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Published on October 15, 2026 13:33

September 18, 2026

Are Writers' Organizations Obsolete?

Are Writers’ Organizations Obsolete?

Before you start in on this entry, you might want to read my previousblog post about writers’ orgs – “Alone or Together: Are Writers’ Organizationsfor You?” https://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/2025/01/alone-or-together-are-writers.html

And while I talk about the Horror Writers Association in this post, thisisn’t meant to be a condemnation of the entire org and everyone involved. Thereare a lot of good people in the org who want HWA to be the best it can be.

Okay, on to the entry…

During the tail end of the 80s, one of my most cherished writing goalswas to make enough pro-level fiction sales to qualify for membership in boththe Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction Writers of America, asit was called then. (It’s now the Science Fiction and Fantasy WritersAssociation.) Pro-level meant that you sold three stories for 3 cents a word ora novel for…maybe a $2000 advance (I can’t recall the exact amount). Once youhad enough qualifying sales, you had to provide documentation of them by physicallyphotocopying acceptance letters and mailing them to the organizations. (Noemail yet.) My first pro-level sale was to an anthology called Young Blood,and I never received payment. As far as I know, none of the contributors did. Iwas afraid HWA and SFWA would somehow find out, and I wouldn’t get in, but theydidn’t, and I was able to join as an affiliate member. This meant that Icouldn’t vote in elections or for awards, but I had access to all the otherresources the organization offered to members. I didn’t give a damn aboutvoting. I wanted to advance my writing career, and affiliate membership wasmore than good enough for that purpose.

The biggest perk of membership was free access to the GEnie messageboards, and specifically to HWA’s and SFWA’s private areas for members only.Genie was basically a huge message board with different topics. This was in theearliest days of the Internet (we used dial-up), and there were no websitesyet. Being able to interact with pro writers on the boards and in private chatswas incredible. Writers like Charles L. Grant, Rick Hautala, F. Paul Wilson,George R.R. Martin, Jerry Pournelle, Damon Knight, Judith Tarr, Joe Haldeman,Katherine Kerr, Tad Williams, J. Michael Straczynski, Nancy Collins, LawrenceWatt-Evans, Douglas Clegg, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Mark Rainey, and many moretrod the boards in those days. It was like a 24/7 bar con. I learned so muchfrom Genie.

And then websites began to appear.

Writers left GEnie in droves and created their own websites withdedicated message boards for their fans. GEnie withered and died, as did SF/F/Htopic areas on AOL, Delphi, and CompuServe. There were members-only messageboards on SFWA’s and HWA’s websites, and that’s where SF/F/H writers hung outvirtually until social media became a thing. Now writers have multiple socialmedia accounts, YouTube channels, TikTok accounts, Patreon accounts, and emailnewsletters. How-to-write, marketing, and publishing info became easy to findon the Internet (although knowing whether you could trust that info was adifferent matter). Online commerce allowed small-press publishers to competewith the Big 5 (as well as publish cool, quirky books the Big 5 wouldn’ttouch). Then self-publishing became a viable career path. Then AI showed up,but fuck AI. No self-respecting writer uses it.

Why the history lesson? Because the world has evolved beyond the needfor writers’ organizations. What can they do that writers can’t do forthemselves (at least in terms of networking and career education)? They canprovide access to healthcare, and – if they’re large enough and powerfulenough, such as the Authors Guild – advocate legally on behalf of members (asindividuals or as a group). Writers orgs can put on writing conventions, butyou don’t have to be a member to attend them.

If you’re a Horror writer, you probably know about the HWA’s recenttroubles. If not, you can read about them here: https://file770.com/hwa-dissolves-excecutive-director-position-amid-series-of-controversies/

There were serious problems that people absolutely should’ve broughtforward, and it’s a damn good thing they did.

I’ve been a member of HWA and SFWA for 30 years or so, and both have hadtheir fair share of controversies and conflict over the decades. But for HWA,this time was different. It was a lot in a short time. Most of thereactions online were from people with legitimate concerns about the events andthe organization in general. But people also aired unrelated grievances withHWA, and they used the events as “proof” that HWA (or that the overall conceptof writers’ organizations) was useless at best or downright evil at worst. HWAlistened and has begun the process of trying to right their ship and makesubstantial changes going forward. But it may be too little, too late. Manypeople quit the organization or decided not to renew their membership, and manydecided to boycott StokerCon. I have no idea how much of a financial hit theorganization might take from this, but it could be substantial and possiblyfatal.

Many people called for the end of HWA, viewing it as irredeemable bythis point (and perhaps it is in a public relations sense, if nothing else).Others suggested a major overhaul, stripping it down to just the programs itoffers that writers can’t get elsewhere, such as StokerCon and the Bram StokerAwards.

Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni recently discussed “5 Reasons Your 5Reasons to Stay with HWA are Moot” on Keeneversations, but many of their pointsapply to writers’ orgs in general: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5QecF2y0xXYrs02y2VUWGG

People often join writers’ organizations at the beginning of theircareers and then leave when they feel they’ve gotten what they need. In asense, they “graduate” from the org. And orgs often struggle to serve the needsof established writers, since by that point in their careers, these writershave enough knowledge and experience to do without an org, relying oncolleagues, editors, agents, etc.

So if you're considering joining – or leaving – a writers’ org, how doyou judge it? By the services they offer to members.

The Authors Guild is widely accepted as one of the best organizationsfor writers, and I think the member services they offer are a good template forwhat an effective org should offer. Member benefits include (quoted from theGuild’s website):

Legal Services: “Navigate the legal aspects of writing with the help of our experienced lawyers, including contract reviews, copyright questions, dispute intervention, and more.”

Web Services: “Manage your online presence with our web services for members, including our exclusive website-building software.”

Insurance and Discounts: “Get help with Marketplace coverage, find liability insurance, and save with discounted products and services to support you and your writing business.”

Writers Community: “Meet fellow members and discuss the business of writing in our online forum.

Regional Chapters: “Get involved and find the support of a local writing community in your area.”

Educational Events: “Learn the business and legal side of writing with our recorded webinars and panels.”

If you want to check out the Authors Guild member benefits yourself: https://authorsguild.org/membership/

What on that list can’t you do for yourself (or do for yourselfeasily)?

Legal Services. This is probably the most important benefit, and the one that is useful to writers at all stages of their careers. And the Guild advocates for writers as a group, and they have enough clout for their advocacy to have some muscle behind it.

Insurance. If you don’t have insurance via your day job (like I do), you can obtain it through the Guild.

Educational Events. Your mileage may vary on this one. You can find zillions of articles and videos about writing and publishing on the Internet, but you have to vet them and decide for yourself whether the authors know what the hell they’re talking about. The Authors Guild vouches for all of the resources they offer, so you’re guaranteed they’ll be of professional quality. You can also learn a lot from social media, provided you follow experienced writers, editors, and agents who know their shit.

Everything else on the Guild’s list of benefits, you could do foryourself. You can build your own website, create a community of writers andreaders online, find or create a local writers’ group…

If you aren’t sure if a particular organization is for you, join one fora year or two, then quit and try out another. You could also pool money withfriends, buy an organization membership in one of your names and then share theresources.

Cost is, of course, a big issue, and it’s important you feel you’regetting your money’s worth as a writer. After all, just because an org offerscertain benefits doesn’t mean they do so effectively or consistently. Below aresome orgs’ membership and conference fees for comparison.

NOTE: The conferences listed below all have cheaper early-birdregistration links.

Authors Guild

Dues: $149 per year.

Horror Writers Association

HWA Dues: $94

StokerCon General Admission Fee: $300

The Bram Stoker Awards Banquet: $100

The Science Fiction and Fantasy WritersAssociation

SFWA Dues: $100 per year.

Nebula Awards Weekend: $275

International Thriller Writers Association

Dues: None.

Thrillerfest: $550 (but they have add-on programs for additional fees)

Thriller Awards Banquet: $273.

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs

Dues: $70 per year.

AWP Conference: $440.

So Where Do I Stand on Writers' Organizations?

One of the points I made in my previous blog post about writers’ orgs isthat you need to actively take advantage of whatever services they offer. Manypeople in the last few weeks posted on social media that “HWA never didanything” for them. Whenever I read comments like this, I always wonder if theposter tried to avail themselves of any of the org’s services.

But if you belong to a writers’ org, you should ask yourself if you feelyour membership has been and continues to be valuable to you and is worth thecost. No orgs are perfect, though. Mistakes happen, as does the bad behavior ofindividuals, but you need to decide when those mistakes become big enough andnumerous enough that you no longer want to be associated with that org. (Ordon’t want to join in the first place.)

I’m a member of HWA, SFWA, ITW (The International Association of ThrillerWriters), and the IAMTW (the International Association of Media Tie-InWriters). I wouldn’t quit the ITW, mostly because there are no dues, and Ioccasionally use some of their promotional opportunities for members. I findthe IAMTW valuable – members share experiences with various publishers, as wellas submission calls – and its dues are minimal. I haven’t used the vastmajority of SFWA’s services in decades. I do use some of HWA’s services (and Itry to volunteer/help out when I can), but I love so many of the peopleinvolved with the org, and that’s the main reason I’ve remained a member. I’vequit before, though, because I didn’t agree with the direction the org wasgoing in at the time, but I eventually rejoined. I’m giving serious thought tonot renewing my membership, though. Same with SFWA. For years, I’ve regarded mydues for SFWA and HWA as donations to those organizations. But I’ve “donated”for decades now. Maybe that’s long enough.

Do you need to be a member of a writers’ organization? No. If you becomea member, will you see any benefits? Sure, if you actively take advantage ofthem. Will those benefits be worth your dues? That’s something you’d have todecide.

Logically, the Authors Guild is probably the best organization to belongto if you want to be part of one, especially if you’re a writer with anestablished career. I tried it out once and liked it, but I didn’t renew mymembership (primarily because I decided I belonged to too many writers’ orgsback then). Maybe now I will renew, though.

Following are some links to resources you might find useful, whetheryou’re seeking to join a writers’ org for the first time or looking to switchto a new one.

Genre-Focused Writing Conferences Not Affiliatedwith a Writers’ Organization

AuthorCon: https://scaresthatcare.org/author-con

GenCon Writers’ Symposium: https://www.gencon.com/gen-con-indy/writers

List of Writers’ Organizations

The Association of Writers and WritingPrograms: http://www.awpwriter.org/

The American Society for Journalistsand Authors: http://www.asja.org/index9.php

The Authors Guild: http://www.authorsguild.org/

PEN America: https://pen.org/

The Science Fiction and FantasyWriters of America: http://www.sfwa.org

The Horror Writers Association: http://www.horror.org

Women in Horror Arts & MediaAssociation: https://www.socowomeninhorrorfestival.com/

The British Fantasy Society (You don’thave to be a Brit to join.): https://britishfantasysociety.org/

The Romance Writers of America: https://www.rwa.org/

The Society for Children’s BookWriters and Illustrators:

http://www.scbwi.org/

The Mystery Writers of America: http://www.mysterywriters.org/

The Western Writers of America: http://www.westernwriters.org/

The American Academy of Poets: http://www.poets.org/

The International Thriller Writers,Inc.: http://www.internationalthrillerwriters.com/

The International Association of MediaTie-In Writers: http://www.iamtw.org/

Association of Ghostwriters: https://associationofghostwriters.org/

Editorial Freelancers Association: https://www.the-efa.org/

The Alliance of Independent Authors: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/

National Writers Union: https://nwu.org/

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

MySuper-Secret Novelization

My nextnovelization comes out in less than a month. It hasn’t been officially announcedyet (for reasons), nor are there any preorder links. That should soon change,and I’ll announce it far and wide on social media when it does. I’ll also writea blog post about it.

