The Ready Writer

I don't have any numbers for you this time, I will next time though. I do have a pretty dramatic (okay, maybe not dramatic to you) update about my project.  When I was writing that short post about horror subgenres I mentioned that my current piece is mostly apocolyptic horror with a sprinkle of occult horror mixed in. Well, my biggest struggle with my project has been that I haven't thought that it was scary enough, or scary at all.  And I think that is because I was writing within a subgenre that I don't think is all that scary.  Apocolyptic horror doesn't really scare me.  Occult horror definitely does.  So, I have decided to make a tonal shift.  I am going to make my novel an occult horror with some themes of apocolyptic horror sprinkled in.  The world isn't going to end, but the world as my characters know it, will, and this will be at the hand of a cult like entity.  This also allows for the slight supernatural elements of my story to be...

So last time I posted a horror blog I talked about the 3 main categories of Horror, but there are even more subgenres of horror that can fall under any of the 3 main categories.  I can't possibly list them all, but I will go through some of the most popular ones and some of my favorites. Rural Horror: This one is pretty self-explanatory but what makes this unique is it tends to also include local legends, or myths, or superstition.  I'm a huge fan of this one.  I'm sort of regretting having my current project be set in the city, but it just can't work any other way.  However, all of my short stories take place in rural America.  There is just something scary about the middle of nowhere country that I love, even though it's kind of a cliche. Apocalyptic Horror: This deals with the end of the world. Not much more to say about that.  My current project has hints of this.  It isn't apocalyptic in the sense that the world is destroyed and in ruins, but...

Form B "So, is this treatment going to be painful?" Moira asked. "There is a very mild discomfort." Dr. Webb said, leaning back in his office chair. It creaked under his weight. "Some say it is like  slight burning sensation." He smiled. "It's nothing you have to concern yourself with." Moira had been seeing Dr. Webb for the last 6 months for treatment for her eczema. She had spent thousands of dollars on other doctors, creams, and homeopathic remedies all to no avail. Dr. Webb had contact her on a web forum. She was part of a message board community for people with skin conditions. He told her that he could cure her. And he had. His method was a combination of medicated baths, pills, ointments and even meditation.  Her skin was glowing. She couldn't remember the last time her skin was this clear.  Today was her final session. A heat treatment. She wasn't sure exactly how it was supposed to help, but Dr. Webb had ...

So I really liked the last stats post where it felt more like a chat rather than just a list of numbers, so that may be how I do it from now on. I wrote 778 words over the course of the last 2 weeks, which isn't a tremendous amount, but I was also on vacation during one of those weeks and didn't do any writing (though I had hoped to). This brings my total project word count to 8,996. But I did finish chapter 5 and started chapter 6 which is awesome.  I'm still working towards the goal of finishing Act 1 by the end of the month.  I know the editing process is going to be a long one, but studying the genre, and also writing those little flash horror stories have helped me to get my voice back a little bit.  I think I mentioned it in the last post, but I had been struggling with that a little bit during this book.  Not sure if its the length, or the fact that its my first dystopia, or what it was, but the tone and overall voice of this first Act is...messy....

Hey guys!  No stats blog or horror genre post this week since I am on vacation.  Normal posts will resume next week.  I'm also gonna to try to figure out the scheduling features so that this doesn't happen again. However, I couldn't not post my Freaky Flash Fiction Friday piece (even though I'm barely making the deadline), so here it is. A Day in the Life of Harold Abrams "It's supposed to rain today." Laurel said to her husband, Harold who sat in his armchair on the other side of the living room.  "Good thing we are staying in today." She said, putting the newspaper down onto the table beside her.   A whistle came from the kitchen. "Oh, looks like the kettle is done, I'll get us some tea." She stood up slowly and carefully and puttered her way into the kitchen. Harold stayed in his armchair. Laurel came back with two steamy cups of hot tea. "I got you some Chamomile. It was the last box in the store, you sure are l...

Hey readers!  Sorry this flash fiction story is coming out so late.  I hope to not make that a regular thing. Anyway, here is my Freaky Flash Fiction Friday story #1. Til (Un)Death Do Us Part He looked at her with a hunger.  He had always though she was beautiful, but today, there was something about her that made him crave her even more. They were High School sweethearts. Neither of their families thought they were going to make it together, but 6 years later, they were going strong. They had survived post High School retail jobs together, college together, and even living in their tiny one bedroom apartment together. They had hoped to survive The Outbreak together. And for the last 9 months, they had. He had managed to kill the zombie and secure their apartment once again, but not without injury.  An hour later she had locked herself in the bathroom, hoping he'd get tired and move on. It wasn't long before he was able to break through the door....

Fear is the oldest and strongest human emotion.  I want to reiterate this because on the most basic level, my job as a horror writer is to instill fear in my readers. This creates a very broad definition of horror and allows for the inclusion of other sub-genres such as science fiction, thriller, fantasy, or supernatural.  In fact, science fiction, fantasy, and horror overlap so often that i has its own literary term: The Fantastic Triangle (which sounds like a superhero that a 5 year old created, but whatever). In his work "An Introduction to Studying Popular Culture", Dominic Strinati defined horror as a genre that "represents the need for suppression if the horror shown is interpreted as expressing uncomfortable and disturbing desires which need to be contained."  I am not a huge fan of this definition because its wordy and confusing. I am much more of a fan of Tzvetan Todorov's definition of theory of horror. Todorov breaks down horror into 3 forms: The ...

Hello everyone! So I didnt track how many words I wrote each day, but I did write a total of 764 words last week which brings my total project wordcount to 8,218 words. I do have some goals for the month of October.  I want to finish Act 1 by the end of the month, I'm just finishing Chapter 4 right now and according to my outline, Act 1 should carry me through the first 8 chapters.  This means some intense writing days, but I think I'm ready for it.  Right now I'm a little disappointed with my small word count, but I'm halfway through act 1 now and am a little over 8000 words, so I'm gonna shoot for Act 1 being twice that.  And if each Act is 16,000 words, I'll hit right around the 50,000 word first draft I was originally shooting for, so I'm gonna try not to stress too much. The reason for the Halloween deadline is because... ...I want to participate in NaNoWriMo.  I miss the frantic off the cuff writing.  No outlines, no rules, just crazy writing....