Writing Horror (Hardcover)

It is great how WRITING HORROR is divided into all these chapters/ articles in which known (and some lesser known)horrorwriters give advice and pointers on how to master the craft. I learned so much from this book. There are things I hadn't even thought of yet (and never would) which are explained here. A few examples: setting the mood, how to write believable characters, draw your influences from real life, avoid cliches, don't EVER try to copy Stephen King...etc etc.

The best article for me was David Morrel's on writing dialogue. I knew him as the creator of John Rambo (of all characters). But from this book (and the real hard to find FACES OF FEAR, by Douglas Winter) I learned he's also a well accomplished writer of horror and suspense.
This man has such a clear voice and his words were so helpful to me. I'll be sure to read some more of his work in the future.

In short WRITING HORROR makes me want to create my own stories, and I think that's the best compliment you can give the people who put this book together.
I have some minor critisicm in that most of the articles are very short (only a few pages), but on the other hand I guess the writers make every word count.

It's hard being an aspiring novelist and sometimes you have to drag yourself behind your wordprocessor. WRITING HORROR makes it a little less hard!

The real great piece in this book is Jack Ketchum's essay on Splatter Lit and its hero, telling us how to create a realistic hero and how to make him sound/seem real. As a matter of fact, many of the essays in this book talk about realism; how to make your story sound real, how to make the tone and mood real, how to create realistic settings... Plot, techniques, the horror market, the independent press and agents are also discussed in great lengths.

Unfortunately, this book is downplayed a little as it includes too many retrospection on works by artists that didn't really work in the writing relm of horror. I'm thinking here of Owl Goingback's piece on classical horror films, which, although good, doesn't really offer any advice to the writer wannabe.

But those few essays aside, this book is a must for anyone who is interested or who wants to break into the horror relm. It's a great collection by the masters, including Ketchum, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Elizabeth Massie and many many more.