NewAudio Releases

A coupleof my books have audio releases soon!

Writingin the Dark (readby David Stifel), out 9/29/26

TheWorld Turns Red(read by Andrew Mitakides), 10/6/26

Both areavailable for preorder in the usual places!

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

AuthorConVII. March 5-7. Williamsburg, Virginia.

StokerCon.June 10-13. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

WHERETO FIND ME ONLINE

Want tofollow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

Website: www.timwaggoner.com

NewsletterSign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm

YouTubeChannel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timwaggonerswritinginthedark

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/133838.Tim_Waggoner

Instagram:tim.waggoner.scribe

Threads:@tim.waggoner.scribe@threads.net

Bluesky:@timwaggoner.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.waggoner.9

Substack:@timwaggoner

IG:https://www.instagram.com/aletheakontis/

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Published on September 18, 2026 09:25

July 23, 2026

Typos: the 21st Century Author’s Mark of Excellence by Alethea Kontis

Tim here. This time I have the honor and privilege of sharing a guest post with you from my dear friend, Alethea Kontis!

Bluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/aletheakontis.com

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/user/Thieftess

THIEFTESS:https://aletheakontis.com/2026/06/thieftess/

Hello,everyone! Alethea Kontis here. I’m a NYT bestselling, award-winning author andall that—most importantly I have the honor of being Tim Waggoner’s friend. Timis not only a wonderful man and an excellent writer, he is also a positivelysuperb friend.

Likeme, he doesn’t mind collecting misfits.

I’ma publishing industry misfit who snuck in the back door. I majored in Chemistrywith a minor in Marine Science, while also working as the Assistant Manager ofthe local movie theater. I graduated college at 20 and got a second job at aWaldenbooks. I made my first NY publishing contacts that fall, when thebookstore manager invited me to attend a little SF con with her over Labor Dayweekend. It was called Dragon Con.

Ihaven’t left the publishing industry since.

Itook my first formal creative writing class at 23: Orson Scott Card’s BootCamp, a week-long intensive held at UNCG. It was an utterly amazing experience.After a 2-day workshop, 18 of us had to write a short story in 24-hours. Therest of the week was spent critiquing those stories.

Whenmy turn came, four people said that they got so caught up in the story thatthey forgot to critique it. FOUR. I took that as a huge compliment.

WhatI didn’t realize at the time was that it also meant my life as a publishedauthor would be riddled with typos.

Typosare the curse of authors who write engaging books. If the copy editors orproofreaders get too caught up in the story, they don’t notice the comma thatshould be a period, or that “diffuse” should actually be “defuse.”

Iwas a copy editor at Baen for over 20 years. My work was excellent BECAUSE Idon’t love military SF. I didn’t want get caught up in that story. That wasn’tmy job.

Traditionalpublishers have rounds of editors. There’s your main Editor, the one whoacquired your book in the first place. After that, the book goes to multiplecopyeditors. Somewhere in that round, the Advance Reading Copies are printedfor blurbs and reviews. Then there are multiple proofreaders. Sometimes typosare even caught in layout. Some are never caught at all.

Thosetypos are a true Mark of Excellence.

Myfirst Mark of Excellence appeared in my very first book: ALPHAOOPS! THE DAY ZWENT FIRST. An Iranian friend at work stopped my office one day to tell me thatwhile reading the book with his daughter, they noticed that “accordion” wasspelled “accordian.” He asked if we had done this on purpose because it was “onthe A page.”

Ha!Nope.

Blesshim for being so kind. Every single one of us had missed it, from the editor tothe art director, after several years and countless passes of the book.ALPHAOOPS itself has less than 500 words total. But Hussein caught it, becauseEnglish was not his first language.

Ilaughed when I called up Candlewick and said, “STOP THE PRESSES!” Because whogets to yell that in this day and age? We managed to catch it just before theystarted the book’s second print run. Every time I read that book out loud, Ithink of Hussein and smile.

Myother Glaring Typo was in DEAREST, the third book in the Woodcutter Sistersseries. Harcourt Books was acquired by Houghton Mifflin and then went through ahuge reorganization. My series was dropped, and everyone I had worked with onmy books left the company. Luckily, DEAREST was already finished. Or so wethought.

Itwasn’t until several years later, when I was listening to Katy Kellgren’sfabulous performance of the audiobook, that I noticed Odette the swan wasintroduced at the royal ball as “Princess Odessa.”

Iasked Katy about it the next time I saw her—she actually remembered that typo.She had wanted to fix it, but Audible forced her to match the print book.

Oh,how I wish someone would have called me. Now that I have the rights back tothose books, I’ve been able to fix the typo in print. But sweet Katy is nolonger with us, so the typo in the audiobook remains. My Mark of Excellence.

Timhas posted some wonderful essays on AI recently, and how saving drafts, emails,and track-changes versions can serve as proof of non-AI writing labor. In away, typos also serve this purpose. I’ve seen more and more posts recently fromreaders who are reassured when they find a typo, because it serves as furtherproof that their favorite authors and publishers aren’t using AI in theirprocess.

Typosalso have a long history of being engagement bait—remember that time when funnytext memes flooded the internet, but they always had a strange typo somewhere?These typos were 100% intentional. People can’t help but to leave a commentcorrecting these memes. As you know, comments are engagement that gets the postmore views…and subsequently more comments, because nobody actually reads theprevious comments before leaving one themselves. The loop goes on, and the postperpetuates.

Yeah…eventhough I know this tactic will force the algorithms to boost my post, I can’tbring myself to do it on purpose. When I see a typo, if it is within my powerto fix it, I will fix it.

Whichleads us to another Lost Art that I suspect may become popular again: theCollector’s Edition. Not the fancy-dancy book with the gilt cover and sprayededges—I’m talking about the upside-down airplane stamp. The Boba Fett actionfigure with the closed fist. The imperfect printed version that serves asinexorable proof that YOU were one of the first serious people in the fandom.

ButI don’t know…are enough people reading these days to make that a thing?

Imean, if vinyl can be a huge commodity in the collecting world, who’s to saythat books with typos can’t too?

What do y’allthink?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signs_of_AI_writing

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Published on July 23, 2026 12:30

June 19, 2026

So Some Social Media Rando Thinks You Write with AI...

Creator:nicoletaionescu, Credit: Getty Images

Recently,I saw fellow horror author S. Alessandro Martinez post on Facebook that someoneaccused him of using generative AI to write because his work had perfectgrammar.

Alessandro and I after the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet, 2026

(This iswhere you imagine me screaming Fuck! so long and loud that my houseeventually collapses around me.) The Dark Lords save us from people on theInternet who think they know everything, when they really only know two things:jack and shit.

“Fuckoff” is a perfectly reasonable response to these idiots, as is ignoring them(which is my preference; why give them the attention they crave?).

But whatif editors and agents start asking us to prove we didn’t use AI to produce ourwriting?

I haven’theard of anyone doing this yet, but it’s becoming common for agents andpublishers to have writers sign “I did not use AI” statements in contracts.It’s not far-fetched to believe a day may come when the burden is on the writerto prove their work is 100% self-written.

Not longafter my first daughter was born, I realized that if I were out in public withher and someone came up to me – another citizen, a cop, a federal agent – anddemanded proof that I was my child’s father, I had nothing I could show them.No “parental license.” No wallet-sized duplicate birth certificate. There wereno smartphones back then, so if I had any photos of the two of us together,they’d be small ones I could carry in my wallet. I’d have no video of the twoof us together.

I feel alittle like that when I consider how I would prove something I wrote really wassomething I wrote.

I plan toretire from my college teaching job in two years, and what I’d love to do(because of AI) is quiet quit, pretend AI doesn’t exist, and grade papers as ifnone are plagiarized until I can walk out the door with my full retirementpackage and never set foot inside a classroom again. But I guess I’m just toodamn dedicated and conscientious. (Or too stupid and pigheaded.) So I asked mytwo summer semester classes how they could prove to an instructor that theywrote their work if asked. (I told them not to worry about using assistive AI,like various grammar and spellcheck programs.) Here are some of their lightlyedited comments:

“One ofthe best ways I could prove that my memoir wasn’t written by AI is the notesthat I took. Notes that recall personal, one-of-a-kind details that only Icould confidently express since our own experiences are so unique.”

“I’m areal person with real feelings vs AI. It wouldn’t add any human emotions.”

“I have acertain writing style I seem to always write in, in comparison to AI’s style ofwriting papers.”

“A goodway to prove that a paper was not written by AI is to take notes about yourtopic. The more notes you take on a topic, the better, so you can show yourprofessor or teacher once you turn it in. I believe that the better notes takenon a topic, the easier your paper is going to be to write. Show your thoughtprocess and ideas that led to that specific topic.”

“I canprovide any notes, outlines, drafts, brainstorming materials, or documentrevision history that may help demonstrate how the essay was developed.”

“Howcan I prove my essay was not written by AI?

· I can document thewriting process

· Show the work historyof my document

· Have others proofreadit for me

· Document the editingprocess

· Document anyresearch that goes into the writing process”

I wasn’tsurprised by these comments. They mostly boil down to “Turn in my inventionmaterials, my drafts, and my feedback along with my final” – which they’resupposed to do anyway. What does this mean for working authors, though? Youmight have to treat your job a little like you’re in a composition class. Thedifference is that you would document your process in case someone asksto see it. This might mean extra work for you, and work that will seem uselessif no agents or publishers ask for it. But it might become the standard waywriters do business sooner rather than later.

For atime, I used to handwrite my drafts, so I would have those pages to showeditors, but I haven’t done that for a few years now. I have outlines and notesregarding the characters, settings, names of things, etc., on my computer.Maybe those files are timestamped, but I have no idea if they are or how tofind out. And I don’t leave track changes on when I write. Hell, I can barelyfigure out how to use track changes when an editor sends me manuscriptfeedback. So if an agent or editor asked me for proof that I wrote something, Iwouldn’t have much.

In theold days—back when Fred, Barney, and I were in a writers’ group in Bedrock – commonwisdom was that to prove you wrote a manuscript, you needed only mail it toyourself and then store it in a safe-deposit box. The date stamp on theenvelope, along with no evidence of tampering, was supposed to be all the proofyou needed. This won’t work in the age of AI, though. Even if you pay toofficially register your copyright, the manuscript you submit could’ve beenwritten by AI before you applied for copyright. There is a way you can do amodern equivalent of mailing yourself a copy of your work, though.

Get a newemail address, and when you finish the day’s writing, send it to that address.You’ll have the file in the outgoing email of your main address, and the filewill be in the inbox of your other address. I’m sure there are ways to falsifythe day and time you sent an email, but most people don’t know how to do this.And yes, you could be sending small sections of an AI manuscript to yourselfday after day to fake evidence of a writing process over months and years, but Idoubt anyone who would use AI could make themselves wait so long to “finish”their novel. Process means nothing to them, because if it did, they’d writetheir own material and never go near AI.

If youget feedback from beta readers, make sure it’s dated, save it, and have itready to show editors and agents if necessary. Having a folder on your computerfor each project where you put all the process work will save you from havingto send tons of attachments to agents and editors.

Mycollege subscribes to Turnitin, a plagiarism detection program/service that’sonly available to educational institutions, but there are alternatives you canuse to generate a report that you could show to editors and agents. Here’s alink to an article on such alternatives that individuals can use:

“The Top5 Turnitin Alternatives (2026)” https://gptzero.me/news/top-turnitin-alternatives/

I know,ChatGPT’s company wrote the article, but the comparison between thealternatives looks decent.

