On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association

Front Cover
Mort Castle
Penguin, Nov 18, 2006 - Language Arts & Disciplines - 272 pages
The masters of horror have united to teach you the secrets of success in the scariest genre of all!

In On Writing Horror, Second Edition, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Harlan Ellison, David Morrell, Jack Ketchum, and many others tell you everything you need to know to successfully write and publish horror novels and short stories.

Edited by the Horror Writers Association (HWA), a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature, On Writing Horror includes exclusive information and guidance from 58 of the biggest names in horror writing to give you the inspiration you need to start scaring and exciting readers and editors. You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as:

   • The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack Ketchum
   • Why horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert Weinberg
   • Tips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing—predicable clichés—from Ramsey Campbell
   • How to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort Castle
With On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.
 

Contents

Horror Literature
3
Why We Write Horror
13
Avoiding Whats Been Done to Death
23
Horror in Higher Education
32
Developing Horror Concepts
39
Mirror Mirror
48
by Tina Jen
65
Horror Art Innovation
107
Tradition and Modern Times
136
More Simply Human
146
The Possibility of the Impossible
152
Tradition Sensibility and Delivery Or Ghosts? What Ghosts?
159
Genre and Subgenre
170
HorrorThemed Anthologies
176
Youth Gone Wild
184
Writing Horror for the Stage
194

Horror and Literary Fiction
113
The Standards of Excellence in Horror Fiction
124
A Conversation With Harlan Ellison
132
Writing Video and RolePlaying Games
203
On Writing Horror
256
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