How to Write Lovecraftian Fiction

Perhaps no other singular writer has had a more vital affect on the field of weird horror fiction than Howard Philips Lovecraft. Following in the wake of Lovecraft's mostly posthumous success, many writers of weird horror and fantasy have taken up the task of producing Lovecraftian fiction. In this article, we will discuss some general guidelines about how to write Lovecraftian fiction.

Lovecraft largely wrote in a subgenre he himself labelled "cosmic horror". His central body of work suggests a cosmic history extending far beyond the knowledge of humanity. His universe is populated by discrete huge entities known as "The Elder Gods" and "The Great Old Ones". Next to these alien races, mankind appears historically insignificant and technologically primitive.

Love Craft

There are many respects in which a piece of fiction could be said to be "Lovecraftian". Firstly, the story might deal with well these kinds of vast alien intelligences operating beyond the human sphere of knowledge. A story might also be determined Lovecraftian with respect to the atheistic worldview espoused by Lovecraft in his fiction - that humans are merely soulless, insignificant animals in the greater cosmic scheme. Lovecraft himself referred to this philosophical position as "mechanistic materialism". In this way, Lovecraft implicitly challenged the ingrained assumption that the magical necessitated the supernatural. His Elder Gods were not true gods, but aliens sufficiently influential, considerable and knowledgeable to be worshipped as such by humankind.

How to Write Lovecraftian Fiction

Another respect in which a story might be determined Lovecraftian is the use of language. As a self-styled antiquarian, Lovecraft used many terms that were determined archaic in his own lifetime. Many Lovecraftian imitators hope to transport something by employing idiomatic words and spellings from the Lovecraftian oeuvre, such as "eldritch" and "connexion". But while this can go some way in providing flavour to a story, it is not by itself enough to yield a worthwhile contribution to the field.

If you are wanting to lead to the definite mythology of the Lovecraftian universe (also sometimes referred to as "The Cthulhu Mythos") then you could plainly write a tale featuring the entities and cosmic backdrop Lovecraft himself did. Many writers, both pro and amateur, have shaped a large body of Mythos fiction. However, with so many imitators of Lovecraft's style and language, the kinds of fiction that become customary need to have some distinctive feature. Stories which are well Lovecraftian could be said to import something essentially Lovecraftian to a novel setting, contribution a new take or a new twist.

A true contribution to literature of a Lovecraftian "spirit" will need something beyond mere imitation of archaisms, settings or names. Aspiring Lovecraftian writers would do well to ask themselves what it was that Lovecraft was trying to achieve in his fiction. Beyond the trappings of the Lovecraft tale, what is the essence of what he was trying to chronicle in his stories of cosmic horror? What today is the relevance of what Lovecraft was saying? Can this alarming worldview be imported to a new setting, with new kinds of characters and locations? To be successful in writing Lovecraftian fiction, the aspiring writer needs above all else to read Lovecraft and to internalise the meaning and significance of his work. Only when a writer has a true bearing of the direction from which Lovecraft speaks can they gather a deeper comprehension of how to write Lovecraftian fiction.

How to Write Lovecraftian Fiction

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