Writing Horror

I hate horror. I detest it. Horror is a loathsome, acrid genre. I fear the insomnia that follows upon the reading of a horror novel or any scene involving grotesqueness. Lying in bed, in the dark, imagining what lies where light is not, scares me. Yet I read Writing Horror because my dad recommended it. He qualified it as a writing guide that applies not only to horror but to all genres. I braved it and found that the book wasn't just good: it was really, darned good. You'd expect a book written by a bunch of writers to be at least moderately tolerable. And it was, in fact. It was (obviously) very well written. Although you've probably heard this a bunch of times before, I'll say it again, just for the record. Heck, it was explanatory, too, but isn't that what you'd expect from a WRITING GUIDE? If that's the sort of book you're interested in, you'll like it. From Writing Horror, I learned five things. Actually, these are the five things I remember well. 1. When writing dialogue, spice it up. Don't just say, "I want to bite you!" Joe shouted. Say something like, "I want to bite you!" Joe's voice shook with rage. Instead of using `shouted' or `said' or other speech tags, I used a set of words that illustrated the scene involving Joe without using a speech tag. 2. Before starting a story, make a character sketch. Include everything you'll need to know: birth date, birthplace, parents, current residence, etc. Also include the things you won't need to know: political preference, food choice, footwear style or even favorite color. Then, when you're writing your story, you can refer to your character sketch for any information you need. Think about it. Someone who eats Weight WatchersÒ is probably going to be at least slightly different from someone who's on the Krispy KremeÒ diet. (And by character sketch, I don't mean drawing unless you feel you're a good artist.) 3. When writing action, right at the peak of the climax, say something short but direct such as: Steam streamed from Joe's ears. His teeth gritted with the sound of a jackhammer. His face had gone beyond purple to an unnatural black. Then, Joe erupted. An arm and a toe, then a lung landed. People screamed, blah, blah, blah. You see how I put in a simple but informative line, three words long. Then, Joe erupted. We can all see that. Well, we'd rather not. So in action scenes, try this. (Hint: Think of it as a headline: short but sweet.) 4. Make sure your story is correct. Check for both obvious mistakes and deeper plot mistakes. For example, you couldn't really expect anyone who hangs around McDonalds all day to look emaciated. 5. When writing children's/teen horror, make sure to put the gore offstage. Don't put a character getting gutted right in front of the readers' eyes. Leave some clues as to what happened to them but not the actual graphic. After all, you're not trying to twist children's minds. Or are you? These are five - well, at least four - important things to remember

I highly recommend this one. If you really want to make a living writing this fiction in this frowned upon genre you can avoid a lot of worn cliches and come up with something unique and... Hmm, what's that other word? Oh, yeah, SCARY!

"Yet talent, not excluding genius, may flourish in any genre -- provided it is not stigmatized by that deadly label 'genre.'" -- Joyce Carol Oates The Horror Writers Association is home to some of the best and brightest writers of dark fiction today. Now with the publication of this handbook, they share the secrets of their craft. Edited by Mort Castle, author of eight novels and former instructor with Writer's Digest School, Writing Horror gives the aspiring author the insider's knowledge needed to write and market his or her work in this special field.We find here a brief history of the Horror Writers Association by Stanley Wiater, and Joyce Carol Oates tells us why we need horror fiction, and how it helps us see the truth behind the lies. Included are chapters on characterization, setting, dialogue and that all important question: where to find story ideas. Robert Weinberg provides a list of "must read" books to find out what has been done, and Karen E. Taylor tells writers how to bring traditional horror into the twenty-first century. Jack Ketchum writes an insightful chapter on visceral horror: how to create reader empathy for characters and the writer's duty to add the details that make the scenes come alive. We find chapters on finding agents and marking short stories in the professional, small press and Internet markets.Don D'Auria, editor for leisure books, and Richard Chizmar, editor of Cemetery Dance Magazine and CD Publishing, give us the editors' prospective.Then there is a great interview with Stephen King about his serial novel, The Green Mile, and a wonderfully telling story entitled "Quiet Lies the Locust Tells" by Harlan Ellison. A real 'think piece.' Writing Horror is a much needed instruction manual for the aspiring horror writer written by the authors who know the art and craft best. But it's much more than that. It's entertaining and easy to read and it gives the reader an inside look at how the authors go about constructing their own stories. The amazing thing about this book is how these writers were able to pack so much information into one volume.This is a 'must read' for beginning writers and a refresher course for working authors.Highly recommended.

I bought this book after Mort challenged me to write horror again, I had no idea when I bought it that he had edited it, I saw the title, thought I struck gold, and bought it right away. The information inside has proved invaluable to me, if gives many different (sometimes opposing) viewpoints of many, many authors in the genre. I wholeheartedly recomend this book, not only for the up-and-coming horror writer, but also for the expert. It is true that there are some portions of the book that seem to take up space, but it is nothing more than interviews from established writer's (like Stephen King) and the history of the HWA and horror itself. Although, most of these provide no writing advice, they let you know where horror has been, and how not to repeat it, so that you can sell your work to an editor, something that they, possibly, have never seen before. If you still are not sure of whether or not you want this book after reading this review, or any of the others, log-off, get up and go to (...) whatever bookstore you go to, look for this book, and read through a few of the articles (not neccessarily in order, skip around if you want) and then decide for yourself. :)

A fountain of info for the fledgling horror writer. Excellant article on dialogue by David Morrell. For the most part, it's a wonderful book, but some of the articles are less than helpful and a tad repetitive. Some of the info has been lifted from the other so-called "How To" horror books. A great book nonetheless. Buy it with J.N Williamson's "How To Write Tales Of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction" and Stanley Wiater's "Dark Thoughts: On Writing" for a clear and concise understanding of horror writing.