Noir! Available to buy! « Thread Started on Aug 25, 2011, 12:44pm »
I had forgotten about the Noir anthology Chuck wanted to do, until the other day. I love this cover. This is the last of the books he wanted to do when he got home from Sturgis. We will do this in his honor. I look forward to submissions for this, as well as his other books.
Send submissions to author.chris@gmail.com with noir in the subject line.
No limit on words, just write a good Noir story and send it in.
Thank you to everyone, this is a very tough thing to do, but I'm sure the family will appreciate it, and Chuck, where ever he is.
Considering how I recently discovered my 20th Century vampire hunter stories would be classified in a sub-genre called Vampire Noir, maybe I could eventually submit something appropriate to this one.
Or maybe only some of them would qualify as Vampire Noir more than others, especially the still unpublished Jack Petrov novel (A Legacy of Blood).
Joined: Feb 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 159 Location: a small town, oregon, usa
Re: Noir! « Reply #5 on Aug 25, 2011, 1:59pm »
Ah.... Wiki has an article on the original Noir films that helps to define it, sadly, I don't think I can begin to write Noir yet... Maybe in a few months.
Noir is a class of story that looks at the gritty side of life. Often it involves corrupt, greedy characters pursuing unseemly ends. True, sometimes you might have a noble character like a Philip Marlowe who shines among the sordidness, but not always. And contrary to popular opinion, noir stories do not have to feature private eyes.
Noir stories, as well, do not need to be written in the style of Raymond Chandler. To even attempt to write like him is a lost cause. Write with your own voice.
For models of good noir writing (as far as short stories go), I would suggest either of the following:
Or look at the Akashic Noir website. They offer a series of noir short story anthologies that take place in various cities around the US and the world. I would suggest picking up a book that takes place in the city you're from or familiar with--just to see what the seedy side looks like, if you don't know already. I don't mean any disrespect by that. I'm from Seattle, and I'm certainly aware of the city's grimier aspects as well as of its not-so-honorable history.
If I'm not mistaken, I think the word "Noir" is French for "Dark" referring to the literature and cinema already cited and expertly defined above in other posts here.
That's right, John. This is especially noticeable in the period black-and-white movies, where darkness and shadows seem to predominate. But these days the word is mostly used to connote mood.
I want to amend something I said above. The noir protagonist doesn't necessarily have to be a greedy SOB, as I stated, although he or she can be. Sometimes the main character can simply be a person like you and me caught in desperate circumstances, which leads him (or her) to do desperate things.
The point is, noir stories are not happy. They're grim, realistic, and gritty. They are the direct antithesis of cozies.
And they don't have to take place in the forties, with five o'clock shadows and fedoras. Most of the stories in the sources I cited above take place in the here and now.
And sometimes they can even take place in the future, as exemplified by the film, "Blade Runner."
Dorothyd, writer, medium, editor, full member Fictioneer, lover of all horror writing.
Joined: Oct 2010 Gender: Female Posts: 2,862 Location: Isle of Wight, UK
Re: Noir! « Reply #12 on Aug 26, 2011, 6:29am »
definitely not for me. I'm not a big fan of gritty realism so anything I wrote would come out wrong. I still resent 'Blade Runner' as a title. 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep' is soooooo much better. But it wouldn't fit on the side of a bus, would it, for advertising?????????????????
Hey, Dorothy, you can always try pushing the envelope of the genre. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there's some fantastical noir out there. I'm just not aware of it. I think, really, the only requirement is that it have some dark edge to it. Something with elves and rabbits and lion kings probably wouldn't cut it.
Joined: Jan 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 175 Location: Chicago suburb - westerly
Re: Noir! « Reply #14 on Aug 26, 2011, 6:12pm »
She slipped into my office just as I was screwing the cap back onto a cheap bottle of vodka. I took one look at her and reversed the motion, unscrewing the cap while nodding to a chair. She was all made up the way I like, fresh paint on ivory flesh, with hair that hung like silk curtains beside her face, the color of really good beer. She sat. "So, are you going to write for the Noir anthology?" she asked as if she already knew the answer. I chugged from the bottle and wiped the rim with my sleeve, tilting the neck toward her, offering her a schluck. She smiled, shook her head slowly from side to side, squinted her eyes and licked her lips. "Oh, Hell yeah," I said, returning her smile, "I'm 'gonna write something real good."
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