Bettyann Craddock Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Bettyann Craddock shares her experience in writing The Culling Dark and the reason why several publishing houses rejected her work -– an artful oxymoron.

Writing fictionally by inspiration is a deeply satisfying experience. The story as it unfolds becomes a frontier for the writer, the characters within the story alive, weaving themselves of their own volition for the author to record. It is a quickening experience, providing an irresistible impetus for the craft.

The writing of The Culling Dark was very much this sort of experience. The characters took on their own life, the progression of the narrative, the continual weaving of dream, was the result of watching and recording. When the members of Gamma escaped into the wilderness, their journey unfolded throughout, so that when they stood before the doors of Oz, I, too, felt in awe.

The craft of writing is the pursuit of tasty words that smack of truth. At times the words jump from finger tip to screen, at others it is a painful labour, the birth of them arriving only after great strain. When Major and L'Abri stand in the ruined square, and Major becomes spooked by the extent of the death that had occurred there, the descripting paragraph was such an effort.

Tone is everything in the narrative. The tone of the narrative in The Culling Dark is purposely, deceptively na&#...