Who's Telling Your Story? The Framing Question Horror Writers Keep Getting Wrong
nofilmschool.com – Friday October 2, 2026
When you are writing a story, there are a few unspoken rules that you agree to. Namely, that you as author are positioning yourself as an observer of some kind (omniscient, most likely) retroactively sharing the events that you've "seen," fictional or not. In screenwriting, you almost put yourself in the audience's shoes to relate what they will see.
Sometimes you use what's known as a framing device to help you in your storytelling. A framing device is how a script answers who is telling the story, when, and why. It's a device that positions your storyteller more clearly, sometimes as a character.
In Interview with the Vampire, the framing device is that a vampire is telling his story to an interviewer. In The Princess Bride, the grandfather reads the story from a book that we can visualize as the movie. In The Grand Budapest Hotel, there are a couple of layers—a girl in a cemetery reads a book, and then we enter the book's author's point of view, who speaks with Zero Moustafa, whose perspective we're in for most of the film. (Whew.)
The point is, you can get creative. And the horror genre is one area where filmmakers get very creative. Most films never draw attention to these devices. The ones that do, through voiceover, a confession, or a camera someone forgot to turn off, are making a promise about how the story reached us.
The Rise of Parasite Authors
theatlantic.com – Saturday September 19, 2026
First, AI stole their books. Now it’s stealing their readers.
Earlier this summer, Tamra Westberry received a Facebook notification that made her heart sink. A fellow author had taken to social media to endorse Westberry’s latest book, Project Erebus, after reading about it in a weekly roundup of the latest paranormal-romance releases. Independent authors like Westberry, who is based in Texas and has published dozens of books under the pen name Tara West, usually welcome an encouraging word and a bit of cross-promotion. But Westberry was dismayed. She had never heard of a book called Project Erebus. And she certainly wasn’t its author.
She looked up her author profile on Amazon, and there it was: Project Erebus, a book that featured character names she’d previously used, with a cover echoing that of her recent work. Translations were available in German, French, Italian, and Spanish. The book was a complete mystery to her, but after she read its sample pages, she suspected it was made by someone who’d used AI tools. (I ran the book’s cover and promotional blurb through Pangram, which suggested that they were completely AI-generated.)
Westberry emailed Amazon and requested that the company delink the unaffiliated books from her profile. Amazon removed the books from the platform within a week or so—but not before some of her fans purchased them, read them, and left reviews. “No real detail, characters remain undeveloped. I almost felt I was reading an essay written by a school child,” one disappointed reader wrote in a two-star review for Project Erebus on Goodreads, a literary social network owned by Amazon that had also attributed the book to West.
Who Are MFA Workshops *Really* For?
lithub.com – Wednesday September 16, 2026
How many writers does it take to fix a short story? The premise of the creative writing workshop is that it takes a room full of writers, reading and offering feedback and working through the kinks of the story together. This approach has three obvious benefits: One, the writer learns how to improve the story in question. Two, the class develops their skills as readers and editors, building a technical vocabulary that will serve them in their future writing careers. And three, the writer walks away from the workshop feeling inspired, encouraged, and motivated to continue writing.
A good day in workshop succeeds on all three counts. But inevitably, there are times when these worthy aims come into conflict. Take the following anecdote, from an MFA-level workshop: A student brought in a short story that was written in the second person. At the start of the workshop, the student announced that, while he was generally open to feedback, he did not want to hear any criticism of the story’s point of view. The second person was working for him, and he had no intention of changing it.
An awkward silence followed his announcement. If the goal of this workshop was to improve the story in question, some discussion of the point of view was essential. Trying to fix the story without addressing the unconventional narration would be like, as a mentor of mine once put it, “trying to make the bed while the house is on fire.” If the goal of this workshop was to educate the class and build up their editorial skillset, a candid discussion of the story’s narration was likewise essential. If, however, the goal of workshop was to support and encourage the writer, the way forward seemed clear: the class should honor the writer’s request and limit their feedback to other, secondary aspects of the story.
How an effective workshop should handle such cases depends on what you think workshop is really for.
