T.E. Grau

Q: Do you have any advice for upcoming writers who want to pen weird stories?A: READ, damn it. Fill your brain to the bursting point with the good stuff, starting with writers that you truly enjoy, and then work your way backward and outward, reading those writers who inspired the writers you love best. That was my path as far as Weird/Horror Fiction, starting with Lovecraft, and then working my way backward/outward on the Weird Fiction spiderweb. And don__ limit your reading. Read it all, especially non-fiction and various news outlets. You__ be surprised by how many of my story ideas were born while listening to NPR, perusing a blog, or paging through Vanity Fair.Once you have your fuel squared away, just write what you love, in whatever style and genre. You__l never have fun being someone you__e not, so be yourself. When a singer opens their mouth, what comes out is what comes out.Also, don__ be afraid to fail, and don__ be afraid to walk away. Writing isn__ for everyone, and that__ totally fine. One doesn__ need to be a writer to enjoy being a reader and overall fan of genre or wider fiction.