Introducing #MWW24 Faculty Paula Ashe

12 Jun at 4:10 am

Meet Paula Ashe

Paula D. Ashe is a writer of dark fiction. Her debut short fiction collection, We Are Here to Hurt Each Other, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and won a Shirley Jackson award. Paula is a member of the Horror Writers Association and an Associate Editor for Vastarien: A Literary Journal as well as The North Meridian Review. She is represented by Lane Heymont at Tobias Literary Agency. Paula lives in the Midwest with her family.

Paula will be teaching “A Light at the End of the Labyrinth: Publishing in Horror “ and “From a Whisper to a Scream – Crafting Effective Dialogue in [Horror] Fiction” and participating in the panel, “Tuning out the Noise.” Her manuscript evaluation slots are sold out, but you can look for another team member on our manuscript evaluation page.

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Q&A with Paula

Paula Ashe is a dynamo. Her energy, enthusiasm, and sense of humor color every interaction I have with her, and her teaching style is no different. The sessions she offers will be enlightening for attendees of any genre!

MWW: I’m excited about your session on dialogue. Without typing up your entire session for us right here, can you give us a little insight into how dialogue shapes a character and shape an entire story?

PA: Thanks so much! Dialogue is crucial for both character and plot development. Dialogue tells us (both typographically and syntactically) so much about a character in terms of class, nationality, education, ethnic background and — perhaps most importantly — how all of those aspects of their identity interact with others around them. I’m really fascinated with Ian Reid’s novel Foe, where the quotation marks indicating dialogue are also part of the story. A number of writers do this, probably the most famous example is Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants. Back to my main point though, when I’m writing I always try to make my dialogue sound the way people actually speak as best I can. I think it can also help ease the pressure from big blocks of exposition. I have ADHD so giant blocks of text tend to do my brain in, so to speak. Finally, I think dialogue is so powerful when it comes to storytelling in terms of giving characters quirks that tell us so much about who they are and what they’re involved with. I absolutely love (as a horror writer) when a character’s dialogue changes in response to something that’s happened in the story. When done right, it’s like a kick to the guts. The impact is swift and the whole story swivels into new territory.

MWW: You’re going to be talking about publishing in horror—there’s all kinds of things happening in that genre! What can attendees take away from the session if they don’t write horror?

PA: I think while an individual’s genres may be…whatever they are, some of the baseline information about publishing is applicable to everyone. Things like doing the research, taking some risks, being as persistent as you can, connecting with and maintaining contact with insiders even if they may be outside of the wheelhouse of your work…are pretty universally useful strategies. Oh and perhaps most importantly, leveraging your social media. I know, I kinda hate social media too but…it has its purposes.

MWW: What are some of your best practices for coming to the page, getting butt in seat, doing the work of writing?

PA: Collaborative writing. Accountability partners. You don’t necessarily have to write a story with someone, but having a writer friend you can trust to bounce ideas around with is invaluable. Personally, I’ve really been struggling with doing the work but I have two incredible writing partners I work with and we do writing sprints where we write for a block of time (like twenty minutes) and then check in with each other. It’s helpful because they are reassuring me that just putting the words down is good enough (I’m a perfectionist) but I’m also reassuring them. It’s a dynamic that helps create and maintain some momentum. I want to make sure I keep up with them so I can have something to contribute to the check in period. It may seem silly, but it works.

MWW: Who are some authors who have influenced and/or inspired you?

PA: My big three are Clive Barker, Toni Morrison, and Elizabeth Massie, but there are so so many more but I’ll leave it at three for now.

MWW: What are some of your best practices for coming to the page, getting butt in seat, doing the work of writing?

Also check out Paula on Allen County Public Library’s podcast, “Pages and Voices”

Local author, Paula D. Ashe, shares about her journey to becoming an award-winning horror writer. She discusses her book of short stories, We are Here to Hurt Each Other, which was a 2022 Bram Stoker Award Nominee. She also gives tips and advice on learning and growing as a writer.

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