Exploring the Shadows of Storytelling
Jon Richter discusses his passion for dark fiction, blending genres in Scarred, AI’s real-world implications, and his intricate storytelling process. He also shares insights on originality, narrative structure, and writing advice.
Jon Richter is a writer who thrives in the shadows, crafting dark fiction that spans crime thrillers, horror, science fiction, and fantasy. His novels, including Rabbit Hole, The Warden, and his latest release, Scarred, draw readers into unsettling worlds where tension and intrigue reign.
Beyond his writing, Richter explores the darker side of storytelling through podcasting, co-hosting Dark Natter and Hosts In The Shell, and even developing video games, most recently the comedy horror RPG Reanimation Ltd. In this interview, he discusses his inspirations, his fascination with AI’s impact on society, and the meticulous craft behind his uniquely chilling narratives.
What inspired you to write dark fiction, and how did you develop your unique storytelling style?
There was never a conscious decision; since I can remember being conscious, I have enjoyed dark stories, whether it was devouring Lord of the Rings as a child, playing sinister video games like text adventure Waxworks on my ZX Spectrum, or watching films like Robocop far too young!
It wasn’t just the scary and disturbing parts of these works that inspired me; I have always loved ingeniously crafted narratives that, ideally, have at least one mind-blowing twist! Even as a youngster I had an overwhelming urge to emulate these sorts of stories – giving my primary school teachers some cause for concern, I suspect – and to seek to evoke the same feelings of shock, surprise, and (occasional, I promise) distress in my readers.
Your newest novel Scarred combines fantasy elements with a bleak, post-apocalyptic setting. What drew you to this particular genre blend?
I have been fascinated for a long time by AI and its potential impact on our society (more on that below) and, without venturing too far into spoiler territory, I wanted to explore a world where those impacts were projected very, very far into the future. I have always enjoyed stories that combine science fiction elements with a ‘regression’ to archaic technology – from the gunblades of Final Fantasy VIII to the revolver-slinging anti-hero of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series – and believe my novel takes this idea in unexpected new directions.
Auxiliary explores a future where AI plays a dominant role in society. What are your thoughts on the real-world implications of AI in law enforcement and daily life?
The ongoing development of AI continues to surprise me. I fully expected, and still do, that AI would replace large swathes of the workforce, anyone engaged in repetitive work (even at the more highly-skilled end like accountancy or even surgery!) and that this will require a complete reshaping of our society when there are simply very few jobs left for humans to do. However, I did not anticipate that AI would also bleed into artistic endeavours like art and writing, which represents a huge challenge for ‘creatives’ like me – although I’d like to think that it pushes artists to be more innovative given that derivative, ‘cookie cutter’ work can now be replicated instantaneously by machines.
The other aspect that I, perhaps naively, did not predict was the way that technology would be so ruthlessly co-opted by self-centred and egomaniacal tech oligarchs. An obvious example is the recent mutation of Twitter from useful news and opinion platform to grotesque right-wing echo chamber; apply a similar trajectory to robotics or brain chips and we’re facing a cyberpunk dystopia much worse than the one anticipated in Auxiliary…
Many of your stories have psychological and philosophical undertones. Are there any particular themes or questions you find yourself revisiting in your work?
The impact of AI and technology on our world continues to intrigue me. As well as featuring in Scarred and Auxiliary, my techno-thriller The Warden also explores these ideas by setting the entire story inside a sealed ‘smart apartment’ building run by an AI. This novel was also, I believe, the first ever work of fiction set during COVID!
This leads to another idea that I find endlessly fascinating: the way humans and society react to unexpected external events and pressures. As an example, I recently became fascinated by Chernobyl and other nuclear disasters and near misses; the extent to which such a catastrophe would have completely transformed our lives cannot be overstated and, although a harrowing topic, it is certainly an inspirational one from a dark fiction perspective.
Your novel Chains features 35 different perspectives. How did you approach structuring such a complex narrative while maintaining suspense?
I mentioned above how important it is for writers to innovate; I see little point in churning out ‘typical’ genre fiction given that thousands of other writers, and now large language models, are more than capable of doing the same. The writing projects that inspire me these days are therefore those which seem unique in terms of subject matter or structure, so as soon as the idea came to me, Chains was a book I felt I simply had to write!
This sort of structure-centric project takes a lot more planning than others (more on this below…) and, given that I have worked in finance for 25 years, nothing beats a good old spreadsheet! It was essential that the plot moved along at pace, passing the perspective ‘baton’ from character to character, but also that the characters themselves were interesting and unique, and presented enough diversity in terms of background and perspectives. Hopefully I achieved this balance, but readers will be the judge of that!
What’s your writing process like? Do you meticulously plan your stories, or do you prefer a more organic approach?
I would describe myself as a ‘broad strokes planner’, dialling up the level of pre-work when the project requires it (as in the example above, or for The Warden where I needed a pretty detailed plan for the layout of the apartment building). A completely freeform ‘make it up as you go along’ approach is too inefficient for me, as there is much more scope for having to rewrite or abandon parts of the work, whereas if you plan excessively (e.g. writing endless amounts of character bios or worldbuilding text) there is a risk that the idea goes stale before you’ve ever actually started writing it! This is, of course, only what works for me – it’s amazing to meet other writers who have very different but equally effective processes.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors, particularly those looking to write in darker or more unconventional genres?
I can’t stress enough that originality is the key. Horror, fantasy and science fiction are riddled with tropes and cliches, and if you want to write something of artistic worth then you need to think beyond these, or to subvert them in a clever and original way. Don’t give me yet another cyberpunk story about rebels fighting an evil corporation; give me a novel about a benevolent corporation fighting evil rebels! (Hmmm… maybe that one needs a bit more workshopping…)
