 Horror/Scary: September 02, 2009 Issue [#3253] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Welcome to this week's WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter ~ where the mundane takes a back seat to the realm of the unknown, a realm of limitless possibilities. When I listen, sometimes I even hear.
All that I see or seem is but a dream within a dream
...quoth the Raven, nevermore
Edgar Alan Poe
Foremost in a work of horror, I believe, is the writer's ability to provoke fear or terror in readers - a sense of dread or anxiety from a given image - tangible or envisioned - a foreshadowing of impending doom. Let's explore some items which may give us a head start along the way.
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| ASIN: B000FC0SIM |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
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Greetings, fellow afficionados of the dark, speculative world of horror. I propose to you that a good horror story, in prose or verse, is a poetry, a conversation between the writer and reader. The depth of perception and detail in horror is like that in a poem. Horror evokes a sense of terror, a mood, that draws the reader into the otherworld the writer creates, whether that 'otherworld' be somebody's backyard or a world envisioned in outer space, or even another realm.
Think about it, don't you find yourself whispering aloud or mouthing the words in a really vivid horror story (prose or verse)? Reading aloud to taste the words and sense the image being created. This is the 'dialogue' between writer and reader, and I think it's most dynamic in horror fiction. What causes me to cringe may be ordinary to you, but if I present it so that you can see it with my eyes; smell, touch, taste and hear it as I do, by use of words, then you can sense my horror and enter my 'otherworld,' creating our conversation.
Foremost in a work of horror, I believe, is the writer's ability to provoke fear or terror in readers - a sense of dread or anxiety from the opening image, a foreshadowing of impending doom. This is done by engaging the senses, including the mind, with vivid images.
 I think horror in all its versatile forms (subgenres) is two stories, whether presented in verse or prose - the story of both the main character, and that of his/her environment or surroundings. The setting is inscribed by the writer with a personality of its own, which interacts with that of the character(s) engaged with the surroundings.
The horror tale takes the reader on a journey where the ordinary becomes unfamiliar as it gets entangled with supernatural or surreal elements; a common, known entity, item, or place becomes unfamiliar, alien to the character (and reader).
Horror tales explore the dark, malevolent side of humanity, whether or not the characters are human. The tone or mood of the tale quickly becomes bleak and menacing, eliciting an immediate visceral response by the reader.
The main character is one to whom/what the reader can relate or in some way understand, feel kinship or empathy for, as they (character and reader) tread deeper into the tale.
Lives often depend on the protagonist's success in surmounting or destroying the cause of the horror, as he/she encounters frightening and unexpected events or influences.
There is violence, either served directly upon the protagonist, or characters he/she encounters.
Most horror stories are conveyed in third person, even if from multiple characters' perspective, in a plain, clean style. This also affords the writer the option to expand description of the setting (the other character I noted earlier) to evoke dread or foreboding, making the ultimate horror believable, and memorable.
So, you see, with all its versatility, horror writing does have common elements, ways in which the writer evokes horror in the reader
Because of this versatility, horror stories fit well a number of platforms - in verse and prose. An epic poem or short form poem can each evoke a sense of horror (yes, read aloud), as can a novella or short story and, of course, a novel.
I think a longer short story or novella is a great vehicle for a horror story, affording the writer to develop both characters, the protagonists and the setting (atmosphere), as is an epic poem.
The novella, generally between 10,000 and 40,000 words, focusing on a single issue, affords the writer the opportunity to develop in depth the protagonist as well as the environs which he/she must encounter - and survive. Consider the story of the haunted forest as well as the hiker who loses his/her compass and has to cross through the tangled underbrush, long-buried fire pits, whatever else the forest has collected over time. In a novella, both 'characters,' the sentient mortal and the living forest, have a chance at fair combat - which will survive the 'horror.' Do you sense an epic here? in verse or prose?
If you've a story you think will speak horror to readers, consider the following publisher, which accepts submissions from recognized and emerging writers in varying lengths: short stories, novellas, and books.
Until we next meet,
Keep Writing!
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I offer the following tales in verse and prose for your reading pleasure. See if you can join the conversation in these 'otherworlds' of horror and fright created by members of our Community; and answer back with a review perhaps?
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#1593425 by Not Available. |
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Why not accept one of these challenges in verse and/or prose to start a conversation in an 'otherworld' where horror rules the day (and night)
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#957464 by Not Available. |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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| ASIN: B07YXBT9JT |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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Thank you for this time of safe respite in your virtual homes. Before I go I'd like to share some replies to my question last month - what creates a feeling of horror for you? The replies are as versatile as the forms of horror are unique and multi-faceted
From Jaye P. Marshall
Great newsletter, Kate.
In answer to your question, I think what terrifies me most in the "normal" person with the deranged mind.
Thank you, I like the quotes on "normal" ~ someone walking among us who appears like everyone else, but .... Great image for a story or poem
From sarahreed
What terrifies me the most is thought of my husband dying. There are nights that I wake from nightmares, turn to him and don't see his chest moving. Most of the time, I calm myself and hear his soft breathing; but one night I did wake him up, unable to hear his breathing. He was kind enough to cuddle me back to sleep.
Wow, thank you for sharing such a vivid and personal fear. The fear of losing someone we are bonded with, one we love, be it parent, spouse, child, often drives us to acts of bravery, or treachery, in order to hold fast that bond. Epics and tragedies are woven of such deep bonds.
From darkskye 
I've always loved that quote by Edgar Allen Poe. Dreams are a perfect place to get stories from. This newsletter was great. Thanks for including my item as well! Take care,
Darkskye
Thanks for the encouragement ~ dreams day or night incite the Muse Creative ~ Keep Writing!
Until we next meet,
Keep Writing!
Kate |
| ASIN: B07NPKP5BF |
Product Type: Toys & Games
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
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