Remove this ad
avatar

8281220

Super Writer

Posts: 369

Lead

Aug 9 07 12:45 PM

Tags : :

OK - Let me explain what I'm trying to get at here.

I only read horror as a teenager and in my early adult years before switching to fantasy as my main stay.

Eight months ago (time flies) I decided to start writing seriously. I started by penning a full blown fantasy epic novel. Volume one took six of those months to complete. Then I found FictionFactor. I have since been refining my skills in the short story areas.

Naturally I started writing short fantasy. (Badly as it turns out) Slowly I got better at it. I tried switching to Sci-Fi and found that a little easier as long as I kept it near future. Still way too far from passable efforts mind you. Then I fell into horror. Every story I have written that involves someone dying, seems better than the last, to the point where I can't wait to write the next one.

I'm learning all sorts about scene setting, suspense, character driven plots, different ways of killing people - oh -- wait, that isn't supposed to be a good thing. I'm coming to grips with dialogue and starting to feel pretty good about myself.

Even the crits of my early work are encouraging - mainly

Now ordinarily I'm a fairly level headed type of fella. I work with computer servers for crying out loud. Not really enthralling stuff. And out of my head pops the most gruesome things now.

I have a friend at work who now refuses to read my stuff since I knocked off a grandfather and his grandson in one of my earlier efforts.

Am I normal? Are there others out there? I know Fiction is an avid follower of the dark paths, is anyone else, and how did you get there?

fictionfactor/devil.gif fictionfactor/schizo.gif fictionfactor/hangman.gif fictionfactor/scream.gif

BT

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

Associate Editor for HorrorScope

Follow me as I progress through the Advanced Diploma of Arts for Professional Writing at my blog:
Musings Of An Aussie Writer

Quote    Reply   
Remove this ad
Remove this ad

#1 [url]

Aug 9 07 4:03 PM

I wouldn't worry about it. Look at all the incredibly grusome stories that are out there filled with horrible and disgusting acts. Those all came from someone's imagination. Horror writers are not out running around decapitating people in their spare time.
BUT... if you find that these thoughts are spilling over from your writing into your everyday thoughts then I'd say you have a problem. If you are concerned about yourself, book an appointment with a pshycologist and have an honest chat with them.

Quote    Reply   
avatar

fiction

Prolific Writer

Posts: 808

#2 [url]

Aug 10 07 3:06 AM

LOL!! I see where you're coming from bt_author.

I write a lot of really nasty horror. I can happily think up the most gruesome acts, create nasty monsters and beasts, and write about generally horrible things. I've even had to go to bed once or twice and sleep with the lights ON because what I've written scared me!! (that's a really sad confession) fictionfactor/oops.gif

Just because I'm capable of thinking them up doesn't mean I'll ever be physically be able to do any of them. I'm actually quite patient, boring and normal in person. I'm a banker, for goodness sake! How exciting could I really be if I'm excited by numbers and banking stuff??

How did I get into writing horror?
Easy answer. I worked in a male-dominated industry. There were 28 males in the office. And me. My boss treated me like the tea lady instead of a fully qualified banker. I got frustrated one night after work and wrote a nasty little horror story about him being mutilated in several different inventive ways. I posted the story to a magazine. They published it. I pinned the clipping to his door. He thought it was hilarious. It didn't stop him from being a chauvinistic pig, so I wrote more, getting more inventive, more gruesome, more violent. I pinned all the clippings to his door. It gave me encouragement and incentive to create new characters and new situations.

They're just stories. I write them because I enjoy writing. I enjoy trying to fool the reader into thinking they know what's going to happen next - and then shocking them with an unexpected twist.

I've branched out since then and write dark sci-fi or dark fantasy as well because the challenge of creating whole new worlds in which to play fascinates me.

Just as many people read for entertainment, I write for entertainment. I enjoy horror films and books for fun, so why not create something in the genre that gives me so much pleasure?

I say if you're enjoying writing and you know that most of it is just venting frustrations, then I say that's healthy. Let's face it - if you're venting your frustrations on paper, then you're WAY less tempted to go out and really do it!

fictionfactor/buzzsaw.gif
Lee

=====================
Fiction Factor - http://www.fictionfactor.com
The online magazine for fiction writers
=====================

Quote    Reply   

#3 [url]

Aug 10 07 4:44 AM

What things are you talking about when you say that you had to keep the light on after writing because what you wrote scared you? I'd like to know because in my novel I'm not convinced that it's gruesome enough even though I'm only 8 chapters in. I've already had three deaths and it's only the third one when I get to describe the mangled corpse.

History has a way of repeating itself, doesn't it?

Quote    Reply   
avatar

8281220

Super Writer

Posts: 369

#4 [url]

Aug 10 07 7:57 AM

Sorry if I have given anyone the impression I was contemplating knocking a real person off. I haven't gone totally insane - yet.

