{"id":85,"date":"2010-07-13T03:14:33","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T03:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/zombielapdance\/2010\/07\/13\/helmut-finch-how-to\/"},"modified":"2012-08-17T05:23:54","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T05:23:54","slug":"helmut-finch-how-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/zombielapdance\/2010\/07\/13\/helmut-finch-how-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Helmut Finch: How To"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little while ago, I released the Helmut Finch mythos<\/a> into the public domain. This was a response to the frequent call for more Helmut Finch stories that follow anyone hearing the Pseudopod performance of "Hometown Horrible."<\/a><\/p>\n

So the question has arisen, what makes a story a Helmut Finch mythos story, and not just an homage to Lovecraft? (The original story is frequently interpreted as a Lovecraft homage, although that is not entirely correct, Lovecraftian flare is just how I write by default.) <\/p>\n

For one thing, a Helmut Finch story could be a fleshing-out of the story synopsis presented in "Hometown Horrible." So automatically a story about the Candy Dog or the Cornstalk Witch would be a Helmut Finch mythos story.<\/p>\n

But if the Helmut Finch story didn’t start from those ideas, which is a very intriguing prospect, then where does the story come from? Period piece writing and a strong emphasis on the horror of memetic themes is a good start.<\/p>\n

But I think the best signifier of a Helmut Finch story would be offhand references to Wisconsin. Now you might be thinking, surely one would have to be a longtime resident of Wisconsin, or at least have visited it once or twice to make cagey references.<\/p>\n

Sadly, this is not the case. Wisconsin is the most banal of all states. If you want to give your story a little Wisconsin color, just make a reference to some of the weird town names like Sheboygan or Beloit. Or maybe have your characters drinking a Wisconsin beer like Leinenkugel’s or Berghoff while eating cheese curds. And if you’re extra good at research, include some strangely detailed knowledge of dairy pricing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A little while ago, I released the Helmut Finch mythos into the public domain. This was a response to the frequent call for more Helmut Finch stories that follow anyone hearing the Pseudopod performance of "Hometown Horrible." 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