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Fantasy News, v. 3, issue 1, whole no. 53, June 25, 1939
31858063100923_014
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PAGE (12) FIRST ANIVERSARY ISSUE FANTASY NEWS ------------------------------------------------------ Then there's a more-or-less tchnical term, "umph". A story that lacks "umph" is the bane of my, and an author's, existance. It's got a nice idea, maybe, and the words are all right, and there are spots of clever dialog --- but it doesn't go. The fault is so darned subtle that it's impossible to point it out. Every author going meets that every now and then. "Forgetfulness", which was a fairly well-liked story when it appeared, was submitted for lack of umph. Six months later, I hauled it out, reworked it, and got the effect I'd simply, sublty missed the first drack. Nothing the matter with it --- same plat, same incidents --- but the second time it had that some - thing or other that made it readable. We have a form for that --- "weakly written". Generaly speaking, the only thing to do with such a yarn is to let it wait six months till you can read it with an outsider's point of biew and rewark it right. Then there's "pure idea". Nice intellectual concept droped over a string of puppets that move with neatly articulated joints and the easy flow and rhythm of a truck horse trying to gallop. It's an idea, but hasn't any human beings to make the idea work and seem interesting. And "no character---villain-hero stuff". If you say that Black-Hearted Bough-bough is a villain, and that HE man is a hero, have them both talk in the same sort of words, Bough-bough murdering and stealing and kidnapping ferociously and HE Mann thwarting, recusing and restoring right and left, you'll get that one---if you write reasonly well otherwise. UNKOWN has a form-letter called old fashioned". It simply points out the fault most common in the stories we get for that magazine --- they insist on using 19th Century writing as standard, good practice for fantasy. It isn't--- not for UNKNOWN, anyway. I spent about an hour working that letter into the clearest, most condesendly emphatic terms I clould. I can't spend that long on every letter--- so that's better, more helpful explanation, and it's a personally selected criticism, when used. Then there are miscellaneous "old idea", "unsuitable material", wrong viewpoint", "inconsistent plot-logic" and other forms. I don't draft individual letters every time, because individual authors make comon mistakes. Obviously--- that's why they are common mistakes. One form letter I can afford to spent time drafting and making accourate, clear and specific. I couldn't do that with each author --- and I'd say about the same thing anyway. So --- if you get a form letter, personally signed, it means a careful, specific, personally decided-on criticism, wheater it be a form letter or not. IS SCIENCE-FICTION POPULAR by HARRY WARNER JR. I realize that dozens of fan articles have been written about this theme. But here are a few more proces that's stf is popular, among the general public as well as fans. The temendous success of "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" on their revival. While these two pictures can hardly be called stf, nevertheless they are fantasy, and I have no doubt that if any two other pictures, such as "The Invisible Man" and "Metropolis" had been given equal publicity, they would have caused just as much stir. 2. Orson Welles "Han form Mars" excitement. There's no need to go into this! 3. The fact that (Continued on P 24)
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PAGE (12) FIRST ANIVERSARY ISSUE FANTASY NEWS ------------------------------------------------------ Then there's a more-or-less tchnical term, "umph". A story that lacks "umph" is the bane of my, and an author's, existance. It's got a nice idea, maybe, and the words are all right, and there are spots of clever dialog --- but it doesn't go. The fault is so darned subtle that it's impossible to point it out. Every author going meets that every now and then. "Forgetfulness", which was a fairly well-liked story when it appeared, was submitted for lack of umph. Six months later, I hauled it out, reworked it, and got the effect I'd simply, sublty missed the first drack. Nothing the matter with it --- same plat, same incidents --- but the second time it had that some - thing or other that made it readable. We have a form for that --- "weakly written". Generaly speaking, the only thing to do with such a yarn is to let it wait six months till you can read it with an outsider's point of biew and rewark it right. Then there's "pure idea". Nice intellectual concept droped over a string of puppets that move with neatly articulated joints and the easy flow and rhythm of a truck horse trying to gallop. It's an idea, but hasn't any human beings to make the idea work and seem interesting. And "no character---villain-hero stuff". If you say that Black-Hearted Bough-bough is a villain, and that HE man is a hero, have them both talk in the same sort of words, Bough-bough murdering and stealing and kidnapping ferociously and HE Mann thwarting, recusing and restoring right and left, you'll get that one---if you write reasonly well otherwise. UNKOWN has a form-letter called old fashioned". It simply points out the fault most common in the stories we get for that magazine --- they insist on using 19th Century writing as standard, good practice for fantasy. It isn't--- not for UNKNOWN, anyway. I spent about an hour working that letter into the clearest, most condesendly emphatic terms I clould. I can't spend that long on every letter--- so that's better, more helpful explanation, and it's a personally selected criticism, when used. Then there are miscellaneous "old idea", "unsuitable material", wrong viewpoint", "inconsistent plot-logic" and other forms. I don't draft individual letters every time, because individual authors make comon mistakes. Obviously--- that's why they are common mistakes. One form letter I can afford to spent time drafting and making accourate, clear and specific. I couldn't do that with each author --- and I'd say about the same thing anyway. So --- if you get a form letter, personally signed, it means a careful, specific, personally decided-on criticism, wheater it be a form letter or not. IS SCIENCE-FICTION POPULAR by HARRY WARNER JR. I realize that dozens of fan articles have been written about this theme. But here are a few more proces that's stf is popular, among the general public as well as fans. The temendous success of "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" on their revival. While these two pictures can hardly be called stf, nevertheless they are fantasy, and I have no doubt that if any two other pictures, such as "The Invisible Man" and "Metropolis" had been given equal publicity, they would have caused just as much stir. 2. Orson Welles "Han form Mars" excitement. There's no need to go into this! 3. The fact that (Continued on P 24)
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