Horror/Scary: June 02, 2021 Issue [#10744]
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 This week: Clichés
  Edited by: Lilith 🎄 Christmas Cheer Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

“I do not love men: I love what devours them.”
~ André Gide

Horror is, above all other things, about evoking feelings of fear or dread.

It does not have to have thrills and “jump scares.” It does not have to be about monsters, demons, and evil deities.

You could have a horror about a cubicle employee, filled with dread about a wave of downsizing that he knows is coming.


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Sick of the same ol’ vampires and boogiemen? Are you afraid that you, yourself, might be using old horror cliches? It’s important to understand why common horror themes are common. Because of its long and bloody history, and its mass appeal, it's not easy to break new ground in the Horror genre. New horror writers must be aware of the numerous tropes, themes, and key storytelling elements that have haunted horror authors for centuries. But, people want to read fresh new stories, not the same old tropes that have been beaten to death.

People like to be frightened. If they didn't, Stephen King wouldn't have a thousand novels and you wouldn't find every horror film ever made running on television. Horror has adapted. You can still find the slasher movies and those "gross-out" moments that King references. But it's mental now. "Found footage" movies can be terrifying because it seems so normal, so every day. The more real, the better. And the scarier. It's the dark basement where the only thing you can hear is the beating of your own heart. That's real horror. The kind of stuff that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up as if someone was standing inches behind you.

But writing horror isn't so easy. With any type of fiction, it's difficult to think of something that hasn't already been done. With horror fiction, it's especially true. Creepy basements, loud noises from the attic, hidden rooms, Indian burial grounds, old hotels, multiple personality disorder, the house that's for sale too cheaply, the guy who must be working nights because he sleeps during the day, the attic room the landlady keeps locked, etc. It's all been done before, and it's all out there. These clichés shouldn't restrain you, however. They've simply defined the space you're working in. You know what's there, now create your own story.



Editor's Picks

 
Image Protector
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Foe Open in new Window. (18+)
A serial killer makes his last intervention.
#1786676 by Orion69 Author IconMail Icon

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BOOK
Daily Screams Open in new Window. (GC)
A shelf to tidy up entries. Unless you are a SCREAMS judge, please read INTRO first.
#2147834 by ~MM~ Author IconMail Icon

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This item number is not valid.
#2204209 by Not Available.

Needles Open in new Window. (13+)
Need I Say More?
#1964049 by Angus Author IconMail Icon

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Bootsy Open in new Window. (18+)
A grave encounter.
#2186764 by Bilal Latif Author IconMail Icon

 
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The Runaway Open in new Window. (13+)
Whatever it had been, the narrow hall was now stacked with humming vending machines.
#2248807 by Tileira Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer


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