How Watching Twin Peaks Can Enhance Your Writing and Storytelling

Every other year or so I sit down and re-watch the bizarre television phenomena that was Twin Peaks, and it always revives my appreciation for David Lynch’s strange genius. It was as eerie and captivating as The X-Files and True Detective (eh, season one maybe) and for a season or so it had the intense following of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad, and despite some amusing 80s-styled haircuts and clothing, the show holds up. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, with a bevy of other writers to help—including Emmy nominee Harley Peyton, Saturn nominee Robert Engels, Barry Pullman, Tricia Brock, and others—the show became known for its blend of murder mystery tropes, soap opera camp, and spectacularly eerie dream sequences that included a dwarf talking backwards, flashing lights, a giant, white horses, and hip jazz numbers.

Most of all, Twin Peaks was (and remains) a storytelling playland where writers can discover all manner of tips and tricks for their own use. Here are some things that I found helpful with my own writing, and maybe they’ll help you too. Yes, many of these pertain to mystery, crime, noir, and horror stories, but you never know when you might be able to add elements of those genres into your own stories.

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The Pros and Cons of Writing in the Presence of a Pet

While visiting home recently, it hit me how much more I enjoy the writing process when the family dog is lying at my feet. My pal Rocky, our yellow lab, has become my writing sidekick when I’m visiting upstate NY, and there are definite pros and cons to his watchful eye…I also used to live with cats too (eh, not as big a fan) and I found many similar pros and cons. Let me know if I missed any!

Pro: They’re always there to listen when you need to ramble about a passage or character, and I do sometimes ramble on about places in a story where I’m stuck when no one else is around. It helps clear out the head and get things straight with a willing (if captive) audience.

Con: They always think your idea is a great idea, so the feedback quality isn’t exactly “professional grade.” But hey, we all need cheerleaders, even those happily watching us write ourselves into infinite corners.

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My Top 3: Throwback Breakfast Cereals

I was a big time cereal eater in my day, and I still enjoy popping open a box of Trix or Cap’n Crunch every now and then to recapture that feeling of Saturday morning cartoons and multiple bowls of sugar-saturated cereal before anyone else was up. The 80s, in my opinion, was the champion decade for kid’s cereals, and here my favorites from my childhood. Feel free to mail me a box and I’ll love you forever.  

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Giveaway: What Lies In Wait, Special Digital Edition

To celebrate Independence Day, I'm giving away FREE digital copies of a special edition of What Lies In Wait from now to the end of the day on July 5. The ebook is available as a PDF, EPUB, or MOBI file, and to get one all you need to do is email me at jhdwriting@hotmail.com, leave a comment below, or message me on Facebook and I will reach out with the free file. It contains 114 pages of fiction, including the first three stories that appear in the full version of What Lies In Wait:

"Game of Life": A young woman decided to spend a summer in a remote fire tower, reveling in her isolation and determined to prove she can overcome such a challenge. But when her radio stops working and the weekly supply drops stop appearing at the foot of the mountain, she worries that something is wrong. When she convinces herself to walk back into town, she finds barren streets, abandoned homes, and a fate worse than total isolation.

"Hell or High Water": Deep in the woods of Maine, a lumberjack receives word that his family is dead, all but his young son. While catching a ride home from an outback pilot, the lumberjack wakes from a crash landing to discover he is trapped in the remote wilderness. What's worse, something out in the darkness is following him, and it's hungry.

"Bannerman Sanatorium for Children": A violent pandemic is sweeping the region, and one mother fights to reach the remote sanatorium where her deaf-mute child receives special care. But when she arrives, she finds the pandemic has not spared the sanatorium's staff and patients, and she is torn between staying in the eerie, perhaps haunted facility to help or escape into the woods with a band of survivors.      

The full version of the book is available at Amazon.com, and don't forget to look the book up on Goodreads. Your reviews and ratings help a lot! Thanks very much for your support! 

My Top 3: Old School Sega Genesis Games

While I actually have a little more childhood nostalgia for my original Nintendo system, the Sega Genesis system I eventually received one Christmas is tied to a lot of fond memories I have of being an early teen, especially memories involving my dad. He got one too so we could play together when my sister and I would go visit him in the summers, and we had a blast. When visiting him recently, we found that old Sega in storage and I played the devil out of it. Here are the three games that—even after all these years—are still an amazing way to kill a rainy afternoon.

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A New Review of What Lies In Wait Now at Buffalo Almanack

The right honorable David S. Atkinson has written a wonderful review of my new short story collection What Lies In Wait, now posted over at Buffalo Almanack, and I'm very happy that David reviewed the book because I really feel like he gets what I was going for in the collection. In his own words:

"The stories in this collection demonstrate Duncan’s wandering spirit in the impressive variety of ways that he explores the meaning behind his title. ... Considering the title on its own, someone unfamiliar with Duncan might expect this to be a collection of horror stories. Yet Duncan’s work resists genre, as his words pass through the conventions of apocalypse, noir, whimsy, zombie alternate history, and the uncanny. What Lies In Wait shows that though Duncan can maintain a focus, he doesn’t stay in one place for very long."

What Lies In Wait does cover a wide variety of styles and genres, but I'm glad he saw the thread that runs through the book, the idea that none of us knows what might be waiting for us right around the corner of this human experience; maybe something good, maybe something evil and hungry, or maybe its the discovery of our truest selves. One thing is for certain: once we cross that line and make that discovery, there's no going back. 

Read the full review right here!

Copies are available online at Amazon.com. 

My Top 3: Humphrey Bogart Movies

Bogie. The Hump. Mr. Sam Spade himself. He’s been one of my favorite film stars ever since my dad started letting me watch some of Bogart's black-and-white classics when I’d visit him over the summer in middle school. I was always drawn to his casual bravado and endless confidence, and he mastered and trademarked the archetype of the law-bending detective with a shady past but a heart of gold. Far too many of his amazing roles will not make this list, but here are the ones that mean the most to me.

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My Top 3: Writer's Digest Books

During my time as a Writer’s Digest book editor, I had the pleasure of shepherding a tall stack of books into the world, and each taught me valuable lessons about writing (it’s hard not to pick up some cues when you’re neck deep in writing advice night and day), and some were a lot of fun to edit, too. The following books were especially enjoyable, written by talented, fun, whip-smart people who really cared about helping other writers write better (and sometimes just to write). All these books are definitely worth picking up, and that’s coming from a guy who doesn’t even work there anymore, so you know it’s not some PR smoke and mirrors act. Enjoy!

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