Thefollowing article provides specific steps you can take if you’re accused ofusing generative AI to produce your work. It’s written for students, so you’dneed to adapt some of the steps for your situation.

“How to Prove Your Essay Wasn’t Written by AI:Seven Steps to Prove Authorship.” https://racinecountyeye.com/2023/08/23/to-prove-essay-wasnt-written-by-ai/

I’mlucky. I’ve been writing and publishing for over forty years. I’ve got a longrecord of publication that I can put forward to show my current writing style, which– while hopefully improved – still holds similarities in style, content,language, and theme to my older work. Any writer who has published work beforethe advent of AI has this advantage. Some rando accuses you of using AI? Sendthem a link to your website, your Amazon author page, your bibliography onFantastic Fiction, your Goodreads author page, or your Wikipedia entry. Or, if,like me, you have all of these, send them ALL the goddamned links!

Wikipediahas a long entry on how to spot AI-written text, as well as a quiz on how totest your AI-spotting ability. Since AI-written material is average at best,you could use the list to improve your own writing and avoid any unintentionalsimilarities with AI slop. I think there’s a potential danger for writers here,though, because you might go nuts trying to make your writing “perfect” and endup so paralyzed that you never produce anything. Although editors and agentsmight find the examples in the entry handy to help them spot AI slop.

Whatbothers me the most about the entry is this passage:

“One hasto be aware that human speech and writing is being influenced by LLMs, and thusthey are becoming more similar. This was already evident in 2024, as shown by astudy that detected a significant LLM influence in spoken content (e.g.conversational podcasts). Further studies seem to confirm this influence onlanguage, including semantics and word choices.”

(We aresooooooo fucked…)

I wrote arecent blog post discussing writing techniques that you can use that will setyour work apart from AI (and hopefully save you the hassle of having to proveyour work truly is your work). You can find the entry here: https://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/2026/04/how-to-win-war-against-ai-fiction.html

I thinkthe most important thing writers can do during this time of AI upheaval is to preservetheir sanity and their ability to continue creating their work. So do whateveryou need to in order to stay mentally healthy and function creatively. If thatmeans pretending you live in a world without AI, so be it. If you want toprepare yourself for potential questions about whether your work is AI, dothat. But whatever you do, keep writing. The only way we’ll be able to counterAI slop is by continuing to produce good writing that only we cancreate.

Fuck AI.

DEPARTMENTOF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Mystory “When the Mask Comes Off” appears in the Creepshow anthologyedited by James Aquillone. (Officially released on June 23rd.)Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/45jf33zw

“TheWorld Has Teeth” appears in Of Dread, Decay, and Doom, edited by JendiaGammon, Gareth L. Powell, and Scarlett R. Algee. Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/2wzam2dd

“Closure”appears in Darkness at the End of the Road: The Winding Road Stories HorrorAnthology, edited by Alexander Nader. Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/5aj2pnau

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

Shore Leave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster WyndhamResort and Convention Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Gen Con Writers Symposium. July 29-August 2.Indianapolis, Indiana.

Into the Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9.Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon. August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

WHERETO FIND ME ONLINE

Wantto follow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

AmazonPage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

NewsletterSign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm

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Published on June 19, 2026 18:42

April 27, 2026

Written By: Can Human-Created Writing and AI-Produced Writing Coexist?

Oneof my recent blog entries deals with how writers can outwrite AI. (It’s gearedtoward horror writers, but it applies to any fiction writer.) If you missed it,you can read it here: https://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/2026/04/how-to-win-war-against-ai-fiction.html

This entry is about what writers can dobeyond their actual writing to continue setting themselves apart from aithors.I saw someone use the term aithors on social media, and if I couldremember who it was, I’d give them credit. I do remember that they didn’t meanit as pejorative, and I don’t either. It seems to me an effective label todifferentiate AI book-producers from writers whose work was created withoutgenerative AI.

I’m notgoing to debate the ethics of using AI to produce fiction in this entry. As awriter and human being, I’m against its use in the arts, both because it wastrained on stolen material and because of its environmental impact. As ateacher, I’m against it because it keeps people from working to develop theirown artistic skills. I’m putting my personal feelings aside right now andproceeding from the premise that aithors aren’t going anywhere and they’ll be sellingtheir AI fiction on Amazon and selling their AI-produced books at conventionsand book festivals.

I alsouse the terms AI-produced books and human-created books in thisentry. AI-producers use a program to make a book for them. There’s somecreation involved, but very little compared to non-AI-using authors. I wantedterms that accurately describe the process of making both types of books. Ifyou’re an AI-producer and you’re salty that I don’t call you a writer, I can’thelp you. You don’t write. You direct an AI program to string together words,sentences, and paragraphs based on the massive amount of information it stole.Maybe you shape it somewhat after that, but if anything, that’s editing workyou did not write.

Truthin Advertising

Aithorsshould be upfront about how they produce their work, and readers should knowahead of time what sort of book they’re purchasing. Some readers may not careif a book was produced by AI or created by an actual human, but some will. Somemay even prefer AI-produced books. It’s only ethical to inform consumers of theexact nature of what they’re purchasing. Producing a book with AI andpretending you created it all on your own is a lie. More than that, it’s fraud.People do employ ghostwriters and then pretend they wrote the finished product,and the ethics of this in terms of readers knowing exactly what they’repurchasing are the same as with AI-produced fiction, but at least a human (theghostwriter) was paid in the process. (Although I wonder what AI will mean forprofessional ghostwriters. Will they find their work drying up, or will theyuse AI to produce books quickly so they can make even more money?)

Thisis an AI-Produced Novel

AI-producedfiction should be labeled as written by AI, produced by AI, assisted by AI,etc. I think assisted isn’t the best label, as it implies that AI mayhave only helped the writer a little bit. If AI was heavily used in theproduction of a book, the term assisted is misleading at best, and a lieat worst. Plus, an audience for AI-produced books may arise, and I would thinkaithors would want to market to them. Some aithors might argue that if theylabel their books as having been written by AI that it will limit theiraudience, and that’s probably true. But that happens with any type of fiction.I write horror and dark fantasy. Readers who love cozy mysteries are not goingto buy my books. That’s fine. I don’t write in their preferred genre. Aithorsmight argue that labeling their work as AI-produced will make it seem inferiorin the eyes of some readers, and that likely will happen. But writers of genrefiction are used to (some) literary writers and academics viewing our fictionas lesser. We know this, and most of us don’t worry about it. We know our workwill never appeal to all readers, any more than the work of literary writerswill. Plus, AI-produced fiction will likely become a genre all its own, onethat, as I said earlier, may have its own readership. As its own genre, it’llneed vocabulary that names it and describes the process of producing it. I’veused placeholder terms in this entry, but I imagine actual terms will bedeveloped over time.

And ifyou use an AI-produced cover, you should disclose that as well. Anyone who’d beinterested in reading an AI-producer’s book shouldn’t mind that the art AI usesto produce images was stolen.

I thinkit might be a good idea for aithors to have a page at the front of their booksdetailing how they used AI. If you used assistive AI, such as Grammarly,there’s no need to mention that, especially if you just use it for spelling andgrammar checks (as I do). Be aware that Grammarly can trip AI-detectionprograms, so if an agent or editor is checking submissions for AI use, youdon’t want them to think you used AI to produce your entire manuscript (or eventhe majority of it). If I picked up a book and saw such a list, and it said theaithor used AI only to generate ideas for character names and to providefeedback on work in process, I’d at least read a couple of paragraphs and seewhat I think about the writing. But if the book was labeled AI-produced withoutany further explanation, I wouldn’t touch it. Providing a list of ways you usedAI could potentially broaden your audience. And if you used AI in very limitedways, you could potentially label your book as AI-enhanced (but don’tlie and say it’s enhanced when AI really produced the entire goddamned thing).

And yes,you could make an argument that using different labels to differentiateAI-produced books from human-created ones is a “separate but equal” policy, andthat separate can never be equal. But I believe thathuman-created writing and AI-produced writing are different things. Even if youbelieve they’re essentially the same, just because green beans and French-cutgreen beans are the same vegetable, their preparation is different, anddifferent consumers might prefer one over the other. Same with AI-producedbooks and human-created ones.

SomethingAI-producers should consider, though: We know you’re okay with having your bookbased on stolen material, don’t mind a cover produced with stolen art, and thatyou don’t care about the environmental impact of AI. So we have no reason tobelieve that you’ll be honest when you write your list of how you used AI. Andyou have no easy way to prove you’re telling the truth.

BeLoud, Be Proud

Thecoffee shop at the college where I teach “proudly serves Starbucks coffee.” MaybeAithors should label their books as “Proudly produced with AI.” If aithors areproud of what they do, they shouldn’t be hesitant about identifying their booksthis way. If they aren’t proud to admit they use AI, then that says they don’ttruly believe in what they’re doing. In which case, they should do somesoul-searching about whether they truly want to use AI to produce their books.I may think using AI to produce fiction is nothing to be proud of, but whywould aithors who truly believe in what they’re doing give a shit what I oranyone else thinks? Claiming the identity of an aithor (or whatever termeventually becomes standard) tells readers you aren’t ashamed of what you’redoing and that you believe it’s an ethical, viable alternative to human-createdwriting. And again, if you don’t believe that, maybe consider writing theold-fashioned way – just you, your imagination, the blank screen, and yourwords.

TheTraditional Publishing Stamp of Approval

Oneadvantage of traditional publishers is that they can vouch that your work waswritten by a human. They also vouch that your work is of a certain quality,like how a college degree makes it easier for employers to gauge that you –hopefully – have the experience, training, and knowledge for a job. It’s astamp of approval that makes it easier for an audience to take a look at yourwork and seriously consider purchasing it. Big press, small press, it doesn’tmatter. Having a press with a reputation for putting out good work vouch thatyour books are human-created will help readers believe they weren’t produced byAI. Otherwise…

Aren’tAll “Authors” Aithors?

Peoplemay come to regard all indie writers as aithors, regardless of the truth.Anyone can say their books were not produced by AI, but how can readers knowfor sure? They can’t. (I mean general readers here, not well-read criticalreaders who are more likely to recognize AI-produced fiction.) Because of this,I wonder if many indie writers will start seeking out traditional publishersthat can vouch for their work. I hope aithors don’t ruin things for indiewriters, but I do foresee them being a huge pain in the ass for indies.

Likeit Says on the Tin

Writers shoulduse a non-AI label, like products labeled as gluten-free. Some writers andpublishers are already doing this, but if you’re indie, I advise you to startdoing it, and I’d consider putting a 100% Human-Created label on yourbook covers. If you’re a publisher and you’re not labeling your books this way,consider doing so. It’s a visual signal that your books are human-created, andpeople can see the label when the cover is posted online or if they stop atyour table during a book-selling event. Hell, we should probably put 100%Human-Created on all our signage, too, and on our websites, and businesscards… I sent my first story out for publication in 1982, so maybe I should put100% Human-Created Since 1982 on all my shit. Maybe even make it a linein my bio.

The AuthorsGuild has started a human-written certification program. It’s only open tomembers at the moment, but they plan to open it to non-members as well: https://tinyurl.com/3evhzaz4

There arevarious other sites that offer human-written certification – for a price. Asimple Google search will reveal them, but as always, buyer beware.

