BLOOD AND GUTS--HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH

"Violence is one of the most fun things to watch. I don't think Pulp Fiction is hard to watch at all."
Quentin Tarantino 

This is a popular opinion judging by the success of Tarantino's movies. True, some people find the portrayal of violence in his films horrifying and outright dangerous. I heard an interview on NPR in which Terri Gross asked him if he felt that his films contribute to the violence in our culture. His answer was that people know the difference between art and reality and that, yes, "violence is fun to watch."


Every writer has to find their comfort zone whether writing a screenplay, short story, novel, or news story. If you enjoy violent movies, video games, and novels, as a writer you'll no doubt have fewer inhibitions when it comes to creating those blood and guts scenes.

Reading mysteries is one of my pleasures. But I've always thought of it as a genre a little lower than that of the literary novel, one that demanded less talent and craft--until I decided to write a mystery myself. Then I discovered that any creative work demands all of the talent and craft a writer can muster.

When I wrote CRIMSON ICE and now in writing A KNIFE IN THE HEART I wanted my antagonist to be truly evil, a perpetrator of violence, a villain so vicious he must be overcome at all costs, yet when it comes to writing the climatic scenes I find that it is not an easy task.

How to make it feel real, without overdoing it? (I tend to think Tarantino's violence goes over the top, verging on the cartoonish). I didn't want to be derivative, merely imitating what I've read or seen on the screen.

Sometimes less is more. The hint of danger or impending violence can be more suspenseful and terrifying than the violence itself. As I wrote and rewrote my scenes of violent action I tried to create a sense of menace and danger and then an explosion of sorts without overdoing the bloodshed. The reader of course is the final judge of my degree of success.