 Horror/Scary: January 24, 2018 Issue [#8714] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Writing Horror Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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Quotes from Stephen King:
If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.
The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them.
Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.
Either get busy living or get busy dying
The road to hell is paved with adverbs.
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Writing Horror
I guess the best way to write horror is to write about something that really scares you. You know, like killer clowns, or giant spiders, psycho maniacs, or invisible aliens from Planet X, it doesn't matter as long as it scares you so that your fear comes out in your writing. If the spirits are moaning like someone blowing hot breath across a bottle top, if your character is in such pain that can only be described as a jagged wire being ripped through his veins and guts, or if your throat has been cut by such a sharp blade that it takes you a moment to figure out where all the blood is coming from, then you're off to a good start.
I approach a story like a painter (I start with a line, and then add another, and so on.) Often, my first line becomes my last.
The best horror stories share at least five elements in common:
They explore ‘malevolent’ or ‘wicked’ characters, deeds or phenomena.
They arouse feelings of fear, shock or disgust as well as the sense of the uncanny – things are not what they seem. There is a heightened sense of the unknown and/or mysterious.
They are intense (as the dictionary definition reminds us). Horror books convey intense emotion, mood, tone and environments. Together, these produce the sense that everything is charged with ominous possibility.
They contain scary and/or shocking and scintillating plot twists and story reveals (unlike episodes of the cartoon Scooby Doo, in which the bad guys are typically conniving realtors dressed as paranormal beings – ghosts, werewolves). In horror the ghosts and werewolves are very, very real.
They immerse readers in the macabre. Horror tends to deal with morbid situations, from repetitive cycles of violence to death-related uncanny scenarios. Zombies march, vampires make you join their legion, or (in subtler scenarios) long-dead friends or relations pay unexpected visits.
Until next we meet,
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Some Scary Stuff
The tall man slid the blade along the length of her spine, and watched the flesh part cleanly in its wake. He slipped his fingers into the opening, and under the tenderloin. This was the prize at the end of a long work day.
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I rounded the corner and shuffled into the kitchen, toward what I needed most, the coffee maker. I stopped suddenly and my heart skipped a beat. Someone was in the kitchen, her back toward me. I’m sure I let out a short yelp, or maybe a scream, but she didn’t move or turn to face me. She was obviously elderly, with wispy, short white hair, and she was wearing an old-style housecoat that fluttered about her skinny ankles and slippered feet.
Oh. I see you're reading my story, eh? Yeah, I got on the net and found one of those 'writer networks' or whatever they're called. This one's pretty cool. It's called 'Writing Dot Com'. You can write whatever you want: stories, poems, essays, anything at all. And then you can put them out there and have people review your work. It's pretty neat.
“Poe wrote that the most sublime subject in literature is the death of a beautiful woman, the only topic worthy of poetry,” Agnes said, smiling down at Anna. She straddled the young woman’s waist on her bed, caressing her cheek. “Have you heard that?”
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“Uh, huh. It’s the second from the top,” Isabella said. “I’m working on my Butcher, Baker, Candlestick maker badge. We learn about jobs our families do all around the city. Miss Betty say's it's the most important badge of all ‘cause it shows what the real world's like.” She crinkled her nose and shivered. “It’s a really gross one too. Anyway,” she glanced down at her pad. “Your total comes to 217 dollars and fifty-two cents. We’ll be back on…” she paused to consult her clipboard, “November seventh to deliver all your stuff. That’s three weeks from today.” She looked up, a wide smile on her innocent face.
There are dreams that hide inside us like bats in a cave, dreams that know only the night and feed upon the pale glow of the moon; bad dreams, that have made a vessel of the darkness and sail across the long nights looking for someone they can inhabit. Terrifying dreams, that enter us like a cold wind and dwell there driving the dreamer to despair, madness, or even death. Most of these dreams have never been told because words are unworthy of the task.
This is one of them.
You have been warned . . . . . |
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DEAD LETTERS
Osirantinous 
 Thanks so much for including my Christmas horror story! That was one of the first I wrote and I still love it (though I do feel a tad odd saying that, given the violence. Oh well.) That 'forcing her jaws open' bit you mentioned - actually... have you ever seen Event Horizon? One of the scariest movies I've watched (which isn't actually many, to be honest) and it has a freaky scene with that sort of thing going on like weird dentistry. Trust me, if you've ever had your mouth forced open and then blocked so you can't actually shut it - it's freakin terrifying!! Ah.... and today I got a reminder about my dentist check-up on the 11th.
Elfin Dragon-finally published 
I've been so behind on reading newsletters it's not funny. But this twist on Santa Claus sure was.  I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed it. |
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