Here’s onefrom author Sarah Hall:

You canread an article about why she decided her latest novel needed a maker’s markhere: https://lithub.com/human-written-why-sarah-hall-put-a-makers-mark-on-her-new-novel/

AI Marketinghas both 100% Human Written and 100% AI Written badges: https://aimarketingplan.com/human-ai-content-badges/

SoHappy Together

Indiewriters who don’t want to make the move to traditional publishing shouldconsider forming author collaboratives that seem like publishers, in thesense that the collaborative vouches for each member as a writer ofhuman-created books. Members can cross-promote each other and table together atevents to further cement their collective identity. They could also visuallybrand themselves with shirts or hats they wear at events, which have the groupidentity/logo on the front. I’m not sure what the best size for suchcollaborative groups would be. Three to five members, maybe? And, of course,make sure everyone is someone you want to be in a group with. Memberscan still do events as individuals, but wear their collaborative-branded shirts.They should probably have a group website with links to their individual sites,as well as a group newsletter in addition to individual ones.

If any ofyou have thoughts on anything I’ve mentioned above, or ideas you want to add tomine, feel free to put them in the comments. If anyone just spouts venomwithout contributing anything of substance, I’ll delete your comment and askyou to rewrite it so it’s constructive. If you’re an aithor (or want to be), Ipromise I won’t attack or ridicule you.

DEPARTMENTOF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

The World Turns Red

I still don’t have anything new to promote yet, so I’mpromoting my novella from Cemetery Dance, which came out almost a year ago.

Welcome to the meat room.

At first, it’s a whisper on the edge of yourconsciousness.

As it gets louder, you begin to make out words—dark,sharp, dangerous words… You clap your hands over your ears to shut them out,but you can’t escape what comes from inside you.

The voice tells you to do things to yourself. Badthings. Awful things…

The longer you listen, the more they seemreasonable. Desirable.

Inevitable.

And as you reach for the nearest knife, gun, orrope, the voice speaks the last four words you’ll ever hear:

All hail the Unhigh.

“Waggoner blurs the lines between reality andnightmare, leaving readers questioning what is real and what is imagined. Hissetting against both a familiar and unsettling backdrop is expertly builtwithin a world laced with an underlying sense of dread.”– Catherine Jordan,Horror Tree

“A dark, disturbing masterpiece worth binge-readingin one sitting.” – S.E. Howard

“This is a very dark, intense read with a surrealquality that pulled me in from page one and held me spellbound to the bitterend.” – Well Worth a Read

“The World Turns Red is another in a longline of brilliant horror work by Tim Waggoner. There was never anyone who couldblend the real with the surreal so seamlessly that, as wild as the story gets,it makes perfect sense somehow. Now THAT takes one hell of a writer. The bookis a flawless masterpiece…6 out of 5 stars.” – Carson Buckingham, Hellnotes

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/5cabrjn2

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

“TheArt of Suspense” workshop. May 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dayton Metro Library,Wilmington Stroop Branch. Kettering, Ohio.

StokerCon.June 4-7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ShoreLeave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

GenConWriters Seminar. July 30-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Intothe Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon.August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

WHERETO FIND ME ONLINE

Wantto follow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

AmazonPage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

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Published on April 27, 2026 15:50

April 18, 2026

Dear Aithors

Theother day, I had what literary writers call an epiphany, and which regularwriters like me call an insight. But epiphany sounds cooler, right?

Someoneon a Facebook thread asked if it was necessary to use AI to write a novel. Ihave no clue whether the poster was serious or if they were trolling, buteither way, people responded. Some dropped snark bombs, but others took thequestion seriously. The responses boiled down to two things: One, generative AIwas created with stolen material (including around thirty of my novels), it’sharmful for the environment, and research has shown it damages cognition (andthat this damage is permanent). Two, why would anyone want to write a novelwithout going through the process of making it yourself?

Mycomment: Writing with AI is like using a motorcycle to win a marathon.

(Before Icontinue, I’m only talking about using generative AI to write for you or do thebulk of writing for you. And as I tell my students, if you’re comfortable withthe moral and environmental issues with generative AI use, that’s yourbusiness. I’m not here to judge your choices. My students and I talk about the limitedways generative AI might be able to help them without doing too much of thework for them. My creative writing students want nothing to do with generativeAI. Some of my composition students feel that way, while others would gladlyuse generative AI to do as much of their coursework as possible if they couldget away with it.)

After Iposted my comment on Facebook, I kept thinking about it, and I realized a truthabout AI “writers” (I saw one person use the word Aithors, on anotherthread). Extending my marathon example a bit – the motorcyclist does notunderstand the purpose of a marathon. They believe the goal is to reach thefinish line, and if a motorcycle can get them there faster than everyone else(and without taxing them physically), they’ve simply worked smarter, notharder. A marathoner knows the goal is to run the race. To do this, theyhave to train. They have to become a marathoner. They test themselves inboth body and mind, learn about their perceived limits, continue to pushthemselves, to grow. Becoming is all about process and growth. The ultimate product– in this case, winning a race – means something because of the process.The marathoner has worked hard as hell to become capable of doing something thevast majority of the human race has never attempted, and of those who doattempt it, only a few reach the point where they can finish a marathon, letalone come in first.

Non-runnersdon’t think marathoners are elitists who are gatekeeping marathoning. This isbecause they can see people run, can understand how long a marathon is, can tryto run that distance without any training and preparation, and see how far theyget. Enough of the process takes place in the physical world for non-runners tounderstand, in general, what it takes to become a marathoner. Time, dedication,practice, acquired and applied skills, hard-won experience…

Throughmy marathon example, I realized that most “aithors” are motorcycle riders. Theythink the goal of writing a novel is to have a finished book in hand, soanything that can get them to that goal as fast as possible, with as littleeffort as possible, is the way to go. And all those idiots plodding along ontheir feet behind them just aren’t smart enough to hop on a motorcycle.

Writersare marathon runners. They understand that writing is a verb, just likerunning. Writing is doing. It’s Sarah’s speech at the end of the movie Labyrinth.“Though dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here tothe castle beyond the Goblin City…” Being at the castle isn’t the point. Reachingthe castle is, along with all the knowledge, self-insight, and growth thatoccurred to you on the journey.

Aithorswould reach Jareth and say, perhaps smugly, “I didn’t feel like doing all thatwalking, so I called an Uber.”

This iswhy I think it’s useless to argue with aithors. They have no understanding ofwhat writing really is, hell, what process is. If they’re young enough,they’ve lived their entire lives in a world where all they have to do is push abutton, and they get their result, never seeing all the steps that occurred toget that result, because those steps can’t be perceived. If aithors aren’tcreative by nature, or haven’t had their creativity nurtured as they grew up,they literally do not understand it. They don’t value doing. They onlyvalue having.

Lots ofpeople suggest that generative AI is an aid to people who lack creativity, writingability, and writing training, so it’s like an accommodation for someone whohas a disability. Now everyone can be a writer, and no one will be left out!Except aithors aren’t writing. When I was an undergrad in the eighties, I workedin the Writing Lab at Wright State University. WSU was known for being one of –if not the – most accessible schools for people with disabilities in theworld. As a writing tutor, I worked with people who had a range of physical andcognitive challenges, and the tool that did provide accommodation forthem was a new thing called a personal computer. We could adjust the font sizefor people with vision problems. Often, people with physical disabilities couldstill grip a pencil and press the keys to type. If they were physically incapableof typing, we sat at the keyboard and typed the words they spoke to us. We weretrained not to comment on their writing as they were drafting, and not to improveit as we typed. The PC was a wonder tool back in those days. It made itpossible for people with certain disabilities to write because while writing isa verb, it’s ultimately a mental process. Writing is thinking is what compteachers always say. This accommodation did not replace someone’s thinking. Itallowed their thoughts to be recorded as writing so they could be revisedlater, or turned in as a finished assignment, if that’s what the tutee desired.

Thethinking is the goddamned point.

And yes,some tutees had cognitive issues because of organic damage to their brains orbecause they had learning disabilities. We still helped them think, processinformation, express their thoughts, and produce them as writing. Processinginfo might’ve been a challenge for them, but they worked hard at it, and theydid it to the best of their ability. And the more often they did it, the morethey improved.

Myexperience at the Writing Center is a big reason why I don’t let myself worryabout writer’s block or whether I can accomplish a challenging writing task. Inthe Writing Center, I saw people overcome challenges I can’t even imaginehaving. After that, I couldn’t take my petty bullshit writing fears seriously.My challenge is depression, but I work to deal with it and not let it stop me becauseof the disabled tutees I worked with in college. Every fucking one of them wasa hero to me. And the only time I really get furious at aithors is when I thinkabout those heroes. Every single one of them was more of a writer than any AI-assisted“author” will ever be.

If AI couldfunction as a tutor instead of a replacement for thinking, it might actuallybecome an accommodation tool. I’ve never used programs like Scrivener (I boughtand downloaded the damn thing a year ago just so I could become familiar withit, but I’ve never opened the program), but I’m familiar with the basic toolsit gives writers, and it seems like it can be an aid to thinking rather than areplacement for it.

I knowaithors aren’t going anywhere. Why would someone stop using AI when it can givethem something for nothing? But if any of you who are reading this are on thefence about using generative AI for writing, I urge you not to replace yourselves.I want you to write, not some fucking program. We need your voice,your vision, your perspective, your imagination. And ifyou feel you don’t have these things, or if you do, they aren’t strong enoughyet, remember that every journey begins with a single step.

Just likea marathon.

DEPARTMENTOF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

As I wasfinishing up this blog post, I wondered what work(s) of mine to promote thistime. I decided to go with the Custodians of the Cosmos series from AethonBooks. This trilogy, perhaps more than anything else I’ve written, is the most me,and it would be impossible for generative AI as it currently exists to createanything as bat-shit crazy as these books.

Creaturesfrom dark dimensions infesting your home? Demonic beings trying to drive youinsane? Alien gods attempting to destroy your universe?

Justcall Maintenance.

Thisunderpaid and overworked secret organization is dedicated to battling forcesthat seek to speed up Entropy and hasten the Omniverse’s inevitable death.

“Waggoner offers a fresh variation on the trope of acovert agency combating evil in his blood-drenched Custodians of the Cosmosseries opener.” – Publishers Weekly

“This gripping dark fantasy boasts an indelible castand an unwavering pace.” – Kirkus Reviews

"THE ATROCITY ENGINE is a wild ride full ofentertaining scenarios and scary monsters!" – Booklist

“THE ATROCITY ENGINE is a kick-ass cross-genrethrill ride of a novel! Holy moly! Tim Waggoner is easily one of today’s besthorror writers.” – Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of CAVE 13 andNECROTEK

"This is edge-of-your-seat Horror Fantasy. It'sas if Stephen King wrote MEN IN BLACK!" —Scott Sigler, #1 NYT Bestsellingauthor of EARTHCORE

“Fast-paced, cleverly thought-through, and deeplyunnerving in all the right places—urban horror fantasy with a decidedly creepydifference. Don't read it in the dark!” – Diane Duane, New York Timesbestselling author of TALES OF THE FIVE: THE LIBRARIAN

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

“TheArt of Suspense” workshop. May 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dayton Metro Library,Wilmington Stroop Branch. Kettering, Ohio.

StokerCon.June 4-7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ShoreLeave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

GenConWriters Seminar. July 30-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Intothe Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon.August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

WHERETO FIND ME ONLINE

Wantto follow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

AmazonPage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

NewsletterSign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timwaggonerswritinginthedark

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/133838.Tim_Waggoner

Instagram:@tim.waggoner.scribe

Threads:@tim.waggoner.scribe@threads.net

Bluesky:@timwaggoner.bsky.social

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/02/artificial-intelligence-writers-powerful-language

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Published on April 18, 2026 12:08

April 3, 2026

How Horror Writers Can Win the War Against AI Fiction

Magnus Robot Fighter Fights Robots!

