On Writing:
Q: When you’re working on a plot, do you outline first? If not, why? Do you ever surprise yourself with where a story ends up? Can you share a time a story you’d written took a turn you weren’t expecting?
A: “I’m a “pantser”. I don’t like to outline—to me, once you outline, you already told the story. The fun is in the writing, and discovering it as you go. That said, I typically do pre-writing in my head, on a walk, or in the shower, and in thinking of scenes, lines, elements start to come to me. Typically, then, I have some idea where the story is going. I started Watched Pot with the situation—guy likes to cook, but has this strange relationship with his mother, and it was enough to get the story going. It was all character and a situation, and I knew it had to have a supernatural bent, and then the phrase “a watched pot never boils’ was in my head and then, “click”. I had where the story would go.“
Q: When developing a story, what’s the hardest part for you—the beginning, middle, or the ending? How do you overcome this?
A: “The beginning is the hardest. Even if I have an idea, or a title, I need those first few lines or the scene or the character to kick things off. Until then, it is just a rock sitting in my head. If I can get those first few lines going, then usually the story can take off.“
On Horror:
Q: When writing horror, do you prefer the slow burn of tension or sudden shocks? What’s an example of a scene you’ve written (for Let the Right One Simmer or for another project) where you felt you successfully unsettled the reader?
A: “I don’t prefer one over the other, truly. I like “quiet” and “extreme” horror equally. Certainly, when you go splattery-y, it is easy to get a reaction (at least if the writing is also strong enough.) I would say, I think the fate of one of the characters in my Watched Pot story is one that I think a reader would be shocked, and unsettled by, as the story’s tension up to that point is mostly of the personal stresses, and then…“
Q: Do you prefer horror that immerses the reader in a character’s mind or that presents an outside perspective on terrifying events? How does that choice shape the stories that you write?
A: “Not to be all “down the middle” on this one, but I do think even if you have outside forces acting on the characters, you need to get into their heads, and have the outside force reflecting some element of their struggles, fears, desires. That said, I do think that “inside” horror, that of people being inhumane to others, is scarier and more disturbing. You can rail at a universe that traps you in a disabled car, in the heat of summer, with a rabid dog trying to eat you, but it isn’t the dog’s fault. But, the predator or abuser that hurts others? That kind of story can be too real and, at times, depressing.“
Fanning the Embers:
Q: Is it an author’s job to be likable?
A: “I don’t think a story, or the characters in it, need to be likeable. But I do think an author, in interacting with the readers, or editors, needs to be approachable and easy to work with. Let your stories be beastly; don’t be a beast yourself.“
Author/Story Specific:
Q: You have two compelling stories in our first volume of Let the Right One Simmer. Watched Pot and The Land of Blood and Snow seem to present the reader with a gamut of subgenres from psychological horror in both stories and horror/military sci-fi in the latter, which is what I’d like to focus on for this question. How do you balance horror with all of its sister/subgenres? In what ways do horror and sci-fi connect? At what point, if any, does sci-fi step out of horror to stand on its own?
A: “Horror is the proverbial “big tent” (honestly, so is sci-fi.) And at times, the Venn diagram overlaps. When it comes to what we call “horror”, a story does need to disturb in some way. Sci-fi typically does not disturb. In The Land of Blood and Snow, the violence of what many of the characters are doing is not typical of a pure “sci-fi” story, and also the true nature of the mission pushes the story into that theme of “man’s inhumanity” and then to see if the characters can rise above it. I do typically like my sci-fi and horror separate (it can be tricky to jam them together) but once in a while, I do like some chocolate in my peanut butter.“
Q: Your biography states you’re a “dog dad”. What can you tell us about her/him? Has she/he ever been the inspiration for any of your stories?
A: “We “dog dads” don’t have a lot of perspective when it comes to our furry companions—our dog is the best-est in the whole wide world! I have a Shetland Sheepdog, and Joker came by his name by accident: the pet store temporarily named him that and the name stuck because…he is a “joker”. I haven’t put him in a story yet, because in my stories, normally bad stuff goes down, and the thought of a dog in jeopardy—and especially one like my little dude—makes me sad. I prefer to write about the horrors of the world, turn off the computer, and pet his goofy head, and take him for a walk. That seems a good deal to me.“
More About Dewey L. Yeatts:
If you liked my stories in Let the Right One Simmer, to see more of my range, I would like to direct you to the anthology It Came From the Trailer Park, Volume 5, which has a bunch of fun stories set in trailer parks and every story features a clown. I am proud of my story The Battle of Cozey Meadows, which is a crime/action story with a fun protagonist—and some very bad clowns. You can find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dewey.yeatts
It Came From the Trailer Park 5 Amazon link
Favorite quote: “No matter where you go, there you are.”