Ask the Author: Jason Howl
Answered Questions (13)
Jason Howl
Joyce Carol Oats' writing is hypnotic, complex yet accessible and always rings true.
Jason Howl
My private island. Of course, I'll have to buy one of those first...
Jason Howl
How about Seven? And there is a puzzle hiding in the arrangement of these short-short stories, if you can see it…
1.
The best Valentine?
Hearts, of course, but only after they’ve been rinsed, dried and preserved in a mason jar with those itty-bitty cinnamon hot candies.
2.
Wait, don't hurt yourself.
Or, at least, not without me.
3.
Over the hill and far away, Hansel and Gretel's mother ordered them off before the sun or anyone else rose.
Really, doesn't the silly woman know witches will make house calls?
4.
Leaning down, lips smacking, the clown afforded her less than a second to grab the wooden handle leaning against her knee.
Rolling across the floor, chuckling, the head steadied itself on spindly, insect feet for a second, and once again raising the ax, it turned out that less than a second is all she would need.
5.
I will never be as skilled as you at applying lipstick, slick and smooth.
Of course, to be fair, you had the advantage not only of a lifetime of practice, but your lips were warm back when you did it for yourself.
6.
None of Grandma's old photographs intrigued me as much as the one she claimed revealed an angel standing behind my grandfather back when he was still alive.
Regardless of the hand on his shoulder, how could Grandpa not have heard the despairing moan that I imagined, studying the picture while laying on my stomach on the warm porch, must have been issuing from the angel's contorted face, with its mouth bent into a trembling arch and its leaking eyes rolling in the pale, sweaty face?
7.
Everyone told her she would grow into her changing body and she grudgingly (and silently) admitted someday she would.
Still, for now, she preferred to leave the awkward thing hanging in her closet by its leathery wings whenever she snuck out her window and crept through the town, toes scratching the cobblestones, fingertips scratching tightly-locked windows and her ribs going clatter-clack-clatter in the night breeze.
1.
The best Valentine?
Hearts, of course, but only after they’ve been rinsed, dried and preserved in a mason jar with those itty-bitty cinnamon hot candies.
2.
Wait, don't hurt yourself.
Or, at least, not without me.
3.
Over the hill and far away, Hansel and Gretel's mother ordered them off before the sun or anyone else rose.
Really, doesn't the silly woman know witches will make house calls?
4.
Leaning down, lips smacking, the clown afforded her less than a second to grab the wooden handle leaning against her knee.
Rolling across the floor, chuckling, the head steadied itself on spindly, insect feet for a second, and once again raising the ax, it turned out that less than a second is all she would need.
5.
I will never be as skilled as you at applying lipstick, slick and smooth.
Of course, to be fair, you had the advantage not only of a lifetime of practice, but your lips were warm back when you did it for yourself.
6.
None of Grandma's old photographs intrigued me as much as the one she claimed revealed an angel standing behind my grandfather back when he was still alive.
Regardless of the hand on his shoulder, how could Grandpa not have heard the despairing moan that I imagined, studying the picture while laying on my stomach on the warm porch, must have been issuing from the angel's contorted face, with its mouth bent into a trembling arch and its leaking eyes rolling in the pale, sweaty face?
7.
Everyone told her she would grow into her changing body and she grudgingly (and silently) admitted someday she would.
Still, for now, she preferred to leave the awkward thing hanging in her closet by its leathery wings whenever she snuck out her window and crept through the town, toes scratching the cobblestones, fingertips scratching tightly-locked windows and her ribs going clatter-clack-clatter in the night breeze.
Jason Howl
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I would talk to Dr. Frankenstein and try my best to make him see reason. I would plead with him and explain that he had to give his creature a name! Otherwise, two centuries later, people would still be getting that wrong, for godsakes.
Jason Howl
I can do that any time. Close your eyes. Imagine something looking stern and saying something with gentle wisdom (something you probably alright thought and agree with) and there you go. You've met god. I'm doing it now... A California raisin is telling me the universe is beautiful.
Jason Howl
Letting my mind wander. When I'm not trying to think of anything, driving, sitting in a doctor's waiting room, using the bathroom... When I stop guarding the window of my mind, cataloging all those concerns and worries that seem important most of the day, that's when something weird slips in.
Jason Howl
This answer contains spoilers…
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Jason Howl
To give up. I have enough competition.
No, I wouldn't really say that. (Although I might think it. The field for writing is pretty crowded. Like if if every NFL team tried to play the same game at once. So, if you do want to give up, I won't put my hand lovingly on your shoulder and try to talk into staying. Currently, I'm pinned somewhere under Carlton Mellick III's sweaty shin-guards and I can't get my arms free to stop you anyway.)
No, what I'd really say Edit, Edit, Edit. And then leave the work alone for like a month. Then come back and edit some more.
And here is a really good tip. Use the read-back feature on Word, under the Review tab, to listen for errors that your eyes will miss.
Good luck.
You bastards.
(I didn't that last part, I only thought it.)
No, I wouldn't really say that. (Although I might think it. The field for writing is pretty crowded. Like if if every NFL team tried to play the same game at once. So, if you do want to give up, I won't put my hand lovingly on your shoulder and try to talk into staying. Currently, I'm pinned somewhere under Carlton Mellick III's sweaty shin-guards and I can't get my arms free to stop you anyway.)
No, what I'd really say Edit, Edit, Edit. And then leave the work alone for like a month. Then come back and edit some more.
And here is a really good tip. Use the read-back feature on Word, under the Review tab, to listen for errors that your eyes will miss.
Good luck.
You bastards.
(I didn't that last part, I only thought it.)
Jason Howl
I'd tell everyone to stop throwing babies out of windows. And that women shouldn't be hidden in a tent for 10 days while on their periods or right after childbirth (it was like 15 days if you gave birth to a girl.)
Jason Howl
The Bible. I'd straighten some shit out.
Jason Howl
A lot, as usual. Just like every day if the week too. I've got 5 novel ideas and 3 or 4 short story ideas languishing in my head. It's the time to write them that I don't fucking have. Creative factory? More like a broken ATM.
Jason Howl
Did you ever read a story that was too short or too long or you didn't like the ending? Or the villain was too predictable or the good guy was a little too "good."
I'll bet at least once you've stopped in the middle of a book, turned to the author's photo on the back, and scolded, "That's not what would really happen!"
Well, I get to write my stories however I want. I'm not saying I'm a better writer than the horror authors who, even if we love them, make us roll our eyes sometimes. They're doing their thing. I'm doing mine.
That's the best thing about being a writer.
By the way, if I make you roll you eyes, I'd love to know. That means I might do it differently next time. Maybe.
And if you ever can't make it to the ending, let me know. When it comes to horror, that means I'm doing something right.
I'll bet at least once you've stopped in the middle of a book, turned to the author's photo on the back, and scolded, "That's not what would really happen!"
Well, I get to write my stories however I want. I'm not saying I'm a better writer than the horror authors who, even if we love them, make us roll our eyes sometimes. They're doing their thing. I'm doing mine.
That's the best thing about being a writer.
By the way, if I make you roll you eyes, I'd love to know. That means I might do it differently next time. Maybe.
And if you ever can't make it to the ending, let me know. When it comes to horror, that means I'm doing something right.
Jason Howl
The Sculptor
by Scott McCloud
HELP! A Bear is Eating Me!
by Mykle Hansen
Elevation
by Stephen King
by Scott McCloud
HELP! A Bear is Eating Me!
by Mykle Hansen
Elevation
by Stephen King
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