“Ifsomeone can write a book in a day with AI, and it takes me a year to write one,how can I possibly compete?”

I’mincreasingly seeing comments like this on social media from writers who, ifthey’re not panicking yet, sound as if they’re on the verge of it. And who canblame them? AI is being hyped to the skies by companies desperate to be theleader in AI as well as tech-forward types who believe the Next Great Machinewill make the world a perfect place (while also making them hella rich).Businesses and schools are rushing to adopt AI without any notion of what itreally is or what it can do. The college where I teach created the AI Instituteof Excellence – and is that name trying way too hard, or what? – but I couldn’ttell you anything about it other than its name since I never read the emailsthey send. No one has tried to force me to incorporate AI into my classes yet,and since I talk to my students about the ethical and environmental issues ofusing AI, I’ve already incorporated it as much as I want to.

And it’snot like the majority of students haven’t already incorporated AI into their educationto at least some degree, and many surely use it to “write” their essays forthem. I can’t really fault them, though. They’ve grown up in a world wheretechnology does almost everything for them. Why shouldn’t it think for them aswell? I’m so glad I can retire from teaching in two years. Once I’m out, if Iever teach again, I’ll do so without looking at a single word of a studentessay.

I’malso starting to see people post that it doesn’t matter if a book was writtenby AI or not. Here are some comments I saw during the online uproar over ShyGirl. (If you’re not aware of the controversy, read this: https://slate.com/culture/2026/03/shy-girl-mia-ballard-novel-a-i-book-horror-reddit-hachette-canceled.html)

“I donot know whether a particular author has used AI to generate their work, but Ican be certain that there is no way for me to know. So if I find the book andthe author enjoyable, I will continue to read their content and promote it.”

“If abook is bad, it’s bad. If a book is good, it’s good. Period.”

“Icannot tell if something is written with AI or not, so if I enjoy it, I’ll keepreading it too!!”

It’sclear that at least some readers only care about their experience ofreading a book, and they care nothing for its origin.

StephenMarche recently wrote an article for The Guardian titled “I Wrote aNovel Using AI. Writers Must Accept Artificial Intelligence – But We Are asValuable as Ever.” You can read it here:

(Healso wrote a book called On Writing and Failure: Or, the PeculiarPerseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer, which I recommend. NothingAI-related in this one.)

People,who probably only read the article’s headline, took to social media to lambastMarche and AI in general. But his thesis is that while AI can producecrappy-but-good-enough writing for some tasks, only humans can produce work ofhigher artistic quality. (I wonder if the editors at The Guardian wrotethe headline to purposely make it click-baity.) Here are a few quotes from thearticle that I found noteworthy.

“Generativemodels are fundamentally cliché machines. If you ask AI to write a film script,it will produce an average film script masterfully. If you ask it to write anessay, it will produce an average essay masterfully.”

“Thinking,creating, understanding – these cannot be replaced, certainly not by artificialintelligence.”

“Onceupon a time, mastery of the banal was adequate for writers. It was enough toprove that you were capable of writing. But that skill has no purpose anymore –it can be automated. Skill will be found in the purpose of the work. What canyou alone make happen with language?”

So ifwriters want to compete for readers’ attention in a world filled with AI slop, weneed to write work that’s better than average and continue improving throughoutour careers.

Thefollowing are some ideas on how we can do that. They’re geared to horrorwriters, but most of them can work for any fiction writer. (You may haveread/heard me say some of the following before, but this time it’s in serviceof out-writing the cliché-machines.)

Read/watcha LOT of horror so you can avoid clichés.

As acreative writing teacher, I’m always surprised when a student tells me theywant to write, but they don’t like to read. I guess the equivalent in the AIage is I want to be a writer, but I don’t want to write. The more horroryou consume, the more you’ll come to recognize common – and average – ideas andprose, and the more you’ll be able to try to do better.

Also,read every subgenre of horror, so you can avoid all clichés. Plus, you might bean extreme horror writer who, after checking out cozy horror, may find thatgenre calls to you more strongly than any other.

A whileback, I wrote a blog entry listing 61 horror clichés and how to make them freshagain. You can find it here:

https://writinginthedarktw.blogspot.com/2023/11/61-horror-cliches-and-how-to-make-them.html

Writer’sDigest publishedan article I wrote about avoiding clichés when writing horror:

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/done-to-death

Seekout current, excellent, and innovative work.

If youwant to write above-average work, you need to read above-average work. You canGoogle “best contemporary horror writers” and “innovative horror writers of the21st century.” You’ll find plenty of results. Check out a number oflists, though, since each one will likely be at least slightly different.

Here’s alist to get you started:

https://socialecologies.wordpress.com/the-top-50-writers-of-horror-weird-and-fantastic-fiction-2000-2025/

If youcome across work that’s very unlike anything you’ve read before, and you’restruggling to get through it, don’t give up on it right away. You may need sometime to adjust. As one of my professors in grad school once said, “Great booksteach us how to read them.”

Avoidor rework familiar tropes.

Tropeshave power, but overused tropes don’t. Try to find the essence of a trope andthen embody it in a new way. Take the trope of the Grim Reaper. As its core,it’s the Bringer of Death. A great example of a different way to handle thistrope is the movie Radius (2017). In this film, after surviving a carcrash, a man finds that anyone who comes within fifty feet of him dies.

Yourdreams.

I don’tremember my dreams much anymore, and when I do, they’re like the dream I hadlast night, where I’m in the back yard picking up dog poop. But my wife hasextremely vivid dreams, many of which turn into nightmares. Just this morning,she told me of a dream she had that featured faceless men with red stripes overtheir featureless skin. A faceless person is a horror cliché, but the redstripes add an interesting touch. And if you can find a way to make the stripesmeaningful to the being in a way that shapes your story, you might end up withsomething truly different. Maybe the men’s skins are chalk white, and the stripesare because the men are made out of candy canes. The Candy Cane Men sounds weirdand scary, doesn’t it? My wife may have been the only person in human historyto dream of that exact image, and there’s an excellent chance your dreams willalso be a source of original ideas and images (unlike mine).

Writeabout what you – and only you – see and hear.

To hellwith vampires and werewolves. I love classic horror tropes, but I almost neveruse them. I try to stay observant throughout the day, and I write down anyweird things I see or hear. Often, they’re mistakes in perception, the resultof my horror writer’s mind interpreting something normal in a sinister way. Forexample, the last time I flew home after a convention, I saw an ad on a wall inthe Dayton airport for The Gaping Void Design Group. I did a double-take,thinking I’d misread the sign, but I didn’t. I wondered who the hell wouldchoose that name for their business? How many people who even noticed the nameon the ad thought twice about it? I’m likely the only horror writer who sawthat sign, noticed the name, and thought those thoughts. I wouldn’t want to usethe exact name in a story, but I might swap design for another word.Maybe Gaping Void Logistics. Another example: One day, when I looked outthe window, I saw a kid kicking a round, plant-like soccer-ball-sized objectdown the street. Again, I was probably the only person who saw that, thought itwas really strange, and wrote it down as possible story material. You can dothe same.

Readhorror from writers in other countries.

And watchhorror movies made in other countries. This way, you’ll expose yourself todifferent horror images, concepts, and narrative styles. The publishers ofValancourt Books have done an excellent job of making translations of horrorfiction available, and I highly recommend you check them out.

TheValancourt Book of World Horror Stories Vol. 1 and Vol 2 Edited by James D. Jenkins and RyanCagle

https://www.valancourtbooks.com/the-valancourt-book-of-world-horror-stories-vol-1.html

Use asmany of your personal experiences as possible.

AI candraw on other people’s experiences that are in its database, but it can neverlive and reflect on those experiences. Drawing on your own experiences bringsan authenticity that AI can’t replicate. You don’t need to write strictautobiography, but your experiences can add realism and emotional depth to yourstories.

Writewith a deep point of view.

AI’swriting never gets below the surface, because all it knows are words (and itdoesn’t really know them the way humans can). When you write with aclose attachment to a character’s point of view and aren’t afraid to go deeper,you’ll create fiction that readers will respond strongly to. I tell studentsthat this is the greatest strength of fiction because, right now, no othertechnology can put us in the mind of a character. Plus, deep point of viewallows for stronger horror. I tell students to imagine that your viewpointcharacter is wearing a GoPro camera that records what he or she sees and hears.But imagine the camera has a cable that’s embedded into the back of thecharacter’s head, recording their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.The more you can depict a character’s full experience (without getting sobogged down in detail that the story grinds to a halt), the more your fictionwill stand apart from AI slop.

Writevivid description.

Theparagraph above covers most of this. I suspect a description that contains anemotional component or causes a character to have an emotional reaction willstand out strongly from AI writing. Also, use distinct similes and metaphors(without overusing them). The more original they are, the better. For example,I once saw a sketch on a comedy show (whose name I can’t recall). The sketchfeatured a mom and dad who were berating their teenage son about something, butthe entire family spoke in bizarrely original similes. When the son got fed up,he started yelling at his parents, and at one point, he describes his dadfalling out of a boat on a lake. “He flopped over the side like a soiled mattressand sank like a sack of batteries.” I saw this sketch decades ago, but thosesimiles have stuck in my mind ever since. When you come across effectivesimiles and metaphors in your reading, pause and ask yourself what makes themso effective for you. As an exercise, you can write your own similes andmetaphors describing the same concept as in the story. So if a writer describesa messy rest stop restroom as “looking like Tijuana Mike’s shitter afterAll-You-Can-Eat Burrito Night,” you can try to write a different, but equallycolorful metaphor for a filthy rest stop bathroom.

Includesubtext.

Simplydefined, subtext is the true but unexpressed meaning behind words or actions.For example, if you ask your spouse what’s wrong, and he or she says,“Nothing,” in a cold tone, you damn well know something is wrong, and you werelikely the cause of it.

AI can’tdo subtext, but humans can. Machines are literal, and subtext is about theunspoken and unrevealed. It’s abstract and requires an understanding of humanpsychology, interaction, and communication. Take advantage of this in yourwriting.

Here’s anarticle about subtext in fiction: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/how-to-use-subtext-and-the-art-of-dramatic-tension-in-fiction

Andhere’s one about subtext in horror by Lindy Ryan: https://janefriedman.com/what-isnt-said-still-screams-writing-subtext-in-horror-fiction/

Createcomplex characters.

Writingwith a deep point of view will help you create well-developed characters, butyou need to go beyond that. Make them eccentric, idiosyncratic, downrightfucking weird… Give them weaknesses, contradictions, moral ambiguities… Letthem be unlikable sometimes, let them fuck up and make a mess of things. Makethem as deeply human as you can. This is one of the most importantaspects of writing fiction that AI can’t replicate because this aspect doesn’tlie in any one word or sentence. It lies in the cumulation of them, of athousand small details that the reader, with their experience of being human,can put together in a way a machine can’t, to get a complex picture of acomplex person.

Experimentto develop a distinctive voice…because AI will never have one.