‘Writers are facing our moment of enclosure – we must fight the destruction of our profession’
writersguild.org.uk – Monday September 14, 2026
“The Government is staring at AI with eyes wider than Bugs Bunny. It doesn’t know what it is, it doesn’t know whether to run towards it or run away. It doesn’t know whether it’s the future of our country’s economy or a massive destructive force,” said Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) President and award-winning writer Jack Thorne, addressing an audience at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall yesterday evening (Sunday 13 September 2026) for an event on Authorship in the Age of AI.
Making a direct appeal to the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham (a former Culture Secretary, and self-confessed advocate for the creative industries), Thorne said that “I am absolutely certain the next five years and the way that Government acts or doesn’t act to protect our sector will define what the next hundred looks like for every writer in this country.”
Thorne admitted that “If harnessed correctly … AI will bring advances to science and the economy… But the harm it produces could outweigh that benefit if we believe that the current modellers are entitled to behave however they like for the furtherment of their technology”. He spoke about the industrial-scale theft/scraping of writers’ work to train Large Language Models without consent or payment (in breach of existing UK copyright law) and tech companies spending millions on second-hand books for this purpose, plus numerous copyright cases against big tech companies in the States. “These language models are in an arms race with each other … and are intent on getting stronger,” he said. “I have spoken to people inside the machine who’ve told me the worst excesses in tech are encouraged and led by the idea that whatever they’re doing, the other side are doing worse. They are working at speed and with great intelligence on their side.”
Writers’ AI Fears Often Run Ahead of the Facts
janefriedman.com – Friday September 11, 2026
The biggest questions I get right now about AI:
- How do I protect myself from an agent or publisher (or other publishing professional) using AI on my work?
- How do I protect myself from a false accusation of AI use?
- How can I prove that I wrote my work and/or how can I prove that my particular AI use is not a problem or doesn’t run afoul of agent/publisher guidelines?
Unfortunately, these questions don’t have straightforward answers.
How do writers protect themselves from publishing professionals using AI tools on their work without permission?
First things first, be sure to read any available policy from the agent, publisher or publishing professional about their AI use. Increasingly you’ll find a statement on their website, in their submission guidelines, or other documents they provide authors. If you can’t find one, ask. Generally you can trust them to keep their word, although I admit trust can be in short supply these days.
These Are the Mistakes New Writers Tend to Make
nofilmschool.com – Tuesday September 8, 2026
Screenwriter Corey Mandell recently sat down for a conversation at Film Courage, where he talked about the mistakes that he most consistently sees new writers make. It’s a fascinating conversation with a lot of great points.
Let’s talk about a few of them, and also one or two of my own points that I’ll try to articulate as well as him.
Writing Without Individuality
This is a great one, but it’s also a tough pill for writers to swallow depending on when in their journey they first hear it. You can be the most talented writer in the world. A master of structure, character growth, naturalistic dialogue, building of suspense, the whole nine yards. However, what separates the good scripts like these from the great ones is the sense that the writer is writing a story in a way that only they could do. We’ve always heard that writing needs to feel personal to you. That’s absolutely true, and you’d be surprised how much heavy lifting this does when it comes to someone wanting to get to know you and to get familiar with your work.
Writing Only With the Intent to Sell
This one kind of goes hand in hand with writing with individuality. A lot of really great writers will start to seek out what’s trending, or what’s selling like hot cakes right now as a way to get their foot in the door. It may seem like a smart advance on the “one for them, one for me” sort of mentality that many artists have adopted over their career.
The secret trap that this creates is sometimes the loss of that individuality we already talked about. The relationship that a writer has with reps, or producers, or anyone that can make their career happen in the industry depends so heavily on timing. You could have the most sellable script in the world, but if the timing isn’t right, you’re still going to get passed on. This is why it’s still important to remain true to your own interests while working. Even if it’s the most unsellable script known to man, if it’s something truly substantive that the right people read, the more interested they will be in your future career, and being proactive about following up with you if the time is right for something else.
It's Time to Start Romanticizing Your Rewrite Process
nofilmschool.com – Thursday September 3, 2026
For many people’s scripts, the rewriting process can feel like Hell on Earth. Writer John Vorhaus recently sat down with Film Courage to talk about why he actually likes the rewriting process more than the initial draft.
