Jack Latreille

Hello, all

I know it’s been a little bit, but I’m here to pull things back on track for myself. Looking forward, I’m going to be moving my update posting schedule from Sunday and Thursday to Sunday and Monday.  I have a short story that will be released here by the end of the month.

I wanted to talk a little bit about the difficult balance of theme in a story, mainly when it comes to works in the realm of speculative fiction. Generally, I don’t write because I necessarily believe I have something important to tell the world. I write to entertain. I hope that the stories I write draw people in and excite them. As such, I believe I and many other fantasy or science fiction writers write simply to tell a fun tale. I do believe, oftentimes, that a theme or motif usually emerges in the telling of any story. For example, The Loon’s Call is very much a story about sin. Henry and his friends are not the worst people in the world, but their group dynamic is harsh. Sure, most friends bicker and joke around, but in Henry’s group of friends, it feels like the jokes are very much targeted at each other’s insecurities. There’s also the convenience store robbery that they atone for at the end.

I would say that the story began with the trope of teenagers visiting the woods and stumbling upon something they shouldn’t have. This trope can be seen everywhere in the horror movie side of pop culture, and I just wanted to give my own spin on that. The guilt element arrived as I moved through the drafting process, and I felt like that contributed to a more natural story. I suppose that what I’m saying is, that when you’re writing speculative fiction, it often makes sense to just start with what seems fun, and the themes and motifs will emerge organically.

That’s all for now. I look forward to sharing my work with you all in the future.