Voiceis everything about you as a writer – content, use of language (vocabulary,sentence length and complexity, paragraph length, scene length, chapter length,etc.), structure (linear, nonlinear), story length, and on and on. While we canmake conscious choices about voice, much – if not most – of it develops overtime, the result of small unconscious choices we make. So experiment. Shortstories are excellent laboratories for developing and honing your voice. Setcreative challenges for yourself. Write a story with an omniscient viewpoint orone with no characters. Try formalism, using a different form of writing, likea newspaper article, to tell your story. Pay attention to reader response. Ifyou write a story in first person present tense, and readers love it, maybethink about using that technique for more stories. Don’t drive yourself crazysearching for your voice, though. It’ll come in time.

“FiveWays to Develop Your Writer’s Voice”: https://janefriedman.com/5-ways-develop-writers-voice/

“HowDo I Find My Voice in Writing?”: https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/how-do-i-find-my-voice-in-writing

Takeyour time.

Don’tbe like AI users who want immediate results. Write, read, explore, trydifferent things. Allow yourself to continue growing as an artist. GenerativeAI can’t grow. It can only be fed more words to recombine and spew out. Itmight get better at spewing over time, but it will not grow. We can andshould.

Astonishus.

Asa theater education major in college, I only had to take two years of actingclasses. My professor for my sophomore year in acting was Dr. Jeffrey Huberman,and at first, he terrified us. Not because he was mean or harsh, but because heknew we were capable of excellence, and he expected it from us. Whenever wewould perform a scene in class, he would start us off by saying, “Astonish me,”the admonition that the famous dance impresario Sergei Diaghilev would give tohis performers. It took some time, but we slowly began to believe in ourselves,and our acting improved dramatically. It’s a lesson that I’ve applied to mywriting over the years. AI-produced fiction can never astonish us. Only workcreated by humans can do that.

Onlywork created by you.

Soas they say on Letterkenny, “Pitter patter, let's get at 'er.”

Booksthat you might find useful:

MethodActing For Writers: Learn Deep Point Of View Using Emotional Layers by Lisa Hall-Wilson

https://tinyurl.com/2575spfu

Writingfor Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, andFascinate the Reader from Beginning to End by Karl Iglesias

https://tinyurl.com/mtrw3mds

TheArt of Subtext: Beyond Plot byCharles Baxter

https://tinyurl.com/rx445rjy

WordPainting Revised Edition: The Fine Art of Writing Descriptively by Rebecca Mcclanahan

https://tinyurl.com/u9cuxmas

ExperimentalFiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology by Lawrence Lenhart and Will Cordeiro

https://tinyurl.com/mr4a2hj4

TheArt of Character: Creating Memorable Characters for Fiction, Film, and TV by David Corbett

https://tinyurl.com/bd6b8a2s

PlotVersus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction by Jeff Gerke

https://tinyurl.com/mvcarsvh

DEPARTMENTOF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Thistime, I’m going to highlight work of mine that will help you battle themediocrity of AI.

Writingin the Dark is myBram Stoker Award-winning book on writing horror. It’s follow-up, Writing inthe Dark: The Workbook, also won a Stoker. Both are full of info that willhelp you take your horror to new levels. Let Me Tell You a Story isabout writing short stories. It contains stories from throughout my career, andI write about how I wrote them and what I’d do differently if I wrote themtoday. You can find all three at the following link:

https://rawdogscreaming.com/author-tag/tim-waggoner/

Kindleversions are available on Amazon.

I’malso going to recommend my latest horror/dark fantasy novel, The Face ofPain. It’s made (like all my original work) from bits of my real life,images and characters that either don’t follow standard horror tropes or reworkthem, and my own surreal/nightmarish style, all of which adds up to my authorvoice.

Kindle: https://tinyurl.com/3hzdyjhd

AmazonPaperback: https://tinyurl.com/44wt2tdw

Barnes& Noble Paperback: https://tinyurl.com/3h6kkszz

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

“TheArt of Suspense” workshop. May 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dayton Metro Library,Wilmington Stroop Branch. Kettering, Ohio.

StokerCon.June 4-7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ShoreLeave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

GenConWriters Seminar. July 30-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

Intothe Springs Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Shivercon.August 14-15. Muncie, Indiana.

WHERETO FIND ME ONLINE

Wantto follow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

AmazonPage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

NewsletterSign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timwaggonerswritinginthedark

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/133838.Tim_Waggoner

Instagram:@tim.waggoner.scribe

Threads:@tim.waggoner.scribe@threads.net

Bluesky:@timwaggoner.bsky.social

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Published on April 03, 2026 15:16

February 3, 2026

Writing When the World is On Fire

NOTE:I’ve turned off comments on this entry to prevent MAGA trolls and bots fromflooding the comment section with their poison.

Having ahard time writing in the Dystopian States of America? You’re far from alone.Difficult times produce difficult emotions, and it’s okay to take however muchtime you need to process them. And if writing is more a passion than an incomefor you, and you only have so much spare time, you might decide it’s betterspent taking care of yourself, your friends, and your family. Or you may devoteit to directly opposing fascism through protests, social media posts, engagingwith your least brainwashed MAGA relatives to open their minds, etc. As I tellmy daughters and my students, it doesn’t matter what you choose to do becauseit all needs to be done. All that matters is that you contribute somehow.

But if yourincome does depend on your writing, in whole or in part – or if, like me, youneed to write to stay sane – then here are some ideas that might help keep thewords coming.

(And ifyou’re a reader who doesn’t normally write, consider what writing – just foryourself if not for publication – might do for you.)

Writefor your mental health.

Like Isaid above, writing keeps me sane. Whenever I get irritable and out of sorts,my wife asks if I’ve been writing lately, and if I say no, she says, “Getstarted.” Keeping yourself sane isn’t only a benefit for you, but it has apositive impact on your family, coworkers, and anyone else you come in contactwith. Existence is resistance.

Pouryour feelings into your writing.

If youremotions are currently a turbulent maelstrom of what-the-fuck andthis-is-horrible (mine sure are), then writing can be a way to untangle them.This can help you process them, but it could also help you express them toothers, whether in person or online.

Readingfiction strengthens empathy.

I’ve readabout studies that suggest one of the main reasons for MAGA is a lack ofempathy on their part. Other studies have shown that reading fiction increasesa person’s empathy. So if, like me, you primarily write fiction, you’recontributing to building empathy in others. Sure, maybe only a small number ofpeople read our work, but every little bit helps. I’ve focused on empathy in mystories for years, and especially in my media tie-in work, most recently in theTerrifier novelizations and my Conan fiction. I know I'll reach abroader audience with those books, so there’s a greater chance they’ll impactthe empathy-challenged.

Writearticles – or blog posts – with practical tips for people who feel the same wayyou do.

Like I’mdoing right now. They don’t have to be about writing, of course. Maybe you canprovide tips on meal preparation for the stressed and depressed. Or exercisetips. Whatever. Remember, everything needs to be done.

Poetryis great for distilling and concentrating emotion.

I don’twrite poetry (although I love to read it), but poetry is an excellent vehiclefor expressing emotion, whether directly or through imagery and metaphor. Andif it’s something you don’t usually write, it could make a nice break from yourusual writing. And speaking of poetry…

Tellit slant.

This isEmily Dickinson’s famous advice to poets (and it works for all writers). Itmeans that some things are too big, too complicated, or too difficult to write(or read) about directly, so we write about them indirectly. That’s why a poemthat on the surface seems to be about a spider continually rebuilding its webafter wind, rain, or birds knock it down is really about finding the strengthto persist in the face of repeated setbacks. Pick one aspect of how you’refeeling right now, and try to write about it slant, whether as fiction, poetry,or nonfiction.

Writeprotest sign slogans.

Literallywrite slogans that people can use on signs and post them on social media oryour blog for anyone to use. If you can’t get out to protests for one reason oranother, your words still can.

Writea speech to give before Congress.

Whatwould you say to Congress if you were given the chance to address them? (I’dprobably just scream “Fuck you!” at the top of my lungs over and over, buthopefully you can come up with something better.)

Writea letter that you would send to your representatives.

And thensend it. Yeah, it may be a drop in the bucket, and it may be ignored, butyou’ll have written it, and you can post it in various places. If nothing else,maybe you’ll feel a little better afterward.

Writea future historian’s article.

How woulda future historian write about what’s happening in America now? You can writeone version that has a positive outcome, one that has a negative one, or onethat’s mixed. Or try all three.

Writeabout your worst fears.

As ahorror writer, I wholeheartedly endorse this. There’s a reason why non-horrorfolks often remark that horror writers are the nicest, kindest, gentlest peoplethey meet. We constantly process and come to terms with our negative emotionsvia our writing. It’s more than art; it’s an important survival skill for us. Ifyou’re not a horror writer, give it a try.

Writea survival story.

Write asurvival story that doesn’t directly have anything to do with current events.Writing about a struggle for survival can prove very cathartic – and you mightend with something you can submit to an editor.

Writea justice story.

Samething here, only with justice. You could combine this with survival if youwant.

Makethe big small.

Thecurrent situation is way too big to write about all of it, but you could pickone small part to write about, whether you do so directly or indirectly. Forexample, today I saw video of high school students – different ages and genders– beating up a MAGA dude who stopped to harass them during a protest. If Iwrote that scene or a slant version of it, I’d be writing about how youngpeople are fighting for their future, and by extension, everyone’s. The bigmade small. (And fuck that MAGA dude!)

Writea story about empathy, for adults or kids.

Write astory or poem that demonstrates the importance and strength of empathy withoutbeing obvious about it. Write it for adults or kids or both.

Writeabout an invented religion taking over a society.

Writeabout a version of the current Christofascists trying to take over our societyor an imaginary one. Write from the perspective of a follower who’s beginningto have some doubts. Write from the perspective of someone trying to stop aloved one from joining the movement.

Workon your dream project.

Ifthere’s a project you’ve been putting off until the “right time,” start workingon it now. Not only will it feed you emotionally, but it’s also a powerfulstatement to yourself that there will be a future and you’re helping to createit for yourself.

Trysomething you’ve never tried before.

Writesomething you’ve never attempted before. A topic you’ve never written about, aform you’ve never tried before. The old phrase “A change is as good as a rest”comes in here. (This is also a good technique to bust through writer’s block.)

Makesomething, anything.

If youreally can’t bring yourself to write, then draw, paint, or sculpt. Build a newset of bookshelves. Attend to the home repair you’ve been putting off. Buy acool Lego set. Making is a deep human need. It’s one of the main things thatdefines us as human. And, like working on your dream project, makingsomething reinforces that there will be a future and you can have at least somesmall measure of impact on it.

Helpothers.

I’m moreof a builder than a fighter. Not just creating stories but building connectionsbetween people and giving people tools to build things for themselves. (Likepresenting all these ideas in a blog post.) It’s one of the main reasons Ibecame a teacher. Help other writers by giving them feedback on their work orby listening to their writing and publishing-related woes and commiserating. Conductworkshops online or in your community. Help others however you can. It buildsand strengthens community bonds, and it reminds us that we can still have apositive impact on the world even in the face of what seems like anoverwhelming tide of darkness that we don’t know how to fight. Remember, everybit of positive energy we put into the universe adds to the sum total of Light tocounter the Darkness, whether you literally believe in those concepts or, likeme, believe in them as metaphor. Either way, we’re still helping, so who cares ifthey’re real or only abstract concepts? They work either way.

And ifyou don’t have the emotional bandwidth to help anyone else, take care ofyourself. You’re important too, you know.

And thereason it’s so important to take care of yourself right now can be boiled downto what flight attendants tell passengers: “Put your oxygen mask on beforehelping others.” So get that mask on, and let’s ride out the turbulence thebest we can – together.

