 Horror/Scary: November 13, 2013 Issue [#5996] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Eek It's a Novel Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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| During a month focused on novel writing, it's fun to consider the possibility of that lengthy story, but there is a difference when it comes to writing novels versus writing short stories. A different that his novel writer can attest to first hand. In this week's newsletter we consider what makes the two versions of story telling different in relation to the specified genre. |
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I have never understood horror. Probably a strange way to start this newsletter but it's true. Even though I read RL Stine books when I was younger, as I grew older I never really immersed myself in the genre. That and well, horror just makes me think of my grandmother. (To clarify, she loves horror movies of any kind and that is what she prefers to watch. She isn't actually scary herself. Though she did have a really creepy velvet painting that I hated being in the same room as, especially at night.) But over the years, I have attempted to write horror, just as i attempted to write erotica, just to see if I could.
The answer is, not really. But why then write this newsletter. Well, thanks to a certain contest host who shall remain nameless (you know who you are) I made another horror attempt last month. The result came as so many of my fantasy and romance short stories do: a novel idea. Yep, my attempt at horror based off a stray sound of water dripping is now a full novel idea about a seer who gets claimed by a demon.
I am not much of a short story writer, which is where this article comes from, because there is quite a difference to a degree when it comes to writing short versus writing long. And since we are in the middle of National Novel Writing Month, now seems a good time to discuss some of the differences in relation to horror, which I will tackle as best I can.
The obvious difference is the word count. Short story won't often get much above 10,000 words in length and some get below 1,000 words. On the other hand, a novel is going to be at a low end close to maybe 50,000 words but in general you will be looking at 75,000 to 100,000 words for a full novel. Big difference right there. And it's not just the numerical factor. There is so much (or so little) you can do, depending your length preference. Word economy is very important in short fiction because you have a limited amount of space to get an entire story done.
Which brings me to timing. Timing is important in horror, I think. You have to time out the rise and fall of suspense, the thing that pricks at the reader's nerves and makes them worry for the characters. In a short story, you have to get not only the suspense but also the scary moments in before you run out of space. There can be an advantage in a quick scare because the reader doesn't have the time to be lulled into security. They need to know something is going on, something is creepy and soon.
Novels, however, have a little meander time. They allow for a bigger set up. Like the horror movie where you really get to know the house and some of the old stories that lead to the haunting that is now supposedly dormant and from there the little moments of creepiness work their way in. There is time to draw it out, to escalate the moments of panic, with a longer novel. There is also room for depth in character and plot. Not that short stories can't have such, but there is only so much one can do in 500 words.
But too much delay can have an adverse affect and become a disadvantage. A short story has less of a chance of being put down and forgotten. Lull the story too much with back setting and tangents and safety, the reader might set the book down and not remember to pick it up again. In general, a book has more chances of being put down because if the reader isn't into the book they may not want to give it another 100 pages. They want to see some pay off for the effort they put into the reading too, so it needs to catch and keep their attention, making them want more.
Some writers can do both. They can make a freaky tale in the zap of a flash fiction story, or they can make a lengthy drawn out scarefest that some would call a novel. As for me? It looks like I'll be tackling a supernatural suspense (dark, twisted almost horror) novel in the future. Whether you write for short stories or novels, have fun and keep on scaring.
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Here are some horror stories I ran across last month in my attempt at writing my own entry. Make sure to check them out and maybe stop by the contest some day to give it a try. It may not allow novels but nothing like a quick 1,000 word scream fit to get the ideas flowing. 
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I don't have feedback and probably won't be writing for this newsletter often but I am curious so I will ask a question here.
Do you prefer short stories or novels when it comes to horror?
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