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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/4028-Through-the-Veil--with-Their-Eyes.html
Horror/Scary: October 27, 2010 Issue [#4028]

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Horror/Scary


 This week: Through the Veil ~ with Their Eyes
  Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

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

         Welcome to this week's edition of the WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter.

         Writing horror opens a dialogue, interactive, between the writer and reader ~ and perhaps being that have been here all along ~ watching, and waiting. And the dialogue is as varied as the writers and readers who embrace this otherworld, be it supernatural or mundane.

All that I see or seem is but a dream within a dream...E.A. Poe




Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Greetings, most writers of horror and speculative fiction have a tendency to include a non-human character or two in their novels these days.

         But how many writers actually take the time to research their non-human counterparts?

         Creating Non-Human Characters

         Our human culture and physiology arose from our planet's ecology. Our basic survival instincts were formed according to the surroundings we were raised into. And our speech patterns evolved according to the region we were born into.

         Why then, would a writer assume that an alien being, who looks different to the humans around him, would still walk and talk and think the same way, if he was raised in extremely different circumstances.

Consider the following when composing your non-human characters:
*Bullet*What ecology spawned this life-form?
*Bullet*How hostile is the environment?
*Bullet*How do they reproduce?
*Bullet*Do they breath oxygen at all?
*Bullet*What is their economy based upon?
*Bullet*Is their history sprinkled with violence or oppression?
*Bullet*Is their culture flavored by their history?

         We often use lush prose to describe magical worlds, to convey a sense of the arcane or the possibility thereof. Also, we may want to convey a heightened sense of aesthetics -- a majestic dragon, an imperious queen, a shimmering pendant, and so forth. In a story about physical or social science, on the other hand, we often use more precise, terse prose to convey a sense of practicality, to make our extrapolations feel possible.

*Bullet*Pay extra attention to the voice of your point-of- view character(s). Does their language arise from their world view and culture? Is it consistent through the story, only changing as the character undergoes deep change? Consistency of the characters' voices can bridge differences in the narrational voice. In the novel about the time-traveling shaman, for instance, the shaman's vocabulary and way of seeing the world could be the reader's touchstone as the narrational voice describes both shamanic rituals and bird-counting ecological studies.

         Now that you see our world through the eyes of your faerie or dragon or undine or shaman, consider sharing your story in verse or prose this Halloween eve.

Write On!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon


Editor's Picks

See the alternate realities that members of our Community share with us this Halloween Eve ~ oh they're not all superscary - there's even a bit of comic relief if you look far enough across the veil

 The Widows of Ware Open in new Window. (E)
Halloween is very sacred in the town of Ware and four widows learn this the hard way.
#1614874 by leeflan Author IconMail Icon


 Fangs for Nothing Open in new Window. (E)
Something to sink your fangs into. A vampire wakes up on the wrong side of the coffin.
#1623033 by leeflan Author IconMail Icon


 Dagon's Promise  Open in new Window. (E)
The Deep One invasion has begun. Are you ready?
#1718862 by D Carlson Author IconMail Icon


 The Blood of Christ Open in new Window. (18+)
A "snapshot story" out of what I plan to turn into a much larger world eventually.
#1717629 by Röö Author IconMail Icon


 The Mask of Romek Part One. Open in new Window. (13+)
A short story based (very loosely) on the Cthulhu Mythos. Enjoy.
#1718990 by TC McQueen Author IconMail Icon


 The Killing Truth Open in new Window. (18+)
Murder can change so many people, some for the worse
#1713282 by Louie-Lou Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1718930 by Not Available.


 Oscar Open in new Window. (E)
A new version of an old scary story about a Jersey Devil.
#1707403 by Onyx Wolf Author IconMail Icon


 
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We're Weres Open in new Window. (18+)
Paul's mother, ill and heavily medicated, "saw" things. He should've listened to her...
#1697245 by Indelible Ink Author IconMail Icon


 Midnight Valentine Open in new Window. ()
Dusky light, cold shadows, faded dreams. Amelia is in the graveyard at midnight.
#1719002 by Madeleine Eblouie Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1718599 by Not Available.


 Girl In The White Dress Open in new Window. (E)
story about a ghost; a little girl from the 1900's who was seen in an old aprtment house
#1718277 by bluewriter Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1689681 by Not Available.


And there's still time to share one of your own encounters

 Absolute Horror Flash Fiction Contest Open in new Window. (18+)
A weekly flash fiction contest for fans and writers of the macabre.
#1326382 by Pennywise Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1154716 by Not Available.


 
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Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Ask & Answer

Submitted to our Newsletter by James Cowgill Author IconMail Icon ~ "I know that the vampire genre is hot right now but what about werewolves? I have here the first chapter of my werewolf story titled LUNACY. I hope you enjoy and would love some constructive critisizm.If you like I can follow up with two more chapters. Thanks, James

Let's engage this otherworld


Lunacy: Chapter 1 Open in new Window. (13+)
An Indian Shaman dicovers his new town is full of werewolves and witches.
#1712149 by James Cowgill Author IconMail Icon


***

And what more fitting for Halloween 'treating' than this offering by triplzer0 ~

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1711196 by Not Available.


***

Happy Haunting one and all


Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading Author IconMail Icon

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