Let’s talk about the tricks he does to feel this way, and a couple I’ve got up my sleeve as well.
Speedrun Your First Draft
This was actually something that took me a long time to get used to doing. I had heard this piece of advice a lot when I was writing my very first scripts, and despite all of the heroes of mine I was hearing say it, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was always an edit-as-I-go writer. It made me feel better about my work in the moment, but by the time I was actually done with a draft, my “final edits” from months ago were outdated already, and I had to start over anyway. This is super duper draining, and you should avoid doing it as much as possible.
No matter what, the first draft that you finish won’t be your last, so try your absolute hardest to just vomit all of your thoughts onto the page just to get something done with a through line. If there are any editors out there, think of it like an assembly cut for a film. Everything is on the table, and all you have to do now is cut it down and make it pretty.
A Beginner’s Guide to Arts Council Ireland and Words Ireland Funding for Authors
breakingac.com – Monday August 31, 2026
Breaking into the writing world is hard enough without worrying about how to pay your bills while you finish a manuscript. The good news for anyone based in Ireland is that there’s real, structured financial support available; you just need to know where to look. Two names come up again and again in this space: Arts Council Ireland and Words Ireland. Together, they form the backbone of financial and developmental support for writers, and understanding how they work is the first step toward building a sustainable writing career.
This guide walks you through both organisations, the funding options they offer, and how they connect to the wider landscape of book publishers Ireland relies on to bring new voices into print.
Why Funding Matters for Emerging Authors
Writing a book takes time often years. Most authors can’t simply quit their day job and write full-time without some form of financial cushion. That’s where public funding bodies step in. Arts Council Ireland exists precisely to fill this gap, offering grants, bursaries, and awards that let writers dedicate real time to their craft instead of squeezing it into evenings and weekends. A well-funded writer is also a more attractive prospect for book publishers Ireland has to offer, since a completed, well-developed manuscript is far easier to place than a half-finished draft.
The Desert Masterpiece: Why ‘Dune’ Is the Novel That Changed Sci-Fi Forever
parade.com – Monday August 31, 2026
Dune‘s place in literary history has been debated, but it is generally regarded as one of the first major science fiction epics. As reported by The Guardian, prior to Dune’s release in 1965, the sci-fi genre was mostly comprised of short stories, and Dune is anything but short. Perhaps as a result of its length, the novel is also credited as being the first sci-fi novel to do such extensive world-building and bring in more literary themes, such as social hierarchies, war and religion.
It’s not surprising, then, that Dune won the first-ever Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965. It also won the Hugo Award in 1966 for Best Novel, which recognizes the best of science fiction (it tied with the book …And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny).
The book is also frequently compared to Lord of the Rings because of its scope and detail. In fact, per The Guardian, when it was first published in 1965, the book featured this quote from science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke: “I know nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings.”
How to make a bestseller: insiders reveal the tricks of the book trade
theguardian.com – Saturday August 29, 2026
Think about the last book you bought. How did you choose it? Was it from a recommendation, a review, a TikTok video? Did the cover grab you, were you swayed by the quotes on the front, or did you just happen to spot it on an appealing table as you walked into the shop? Did you think about all the nudges that led you to that decision – by the publisher, the bookseller or that person you follow on Insta?
The reality is that our reading choices are directed and massaged at every turn. “It’s all about the art of persuasion,” says Philip Gwyn Jones, who was a publisher for more than 30 years and is now a literary agent. And who are the persuaders? They’re the booksellers, the supermarket stock buyers, the publishing houses and their ranks of marketers and publicists. And, more recently, persuasion often comes from BookTokers and online influencers, social media videos, podcasts and Instagram posts. How is all this changing publishing?
We all judge books to some extent by their covers, but did you know how much thought goes into finding just the right cover, colour, font and design? These covers are focus-grouped, shown to supermarket buyers and often changed at their behest, according to Jamie Keenan, one of Britain’s leading book designers. “That happens quite a lot,” he says. “If Tesco with commercial books, or Waterstones with literary stuff, don’t like it, they’ve got a tremendous amount of clout.” (Waterstones and Tesco declined to speak to me for this piece.)
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