DEPARTMENTOF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Conan:Marked for Death Out Now

Titanpublishes an ebook-only series of short stories starring various Robert E.Howard characters called The Heroic Legends Series. Conan: Marked for Deathis only $1.99 for 8,000 wordsof barbarian action!

Synopsis

Wounded,thirsty, and stranded in the desert after a job gone bad, Conan is desperate.To make it out alive, he bands together with his fellow surviving mercenaries.

Conantrusts none of them, and the feeling is mutual. Fine. Everyone knows where theystand. But when a cursed treasure is discovered, distrust turns to suspicion.Conan knows enough about dark magic to leave well enough alone, but will greedget the better of his new “friends”?

You canfind all the purchasing links here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/813527/the-heroic-legends-series---conan-marked-for-death-by-tim-waggoner/

TheFace of Pain

Synopsis

The doctors said it was cancer, butTricia knew the thing inside her was something far worse.

Tricia Everhart is diagnosed with uterine cancer, butdespite her test results, she can’t escape the feeling that she’s notsick–she’s pregnant. When a mysterious door appears in the hospital, she stepsthrough and finds herself trapped in a nightmarish facility called the RedTower. There, a cult of sinister physicians known as the Lineage worship a foulentity called the Face of Pain… and they believe Tricia is its chosen vessel. Her husband, Aaron, follows herinto the Tower, desperate to bring her home. But the deeper they go, the morethey encounter horrors beyond comprehension. Will they escape the Red Towerbefore the Face of Pain enters our reality? Or will its birth unravel existenceitself?

Praise for The Face of Pain:

Tim Waggoner is a magician. He weaves layers ofprofound emotionality without losing the thrill and thrust of the story. TheFace of Pain is as real as it is fantastical and we are given the gift ofreading in both light and dark, passage to passage, as if Tim is in the roomwith us, controlling all illumination therein.” –Josh Malerman, New YorkTimes-bestselling author of Bird Box and Incidents Around theHouse

LefthandPath Press: https://www.lefthandpathpress.com/book/the-face-of-pain/

If you’veread the book, I’d appreciate it if you could drop a review somewhere, whetheryou loved it or hated it. All reviews help draw attention to a book.

IScream, You Scream

My novel IScream, You Scream is now out in trade paperback and Kindle! Signedhardcovers are also now available for $30 at the Weird House Press site!

Eighth-graderJoel Taylor just moved to Shadow Springs with his mom. He likes his new homewell enough – until a sinister being called Mr. Freezee begins driving hiscreepy ice-cream truck up and down the streets at night, playing “Pop Goes theWeasel.”

Joelheard the music.

He lookedout the window.

He sawMr. Freezee, and what’s worse…

Mr.Freezee saw him.

Now Mr.Freezee wants to take Joel to a very special place where the world is made ofevery flavor of ice cream you can imagine – all of them deadly. Mr. Freezeebrings all his new friends here, and they love it so much that they neverleave.

Mr.Freezee makes sure of it.

Welcometo Sweet Land, Joel.

Welcometo a nightmare that never ends.

AmazonTrade Paperback: https://tinyurl.com/2bvwmhaw

Barnesand Noble Trade Paperback: https://tinyurl.com/mpw8k2k7

Kindle: https://tinyurl.com/3t8ntyxa

Hardcover:https://tinyurl.com/y3hxu7ys

CarsonBuckingham Reviews I Scream, You Scream for The Horror Review

“In no way is this book just for kids. I blewthrough it twice and enjoyed it just as much both times…” – Carson Buckingham

Full review: https://tinyurl.com/bddwv728

TheTerrifier 3 Novelization

Get readyfor some Ho-Ho-Horror as Art the Clown slaughters Christmas!

Synopsisfrom Bloody Press

TheBiggest, Most Brutal Unrated Film Ever is Now a Book!

No moreclowning around. The unholy novelization of Terrifier 3 is here… andit’s the horrific splatterpunk event of the holidays!

Aftersurviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother arestruggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches,they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the pastbehind. But just when they think they're safe, Art the Clown returns,determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive seasonquickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that noholiday is safe.

Writtenby Tim Waggoner, the author of the Terrifier 2 Novelization, the XTrilogy (X, Pearl, and MaXXXine) Novelizations, and the HalloweenKills Novelization.

Andremember, boys and girls, blood-drenched stories about demonic clowns makegreat gifts no matter what season it is!

AmazonKindle US: https://tinyurl.com/573hwu4u

AmazonHardback US: https://tinyurl.com/2asknbjh

Amazon KindleUK: https://tinyurl.com/yrmrd626

AmazonHardback UK: https://tinyurl.com/mtjne3yx

Amazon KindleCanada: https://tinyurl.com/yc6pupcn

AmazonHardback Canada: https://tinyurl.com/4np3ckc7

Amazon KindleFrance: https://tinyurl.com/mr6dn4zr

AmazonHardback France: https://tinyurl.com/4np3ckc7

Amazon KindleAustralia: https://tinyurl.com/mvz3dad9

AmazonHardback Australia: Not available yet.

SCHEDULEDAPPEARANCES

SuperstarsWriting Seminar. Feb. 4-5. Colorado Springs, Colorado.

A Tastingwith Friends. Feb. 26, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Benham’s Grove Event Center.Centerville, Ohio.

AkronBook Fest. March 7. Akron, Ohio.

“The Artof Suspense” workshop. May 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dayton Metro Library, WilmingtonStroop Branch. Kettering, Ohio.

StokerCon.June 4-7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ShoreLeave 46. July 10-12. Lancaster Wyndham Resort and Convention Center,Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Into theSprings Writers Workshop. August 7-9. Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Gencon. July30-August 2. Indianapolis, Indiana.

WHERETO FIND ME ONLINE

Wantto follow me on social media? Here’s where you can find me:

AmazonPage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

NewsletterSign-Up: https://timwaggoner.com/contact.htm

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timwaggonerswritinginthedark

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/133838.Tim_Waggoner

Instagram:tim.waggoner.scribe

Threads:@tim.waggoner.scribe@threads.net

Bluesky:@timwaggoner.bsky.social

AmazonPage: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Waggoner/author/B001JP0XFM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

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Published on February 03, 2026 20:11

December 15, 2025

The Face of Pain: Chapter One

Check out the first chapter of my new dark fantasy/horror novel The Face of Pain below!

THEFACE OF PAIN

CHAPTER ONE

Tricia Everhart, wearing only a thin whitehospital gown, wandered through a world of endless red corridors.

She didn’t know how long she had walked in thisstrange place, but it must have been some time, for her legs ached and her barefeet felt numb. She wanted to sit down and rest, but there were no chairs orcouches in this place. Just red walls, red light panels in the ceiling, redtiled floors... The red was a deep, dark crimson, the color of old, driedblood, and for some strange reason, it disturbed and comforted her in equalmeasure. The light made it seem as if her own blood had seeped from her veinsand now lay just beneath the surface of her skin.

There were large, framed pictures on the walls,but instead of peaceful scenes of a lush, green forest, ocean waves breaking ona shore, or a field of colorful flowers, they were grisly photographs ofautomobile and industrial accident victims, their bodies mutilated and mangled,many damaged so severely that it was impossible to tell they had been human.Seeing these images made Tricia’s stomach roil with nausea, and she kept hereyes averted as she passed them. Speakers were set into the ceiling at regularintervals, but instead of playing soothing music, what came out were the soundsof people moaning in pain, sobbing in despair, begging to be released fromtheir misery. She’d been hearing these terrible sounds for what felt likehours, maybe even days, and she still hadn’t become used to them. It didn’thelp that she hadn’t seen another person during the entire time she’d beenhere. The isolation made this place feel even more sinister, especially becauseshe had the sense that she was being watched, although she’d seen no securitycameras anywhere.

This place felt deeply and profoundly wrongin a way she sensed but didn’t fully comprehend. She had been searching for anexit the entire time she’d been here – although she couldn’t remember coming tothis place – but so far, she hadn’t found one. There were numerous doors oneither side of the corridors, painted red, of course, each with a rectangularmetal plate (also red) on the surface with engraved letters. The names on theseplates made no sense to her: s: This was a twisted, nightmarish version of a medicalfacility, the kind of place where the physician’s oath might begin with Firstdo great harm.

“This has to be a dream,” shethought. It couldn’t be anything else.

And yet, everything felt so real. The floor wassolid beneath her bare feet, and the air in the corridors was cool, so much sothat she hugged herself for what little warmth it provided. She’d hoped thatshe’d come across a door labeled Laundry where she could sneak in andhopefully “borrow” some warmer clothes, like maybe scrubs or a lab coat. But sofar, she hadn’t found such a door. The odor in this place was awful, acombination of gasoline and rotting meat, and she breathed through her mouth soshe wouldn’t have to smell it. But that made her throat feel raw and her lungsache. She feared she was inhaling some toxic gas, but there was nothing moreshe could do but keep walking and hope she finally found a way out of here.

Tricia was a short,petite woman with straight brown hair, cute rather than beautiful. People oftenpatronized her because of her height, whether consciously or not, and so she’ddeveloped a take-no-shit attitude. But here, in this place, she did feel smalland helpless, and she had to keep reminding herself she was a grown-ass womanwho could handle anything that came at her…she hoped.

She felt as if she’d been in a hospital – anormal one – not long ago, but the fumes in the air had made her lightheaded,and she found it hard to remember specific details. She could recall emotions,though, and the two strongest that she associated with hospitals were grief andterror. These emotions were so raw and blistering that she was grateful thatthe events that caused them eluded her.

She heard a voice in her mind then, soft, kind,understanding.

“You know the old saying that a journey of athousand miles begins with a single step? What that hoary bit of wisdom leftout is that the entire journey is comprised of many singlesteps, and each one can feel like a monumental undertaking. But finding thestrength – or the sheer stubbornness – to keep taking those steps, one afterthe other, is what allows us to continue moving forward.”

She’d taken a lot of single steps since findingherself in this awful place, and while she was definitely moving forward, shehad no idea if she was moving toward anything. But a few moments later,she turned a corner and had her answer.

This hallway was short, only ten feet long, andit ended in a set of double doors. Above it were black letters that appeared tohave been burned into the plaster, and they formed two words.

Maltreatment Center.

She suddenly felt a powerful urge to turn andrun, and if her legs and feet hadn’t been so sore, she might’ve done so. Butshe hesitated, and the double doors burst open, and a smiling woman in a rednurse’s uniform rushed out, clipboard held in one hand. The woman was bald, andthe right side of her head was marred by a long, bloody gash. The nametag overher left breast identified her as Nurse Skullcrack, and given thewoman’s head wound, Tricia thought the name appropriate.

“You’re right on time for your appointment,Tricia.”

The woman’s voice was monotone, and her facedisplayed no emotion. The left side of her body drooped slightly, and her armhung motionless at her side. Tricia was no doctor, but she suspected thesephysical effects were due to the nurse’s head injury.

Tricia didn’t know how to respond to the woman,and Skullcrack frowned and consulted her clipboard, which, Tricia now saw, hadnothing on it. The nurse looked at Tricia once more.

“You are Tricia Everhart, aren’t you?”

Tricia finally found her voice.

“Yes.”

Skullcrack’s frown eased, and the faintest hintof a smile touched her mouth.

“I recognize your voice. I’m face blind, thanksto this.” She pointed to her head wound. “But considering how much of the staffhere looks, it’s a blessing most times.”

Now it was Tricia’s turn to frown.

“How can you recognize my voice? We’ve nevermet.”

“Of course we have. You just don’t remember. Nowfollow me, please.”

