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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/1709-.html
Horror/Scary: May 16, 2007 Issue [#1709]

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Horror/Scary


 This week:
  Edited by: Leger~ Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Hi there! Leger~ Author Icon here, guest editor for this week's Horror / Scary Newsletter. Enjoy!


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

When writing a scary story, here are some of the questions I ask myself. Perhaps they could be suggestions to use when writing, reviewing or editing a story.

Using all the senses: Did I invite my reader to feel the textures of the setting? Did I describe smells? Am I hearing anything in the room/scene? What do I want my readers to see? What am I seeing?

Pushing the envelope: Am I trying too hard to be scary? Could my plot use more development to be scary? Did I build up enough fright? Is my writing too cliché?

What makes vampires scary: The blood? The bite? The seduction of the vampire's victim? Immortality? The ennui of living forever?

Blood and guts: How much is too much? A smattering is always good for a fright. A splash is good for a scream. Making your reader wade through a tide of blood can be a bit too much for their stomach.

Stalkers: A modern predator. An urban fright story can reach your reader and hit home. Do you know what it is like to be followed? A scary phone call in the middle of the night?

Ordinary people acting in unusual manners: A good example is Stephen King's book "Cell". Everyone has a cell phone. It's changed modern culture in ways no one probably anticipated. How many times have you gotten frustrated with drivers on cells? Or in restaurants? Would it be enough to make an ordinarily sane person go off and do something rash?

Think about your story and what could make it step outside the comfort level of your readers. That's what makes a story scary, being just outside what they can control but still remain within the realm of their imagination. It's scary, because it just might be true.

I hope these suggestions are helpful!
Leger~


Editor's Picks


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1229698 by Not Available.

Excerpt: "No Sis, you can’t do that. You’re gonna get me in trouble again.” Sam shuffled into the kitchen where his mother was talking on the phone while making dinner. He watched as the steam rose from the boiling pots on the stove. The small silver one on the front burner began to slide forward.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1261276 by Not Available.

Excerpt: I stared at the ruined castle with awe, just behind the numerous amount of gravestones that scattered themseleves in front of me. A field of ruined gravestones that didn't even bother with mainting the poor souls here.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#463452 by Not Available.

Excerpt: The door creaked on its hinges as the two young teenagers sauntered into the store. The sign over the door read Wu's Curio Shop.

 The Darkness Open in new Window. (13+)
A woman has horrifying visions after a near-death experience
#1240799 by Timothy Bird Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: The afternoon sun reflected diamonds off the surface of the pond, as the woman’s body spun lazy circles in the water. With the numbing cold of the spring water, she felt all sense of reality leave her. How can this be happening?

 
STATIC
Fire to Ashes Open in new Window. (13+)
A dark to light story
#1226582 by Joy Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: He cursed at the splinter stuck to the tip of his index finger as if it was the enemy, but still he heaped the dry wood onto the fire. This wait couldn’t be too bad; plus, what else could he do after making the deal…

Computer Vampire Open in new Window. (13+)
Where would Count Dracula be now? He might be on the internet.
#1100272 by Kotaro Author IconMail Icon

Excerpt: Count Dracula enjoyed the creaking of hinges as he slowly lifted the heavy oak lid of his casket with one arm. He savoured the deepening of shadows as nightfall crept into the room.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1260224 by Not Available.

Excerpt: The door closed behind her with a soft click. Marissa looked down the hall, her left hand gripping the shaft of the IV tree. She wheeled it next to her as she snuck down the hallway. She had to get out of there. Something wasn’t right with the hospital, and definitely not with the attending doctor.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1241341 by Not Available.

Excerpt: I tried to think of a better way to tell him. I mean after all these years you would think I would be able to talk to my own husband. The problem was after he went into the army, things changed. Often more than not he was called away to serve a deployment that would last for six months or longer.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1256437 by Not Available.

Excerpt: A flash of that lost feeling shoots through me as I wake in an unfamiliar place and then I recall . . . I'm really sick, and I’m in the dark loneliness of a hospital room. Tubes stick out of my arms dripping clear liquid and wires lead from my chest showing my heart rate; my whole body aches as if I’d run a marathon, uphill.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1106066 by Not Available.

Excerpt: While rummaging through forty years of accumulated junk in her dear, but now dead parent's attic, Jane Brown happened upon a colorfully painted wooden chest. Opening it, Jane's disappointment registered a contemptible, “Damn, Katie’s babies.”


 
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