And please call me BT - all my good friends do

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

Associate Editor for HorrorScope

Follow me as I progress through the Advanced Diploma of Arts for Professional Writing at my blog:
Musings Of An Aussie Writer

Quote    Reply   
avatar

fiction

Prolific Writer

Posts: 808

#5 [url]

Aug 13 07 1:42 AM

QUOTE
What things are you talking about when you say that you had to keep the light on after writing because what you wrote scared you? I'd like to know because in my novel I'm not convinced that it's gruesome enough even though I'm only 8 chapters in. I've already had three deaths and it's only the third one when I get to describe the mangled corpse.


I'm not scared by gruesome or gory. Have you read anything by Richard Laymon? He writes terribly gory scenes. They don't scare me in the slightest. Slashing up people is not scary. You know what's going to happen. It happens. No suspense. No build up. No reason to really care. All his books are like this.
Verdict: Not scary.

Go and visit a real morgue. There are plenty of dead people in there. The people who work there are just fabulous (they have to have a great sense of humor to work there and stay sane I guess!).
Verdict: Still not scary.

I have been dating an Intensive Care Paramedic for 2 years. He sees and describes the worse gore and gruesome accidents/suicides/murders imaginable. Verdict: Not scary. Interesting though fictionfactor/evil.gif

What scares me is the drawn out, deliciously hair-raising, suspenseful lead up to 'something' coming. Call it tension or suspense or foreshadowing or whatever, but when the main character doesn't know what's coming and the build up to showing something bad will eventually happen is what frightens most people. It's when the imagination starts picturing what could happen or what could go wrong that people start picturing the worst without being told.
Verdict: that's scary! fictionfactor/scream.gif

What scares me personally is not always what's going to scare someone else.

Write about what scares you - and then you'll be sleeping with the lights on too!

Lee

=====================
Fiction Factor - http://www.fictionfactor.com
The online magazine for fiction writers
=====================

Quote    Reply   

#6 [url]

Aug 13 07 9:17 AM

So I have to explain that Aragog (Harry Potter) and Shelob (Lord of the Rings) have children? fictionfactor/scream.gif

History has a way of repeating itself, doesn't it?

Quote    Reply   
Remove this ad

#8 [url]

Aug 30 07 10:06 PM

I don't really write horror, per se, but this was the conversation I just had with my mother:

Me: Okay, so what's a good murder that could be committed by either a man or a woman, that's not a gunshot?

Mom: Well, poison's a good one. Women always seem to go for poison.

Me: Well, I don't want it to seem too premeditated. Like passion could be somewhat involved.

Mom: Well, women aren't really big on stabbing...

Me: Ooh, I like the idea of stabbing! But couldn't the police determine the height of the killer, based on the slashes?

...And it went from there. Good thing my mom knows it's all for a story.

Quote    Reply   
avatar

8281220

Super Writer

Posts: 369

#9 [url]

Aug 31 07 9:44 AM

That's funny

I've only recently found someone I can have those types of conversations with. I sometimes wonder what others would think if they could see what we email to each other.

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

Associate Editor for HorrorScope

Follow me as I progress through the Advanced Diploma of Arts for Professional Writing at my blog:
Musings Of An Aussie Writer

Quote    Reply   

#10 [url]

Sep 1 07 12:35 AM

I can't have those conversations with people 'cause would all think that I want to kill someone. fictionfactor/buzzsaw.gif Sorry, Couldn't help myself.

History has a way of repeating itself, doesn't it?

Quote    Reply   

#11 [url]

Sep 1 07 11:34 AM

QUOTE
I can't have those conversations with people 'cause would all think that I want to kill someone.


Ciara (my co-author) and I started writing together at 16. My parents thought we were going to hurt someone because we were writing such dark fantasy stories. Despite the fact that my mother reads murder mysteries and loves them, she doesn't understand the writing process at all and thinks I must be a little nuts for coming up with some of my storylines. I stopped sharing my work with her a LONG time ago. fictionfactor/tongue.gif



Tina
(thanks for the new smilies, Lee! I love this one: fictionfactor/axe.png )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fiction Factor
One of Writer's Digests' 101 Best Websites (multiple years)
http://www.fictionfactor.com

The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction
2008 Eppie Winner for non-fiction!

The Fantasy Writer's Companion
The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy

http://www.stygianwritings.com

The Fractured Publisher
A fun and amusing way to browse for books
http://www.fracturedpublisher.com

Quote    Reply   

#12 [url]

Sep 2 07 1:06 AM

I just recently built a website showcasing some of my horror. The years have not been kind in publishing as anyone can attest to. But I figured exposure was more important, and because of it, I suddenly made my first sale. The funny thing about horror, is I made all these business cards, meet new people, and the only thing discouraging about it, is everytime you mention or ask someone if they're a horror fan, the answer is usually no. There's just not many out there. But whether or not I'm justifying this is yet to be said. I simply don't know. I will say, however, that I think it takes a special (or is it warped) brain to enjoy the darker side, the twist of perception and be able to laugh about it. I think that's what makes horror writers unique. To spend time there takes some courage. The focus is on lunacy, blood, and darkness. And, face it, some people are just flat out afraid. So, write on!

Quote    Reply   
Remove this ad
Add Reply

Quick Reply

bbcode help