Skullcrack turned around and pushed through thedoors. Tricia hesitated, but then she did as the nurse ordered, unable toescape the feeling that she was making a horrible mistake.

There was no reception area or waiting roominside, only a large open space the size of a football stadium. Instead ofbeing painted red, the walls, floor, and ceiling were a startlingly brightwhite, and the room’s light panels glowed with normal blue-white fluorescence.She hurried to catch up to the nurse, bare feet slapping on the tiled floor.

“What kind of maltreatment goes on inhere?” she asked.

Skullcrack answered without looking at her.

“All kinds, really. Physical, mental, spiritual,subatomic, aetheric, temporal, transdimensional… If you’ve got it, we canmaltreat it.”

She chuckled, but Tricia didn’t find anythingfunny in the nurse’s words.

They weren’t the onlyones in the huge room. In the middle was a stainless-steel examination tablethat looked uncomfortable as hell, and next to it stood a stout middle-aged manin a crimson lab coat. He wore a metal amulet on a gold chain around his neck,upon which was the figure of a snake eating its own tail. Tricia felt as if sheshould be familiar with the symbol, but she couldn’t place it. She couldn’tmake out the man’s face at first, but as Skullcrack and she got closer, hisfeatures came into sharper focus. His white hair fell past his shoulders, andhe had a thick white beard and mustache with the ends curled up. His eyes werea penetrating ice-blue, and she felt as if they could see into her very soul.

Frightened, Triciaturned around, intending to get out of there as fast as she could manage on hersore legs and feet…but before she could take a step toward the doors, she sawthat they had vanished. Where they’d stood was now nothing but an unbroken whitewall.

The doctor chuckled.

“No need to be afraid,Tricia,” he said in a rich baritone. “

“The most highly regarded one aside from the Surgeon Supreme himself,”Nurse Skullcrack put in, and Winterblood acknowledged her praise with a nodbefore continuing.

“You’re here for a few last minor adjustments, nothing more. Have tomake sure you’re ready before your big day tomorrow. Thedoors will reappear once we’re finished.”

Nurse Skullcrack hadreached the doctor by this point, and she stood next to him, frowning at Triciawith impatience.

“Come now,” the womansaid. “Dr. Winterblood hasn’t got all day.”

The doctor grinned atTricia.

“The nurse is right, butonly because – for the most part – time is meaningless in the Red Tower. Idon’t have all day because I don’t have any time. No seconds, minutes,hours, or days…We live in an eternal present here.” The doctor’s grinfell away, and his tone became thoughtful. “Which, admittedly, does make itdifficult for our patients to heal at times.”

Winterblood andSkullcrack laughed at this, but Tricia saw no humor in it. She did wonder ifthe fact that this place was timeless was the reason why the nurse’s headinjury still looked fresh…and it would explain why it felt like Tricia hadwalked the Red Tower’s corridors forever before arriving here.

“Now if you’ll removeyour gown and hop up on the table, we can get started.” Winterblood’s smilereturned, but this time it was cold and mocking. “No need to be embarrassed.After all, I am a doctor.”

Talking to this manwhile she wore only a flimsy hospital gown was bad enough. But to get naked infront of him? No fucking way.

“I…just met you. I’m notreally comfortable –”

“I’ve examined you manytimes over the years,” Winterblood said. “But it’s been necessary to removeyour memory of those visits before allowing you to return home. That won’thappen this time, though. You’ll remember everything…including the things you wishyou could forget.”

“Especiallythose,” Skullcrack said.

“I have no idea whatyou’re talking about,” Tricia said, “but no way in hell am I going to get nakedjust because you want me to.”

Winterblood looked atSkullcrack, and the nurse dropped her empty clipboard to the floor and startedtoward Tricia. Skullcrack’s brow was slightly furrowed, but otherwise, thewoman displayed no emotion. Tricia raised her hands in front of her, palmsoutward, as if she hoped this gesture would ward off Skullcrack, but the nursedidn’t slow. When she reached Tricia, she grabbed a handful of the gown’sfabric, yanked with surprising strength, and tore it from Tricia’s body with asingle pull. Tricia crossed her arms over her breasts to preserve what littlemodesty she could. She knew the effort was ineffective, but it made her feellike she had a modicum of control in the situation. They were her tits,and by Christ, she’d decide who got to see them.

She didn’t wait forWinterblood to tell her to get on the table again. She walked over to it,realized she couldn’t get on without lowering her arms, and thought, Fuck it.This was a dream, and what was the point of modesty in a dream? She removed herarms from her breasts, used both hands to mount the table, sat, and gasped athow cold the steel felt against her bare ass and the backs of her legs.

“Lie down, please,”Winterblood said.

Tricia didn’t want to.Couldn’t they at least have put down some paper or something, like in a regulardoctor’s examination room? Hoping she’d get used to the feel of the metal onher skin sooner rather than later, she did as Winterblood told her – and it waseven colder than she’d expected. She gritted her teeth to keep them fromchattering. Nurse Skullcrack retrieved her empty clipboard from the floor andstepped near Tricia’s head.

“I need to ask you a fewquestions before the doctor begins,” the woman said.

Tricia saw that not onlydidn’t Skullcrack have any paper on her clipboard, she didn’t have a pen,either.

“Okay.”

She heard a soft humthen, and she turned her head to see a rectangular panel in the floor slideopen. A second later, what looked like a block of polished obsidian roseupward, upon its flat surface a dozen or so metal instruments that appeared asif they belonged more in an auto shop than a hospital. When the table or altaror whatever it was finished rising, Winterblood stepped over to it and perusedthe instruments.

“We have quite aselection today, Nurse. I’m going to have a terrible time choosing.”

He muttered to himselfas he picked up a tool that looked like a speculum made from rusty barbed wire.Tricia’s vagina clenched tight at the thought of that thing going inside her.Winterblood examined the bizarre thing for a moment, then put it back down witha shake of his head and selected another instrument to examine. Tricia sighedin relief.

Skullcrack looked downat her empty clipboard, as if she were reading questions instead of merelyspeaking them.

“First question: Haveyou ever wanted to kill someone, and if so, who was it?”

“You’ve got to snap outof this, Aaron! The doctor says you’re perfectly healthy!”

“But I don’t feel healthy…”

“No one,” Tricia said.

The nurse eyed herskeptically, but she moved on to the next question.

Tricia remembered a great, crushing emptiness inside her, as if herentire body had been scooped out, leaving her a hollow shell.

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

Skullcrack hrumpfed but asked the third question.

“What would you do to reverse that loss if you could?”

Tricia didn’t hesitate to answer this time.

“Anything.”

Skullcrack nodded, as ifpleased.

“That’s all. Thank you.”

The nurse stepped back,and Dr. Winterblood approached the table. He reached into one of his jacketpockets, removed a pair of eyeglasses, and slipped them on. He then leaned overthe table and positioned his head six inches above her abdomen. She could feelhis cool breath on her skin, and she found the sensation revolting. Shesquirmed, and suddenly Skullcrack was at the side of the table again. Shesmacked the clipboard against Tricia’s forehead hard enough to make motes oflight dance before her eyes.

“Please remain still,”Winterblood said.

Tricia glared at thenurse, but she did as the doctor asked.

He straightened andpushed the glasses onto the top of his head.

“Everything looks goodin there, Magna Mater be praised. We just need to make a few minoradjustments.”

He returned to theobsidian block, selected one of the strange devices on top, and came back tothe table.

“Did you just use X-rayglasses?” she asked. “Like the kind you could order from old comic books?”

“Of course,” Winterbloodsaid. “They’re standard equipment around here. But don’t worry. The amount ofradiation they emit is negligible.”

Tricia didn’t like thesound of that. Just how negligible was negligible? But before she couldask, the doctor held up the device he’d selected. It was a scorpion, orsomething very much like one, formed out of silver. There were no visible seamsor joints. It was as if the thing had been made by coating an actual insect inliquid metal. The sight of the thing sent a chill through her, and she had thefeeling that she’d seen it before, although she had no idea when.

She rememberedWinterblood’s earlier words.

“I’ve examined you manytimes over the last year. But it’s been necessary to remove your memory ofthose visits before allowing you to return home.”

“You and Argent are oldfriends, although of course you don’t remember,” Winterborn said. “I’m afraidthis is going to hurt – a lot. But this procedure must be conductedwithout anesthesia. Besides, pain relief isn’t really something we do here, isit, Nurse?”

Skullcrack laughed. “No.We specialize in pain enhancement.”

Winterblood gentlyplaced the silver creature on Tricia’s stomach. Its touch was so cold itburned, and she drew in a hissing breath. She reflexively reached out to knockthe thing off of her, but Skullcrack smacked her with the clipboard again tostop her. Tricia shot the nurse a venomous glare, but Skullcrack didn’t appearto notice. Her gaze was focused on the scorpion, her eyes gleaming withanticipation.

The creature began tostir, as if it were alive. Tricia felt the feather-light touch of its legs asit moved around on her abdomen, as if searching for just the right spot. Itstopped an inch below her belly button and then plunged its large front claws intoher flesh. Blood sprayed as the insect began digging furiously, and Triciascreamed.

Skullcrack hit her withthe clipboard again, but this time Tricia barely felt it.

“No need to make such afuss,” the nurse said. “You’d told me you’d do anything, remember?”

The scorpion – Argent –burrowed into Tricia’s body, continuing to tear at skin and muscle as it went.Within seconds, it had penetrated so far that only its barbed tail remainedvisible, and then that slid down into her, and the silver creature was gone.And as it went to work inside her, the pain increased a hundredfold, and herscreams intensified.

“Anything,”she reminded herself. “You’d said you’d do anything.”

She had, and she’d meantit. So she stopped screaming, gritted her teeth, and endured, tears streamingdown the sides of her face the entire time.

“Anything,” shewhispered, and then repeated it under her breath like a mantra. “Anything,anything, anything, anything, anything…”

* * ** *

Despite Tricia’sdetermination not to surrender to the pain, she passed out. There was a periodof blessed, pain-free darkness for a time, but despite her wishes, awarenessslowly returned to her, and she opened her eyes. She still hurt like amotherfucker, but the pain had receded to a point where it was bearable. Sheraised her head to look down at her abdomen, fully expecting to see her fleshmangled as severely as one of the accident victims in the photos that lined thecorridors of the Red Tower. But while there was blood – and plenty of it – theskin was smooth and unmarked, with no sign that it had been touched, let aloneripped into by a scorpion-like creature made of silver.

Dr. Winterblood andNurse Skullcrack stood at the side of her table. Argent, still slick with herblood, perched on the doctor’s shoulder, as if it were a pet.

“My little friendrepaired your flesh when he was finished,” Winterblood said. “The woundwould’ve made an exquisite scar, but we can’t have the so-called physicians inyour world seeing any signs of our work.” He lowered his voice, as if impartinga secret. “To be honest, it’s mostly a professional pride thing.”

Some blood remained onhis hands, and as he wiped them on his lab coat, Tricia understood the reasonwhy there was so much red everywhere in this place. It was to hide the blood.

Nurse Skullcrack spokethen. “You’ll be happy to know that after all this time, you’re finally ready.”

Tricia pushed herselfinto a sitting position, then frowned.

“Ready for what?”

Winterblood grinned ather and spread his arms wide, reminding her of a circus ringmaster preparing tostart the show.

“This!”

Every surface in theroom – walls, floor, ceiling – displayed the same image. At first, Triciadidn’t understand what she was looking at. It was a mass of discolored fleshand tarry blood, but when an eye opened in the middle of it, she realized whatthe horrible thing was, and she screamed until her throat was raw and bleeding.

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