I started 2020 focused on writing growth, but I struggled to put my dread and horror into words. I'm sharing five things that made my writing, and my writing life, grow.
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MidnightSocietyVicki
1 It's nearly Friday the 13th, and if you love spooky things like The Midnight Society, your feed tomorrow will be equal parts autumnal black cats and Jason Voorhees gifs. It’s still hot as summer camp here in Florida, so I opted to celebrate with Jason and finally downloaded the Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle game. This game is a blast! You start the game as Classic Jason. He’s a tall, broad man in a hockey mask that listens to his mom like any good son. Even though Jason Voorhees became the face of the Friday the 13th movies, Pamela Voorhees was th[...]
When you're fully immersed in a story, you hang on your favorite character's every word. Whatever they say will show how they're feeling, how connected they are - or want to be - to the person they're talking to. You'll know what they want, what they need, once they speak. OXENFREE follows Alex and her friends as they party and fight to survive on a deserted island. There's instant friction between characters. Snarky comments and awkward exchanges hint at the grief, regret and romantic tension between them. As Alex, you want to withdraw, but you're pushed to[...]
I keep seeing their faces. Their eyes. Madness radiated from them. The damaged woman. The mother. The final girl. Her face was full of angry, terrifying joy. Her face was twisted by secrets. It's been a couple days since I saw Us, Jordan Peele's latest horror film, and I'm not sure which woman is haunting me more. Us is a story of families, of community, and class. It's also the story of two women and how dangerous they became when cornered, how they defended the life they'd created. Adelaide fights for her family. She clings to them, unwilling to give them[...]
I fell in love with horror fiction through short stories. The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe. NIGHT SHIFT, by Stephen King. My family car was littered with horror anthologies I found on bookstore racks and garage sale tables. As a writer, I love the tight structure and elegant story telling. As a reader, I love a small story that rips me apart and leaves me gasping. GUTTED: BEAUTIFUL HORROR STORIES, edited by Doug Murano and D. Alexander Ward, is a gorgeous collection. The stories delve into the dark, emotional connection we feel towards what we treasure[...]
I spent the past weekend at Borderlands Press Writers Boot Camp. My cohort of writer grunts faced brutally honest horror and science fiction writers and an editor, and they pushed us to self-edit and craft our best stories. Writers (especially speculative fiction writers) who want to take their craft to the next level will be transformed by Borderlands Press Writers Boot Camp. It took two years for me to believe my writing was ready after JG Faherty recommended it to me. Application to Borderlands Boot Camp included a writing sample, after all. Once accepted, I[...]
That weird little plant you scraped up from the gutter. That pulsating mountain off the coast of Japan. That collection of body parts you procured for your experiments. Can you feel the unearthly forces about to burst forth and release the monster that could conquer the world? On New Year's Day 2018, I posted New Year, New You, a story about becoming what you truly want to be. Behind the story were horror writing goals I set for myself. I wrote more. I submitted more stories for publication and contests. I applied to writing events. It was scary and hard wo[...]
Do you love to read horror? Do you love to review horror and help promote the genre? Does the idea of getting first dibs on exclusive horror fiction and book goodies make you tingle with excitement? You need the Night Worms Book Club in your life! Night Worms was created by Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Saywers, two horror fans who wanted to share their passion for reading and reviewing horror fiction. They've recently created the Night Worms Book Club, a monthly curated box of horror books, magazines, publisher goodies, collectibles and Night Worms exclusives.[...]