Reader, writer, characters: A terrific triad

“The interesting thing about fiction from a writer's standpoint is that the characters come to life within you. And yet who are they and where are they? They seem to have as much or more vitality and complexity as the people around you.” – Whitley Strieber

Born in San Antonio, TX, on this date in 1945, Strieber has split his writing talents between horror stories, science fiction, and speculative fiction with a social conscience – interrupted (both literally and figuratively) by his nonfiction account of being abducted by “non-human visitors.”   That particular book, Communion, while pooh-poohed as “improbable if not impossible,” was a huge bestseller and a subsequent successful big screen adaptation. 

Two of his other books, The Wolfen and The Hunger,         also were made into successful films.  Still going strong at age 72, Strieber had three books out in 2016, including the acclaimed Sci-Fi book Hunters, now set to be made into a new series for the SyFy Channel.

As for what makes for successful writing?   “The truth is, everything ultimately comes down to the relationship between the reader and the writer and the characters,” Strieber said.   “Does or does not a character address moral being in a universal and important way? If it does, then it's literature.”

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