Author of the fantasy thriller The Seventh Kill and working on other standalone novels.
Fiction writing is changing again
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Dear Reader, Writing changes. Everything changes, that's true, but I was struck recently by how writing has changed. I have a small collection of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I gathered them when I was a young man and I remember getting lost in those weird worlds. Reading them was so much fun. Recently I picked up one to read again, partly to remember what made that reading fun. Mostly because I have been so steeped in writing practice and novel development that I wanted to rediscover what it means to just read for the hell of it. It is not that the writing is bad. It is that it is dated. At the start of Savage Pellucidar it is clear Burroughs has a story to tell. But he puts the pieces together clumsily. He tells a bunch of stuff without any action, and this is supposed to be a ripping adventure. He doesn't quite get the story going and he seems unclear about who the main character of the story is. Any writing critique would rip his writing apart, given contemporary standards. Or should I rather say, fashion. Because when fiction changes it does not mean it gets better. It just means what we expect as readers and what writers deliver is different now from a 100 years ago. And it will be different again in 10 years from now. But a fun read is still a fun read and you should read the stories you enjoy, all of them. *** My Novels available on Amazon/WideWhen Oceans DreamThe Seventh Kill*** This Month's Reading PromosFree Stories to Read: Here are promotions for short stories, novellas, or even full novels to download when signing up to the author's mailing list. Not-So-Lucky March ReadsAll Genre Dark Fiction Giveaway More than 30 stories to read and enjoy. Get these books fast. This promotion ends 1 April 2026. Learning Your PowersAn All-Genre Giveaway for Characters Discovering Magical, Paranormal, or Supernatural Skills More than 25 Dark Fiction stories to read and enjoy. Get these books fast. This promotion ends 1 April 2026. *** Keep on ReadingThank you for being part of this journey. Whether you've been with me from the beginning or just joined, your readership means everything as I keep on writing. Best regards, Gerhi Janse van Vuuren Author of When Oceans Dream and The Seventh Kill |
Gerhi Janse van Vuuren
Author of the fantasy thriller The Seventh Kill and working on other standalone novels.
Dear Reader, You don't care about the minutiae of my life. I get that. You are here for the free books and information about exciting fiction. But this is still my newsletter, which means I can only share the news I have. And for me Spring is always a season of changes and I am here to note some of those. And yes, I know some of you are heading into winter, but her in sunny South Africa it is mid-spring, and it is hot! Changes to note: I have stopped my current subscription to StoryOrigin....
Dear Reader, It is always nice to find a book that excites you and then take it home. It is a little present between covers that you can savour at your leisure. But when I says taking a book home here I mean taking a book back to the place that made it what it is. When Oceans Dream is set in the Overberg in the Western Cape in a small coastal village called Plaatjieskraal. This is both a real place, and nowhere at all. Plaatjieskraal is a ghost town and the former settlement had been...
Dear Reader, I have a new novel on the way. Drafting is going very well because I am releasing it as a serial as I am writing. What is the story about? Run Toward Ruin Every year, the five families gather for a conclave to determine the affairs of the Prince they have served for generations. While the families debate the work of the coming year, Darius’s crippled grandfather pursues a far darker goal: overthrowing the Prince and seizing power for himself. Trapped in the old man’s service,...