DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Imagination, v. 1, issue 4, whole no. 4, January 1938

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Imagination, v. 1, issue 4, whole no. 4, January 1938

Page 8

8
WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, By Henry Kuttner

The fantasy reader of today is Tomoro's fantasy writer. A very large majority of present-day weird & pseudo-scientific authors at one time were, or still are, fans. Fantasy is an intensely specialized field, & as a rule only one who understands it thoroly can hope to turn out acceptable stories of the type in demand. 
I believe that in 5 or 10 yrs many the names we now see in the commentators' columns will be wellknown authors of imaginative fiction. & to one whom--like myself--fantasyarns are somewhat of a hobby, this is a good sign. Such fictionists of the future will have a thoro training & a good understanding of their work, & both the weird & the pseudo-scientific story will be improved in quality, tho inevitably the demands of pulp writing will lower the standard.

An excellent approach for the aspiring fantasy writer is to read fantasy, if he be not apt to neglect the broader view, & to concentrate on this angle to the exclusion of what may be termd "the common touch." While at a casual glance it may seem only a sound knowledge of science & mythology is necessary to write a marketable "imaginarrative", this is not true, & the reason many new writers grow discouraged. Their stories may be vivid & unusual & logical, but they are not "human". In the last analysis, just as pseudo-science is based on science, so fantasy is based on normal life. & a knowledge of life & humanity is essential if an author expects to do his best work. He must know how human beings react, what their character traits are, or the people in his stories will be impossible puppets who never for a moment convince the reader & thus create the vital illusion of reality. 

Suppose Bill Bumpus is writing a wonder story about Mars, & space-travelers who land there. He knows his science, perhaps. All the pseudo-science is logical. But his characters--they do not react normally, as real people would under the circumstances. They simply are pusht about by the author; their words, the writer's, put into their mouths in a highly implausible fashion. They may give long lectures on Martian biology; they may do or say anything on earth (or Mars, rather); but unless the author knows human beings they never will seem lifelike to the reader. In this regard it might be well to mention S. Fowler Wright's "World Below", one the few really realistic novels of the future ever written. &, too, HGWells can be instanced as one who acquired a knowledge of normal life before he built fantasies on a solid groundwork of reality. 

It isn't necessary to become a globe-trotter, crook, or conductor, to observe life. Bks or stories which deal with the norm are helpful. The fantasy writer should not live in a world of unreality, or his feet will be so far from the ground he cannot build any literary ladder which will enable the reader to climb by easy stages into an imaginative Shangri-La. If Bill Bumpus is telling about Terrestrians on Mars, they should act like earth men &/or women. Moreover, his acquaintance with life will enable him to create convincing  creatures which are alien to mankind. Too often such monsters merely are human beings in other bodies, talking & acting as no really abnormal creatures ever would. 

Ofcourse it is necessary to acquire a broad grasp of the principles of story construction: Plot, conflict, suspense, climax, & all the rest. These can be gaind by study of publisht stories, & comprehensive reading of the numerous textbks which deal with the craft of writing. Just as no carpenter can expect to build a good house without knowing the purpose of his tools & how to use them, so the new writer must master the technique of his chosen vocation, or avocation. It can be done, & it is done every day. Simply to scribble off anything that comes to mind isn't enuf, tho it is valuable, as is all practice-writing. 

When an editor sees promise in an amateur, he encourages the embryo author, tho naturally he can spare but little time to an individual, as he sees so many scripts daily. Submission of a carelessly typt, single-spaced, uncorrectd story, usually rates a blunt reject; but conscientious endeavor to improve generally eventually rewards with recognition.

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8 WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, By Henry Kuttner The fantasy reader of today is Tomoro's fantasy writer. A very large majority of present-day weird & pseudo-scientific authors at one time were, or still are, fans. Fantasy is an intensely specialized field, & as a rule only one who understands it thoroly can hope to turn out acceptable stories of the type in demand. I believe that in 5 or 10 yrs many the names we now see in the commentators' columns will be wellknown authors of imaginative fiction. & to one whom--like myself--fantasyarns are somewhat of a hobby, this is a good sign. Such fictionists of the future will have a thoro training & a good understanding of their work, & both the weird & the pseudo-scientific story will be improved in quality, tho inevitably the demands of pulp writing will lower the standard. An excellent approach for the aspiring fantasy writer is to read fantasy, if he be not apt to neglect the broader view, & to concentrate on this angle to the exclusion of what may be termd "the common touch." While at a casual glance it may seem only a sound knowledge of science & mythology is necessary to write a marketable "imaginarrative", this is not true, & the reason many new writers grow discouraged. Their stories may be vivid & unusual & logical, but they are not "human". In the last analysis, just as pseudo-science is based on science, so fantasy is based on normal life. & a knowledge of life & humanity is essential if an author expects to do his best work. He must know how human beings react, what their character traits are, or the people in his stories will be impossible puppets who never for a moment convince the reader & thus create the vital illusion of reality. Suppose Bill Bumpus is writing a wonder story about Mars, & space-travelers who land there. He knows his science, perhaps. All the pseudo-science is logical. But his characters--they do not react normally, as real people would under the circumstances. They simply are pusht about by the author; their words, the writer's, put into their mouths in a highly implausible fashion. They may give long lectures on Martian biology; they may do or say anything on earth (or Mars, rather); but unless the author knows human beings they never will seem lifelike to the reader. In this regard it might be well to mention S. Fowler Wright's "World Below", one the few really realistic novels of the future ever written. &, too, HGWells can be instanced as one who acquired a knowledge of normal life before he built fantasies on a solid groundwork of reality. It isn't necessary to become a globe-trotter, crook, or conductor, to observe life. Bks or stories which deal with the norm are helpful. The fantasy writer should not live in a world of unreality, or his feet will be so far from the ground he cannot build any literary ladder which will enable the reader to climb by easy stages into an imaginative Shangri-La. If Bill Bumpus is telling about Terrestrians on Mars, they should act like earth men &/or women. Moreover, his acquaintance with life will enable him to create convincing creatures which are alien to mankind. Too often such monsters merely are human beings in other bodies, talking & acting as no really abnormal creatures ever would. Ofcourse it is necessary to acquire a broad grasp of the principles of story construction: Plot, conflict, suspense, climax, & all the rest. These can be gaind by study of publisht stories, & comprehensive reading of the numerous textbks which deal with the craft of writing. Just as no carpenter can expect to build a good house without knowing the purpose of his tools & how to use them, so the new writer must master the technique of his chosen vocation, or avocation. It can be done, & it is done every day. Simply to scribble off anything that comes to mind isn't enuf, tho it is valuable, as is all practice-writing. When an editor sees promise in an amateur, he encourages the embryo author, tho naturally he can spare but little time to an individual, as he sees so many scripts daily. Submission of a carelessly typt, single-spaced, uncorrectd story, usually rates a blunt reject; but conscientious endeavor to improve generally eventually rewards with recognition.