high approval. It's been a long time since I've read a fan publication written in English, and the novelty is refreshing. So is the thought that the cult of fantasy hasn't died out. As I hack my way though the years, I forget the halycon days of 1934-35 when I achieved publication in the earlier fan books...when Lovecraft and Derleth[?] introduced me via correspondence to the world of imagination and its imagin-natives. I will always be grateful to the fan field for the inspiration it has afforded, and I know that many of tomorrow's writers will emerge from mimeographed pages. Good old HPL and CAS and Augie have always realized this, and I'm glad to see their work represented and commented upon in [[underline]]The Acolyte[[end underline]]. Keeping fantasy alive in wartime is a precarious job...but a vital one. At times like these, the production of highly imaginative material is largely taken over by Congress. (NOTE TO FBI: I'm only kidding, boys!) Anyway, the best of luck to you...and keep up the good work. By the -- 29 --
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four-letter Anglo-Saxon word every time they run across it in print, they wouldn't miss so much of what they're reading. And that, I think, disposes of Mr. Warner. But getting back to plot, I think that all that is necessary is to exerices the imagination sufficiently to, as Woodford expresses it, hang new ornaments on the old Christmas tree. So help me, that is the truth in a nutshell. The hard part is finding ornaments that are really new....And finding someone else who also agrees they are new. No one will ever satisfactorily resolve the ancient enigma of why the material that is so scornfully turned down by one editor will be so eagerly snapped up by another. Be that as it may, no matter what you or I should say about plot, somebody else would always disagree. So I hold that instead of worrying about plot, writers should worry about writing a damn good [[underline]]original[[end underline]] story--and not even plot can compete with originality. And if you kick something out of the sum total of your own experience, instead of out of the sum total of your reading, it's bound to be original, n'est ce pas? MANLY BANISTER. -oOo- I do not agree with you that the best fantasy does not see print, or is never written. I have noticed that many ideas offered as examples of your claim are frequently of a very flimsy or fragile (almost ethereal) nature. They lack both the quality of excitement demanded by such magazines as [[underline]]Unknown[[end underline]] and, from their very nature, the quality of credibility required by the slicks. In a world where a magazine must sell in the tens of thousands every month to pay its way, the tastes of a half-dozen individuals here and there cannot possibly change the pattern. Personally, I think that it will be a long time before anyone writes, or even thinks about, better stories than those A. Merritt turned out during his best years. A. E. VAN VOGT. -oOo- Particularly interested in the comments by Warner, Banister, and Lorraine. For some time, Sam Russell, Morrie Dollens, and myself have had our "dream-mag" in mind--a professional science-fiction-fantasy magazine free from editorial tabus, pulpish format and illustrations, and the other dissatisfactory qualities inherent in the pulps of today. This proposed publication would not be comparable to any of the mags of the past or those now in existence---it would be something entirely new. It would take pages and pages to describe all the ideas and suggestions which have been broached--suffice it to say that we are some day planning to realize the dream, fantastic though it might sound. PHIL BRONSON -oOo- Your mag. received and convents noted with high approval. It's been a long time since I've read a fan publication written in English, and the novelty is refreshing. So is the thought that the cult of fantasy hasn't died out. As I hack my way though the years, I forget the halycon days of 1934-35 when I achieved publication in the earlier fan books...when Lovecraft and Derleth[?] introduced me via correspondence to the world of imagination and its imagin-natives. I will always be grateful to the fan field for the inspiration it has afforded, and I know that many of tomorrow's writers will emerge from mimeographed pages. Good old HPL and CAS and Augie have always realized this, and I'm glad to see their work represented and commented upon in [[underline]]The Acolyte[[end underline]]. Keeping fantasy alive in wartime is a precarious job...but a vital one. At times like these, the production of highly imaginative material is largely taken over by Congress. (NOTE TO FBI: I'm only kidding, boys!) Anyway, the best of luck to you...and keep up the good work. By the -- 29 --
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