  Horror/Scary
This week: Abused & Abandoned: Character & Setting Edited by: Cinn  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
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
Sometimes, the truth is strange and brilliant in a way that a fiction writer never would have dreamed. Authentic details can make a world of difference for a genre whose main purpose is to make the reader uneasy. A cliche isn't scary... isn't horror. It's the small details that really sell it... that prove your characters are human and your settings exist.
The parade for the slain police officer
goes past the bakery
and the smell of fresh bread
makes the mourners salivate against their will.
~Excerpt from "Note to Reality" by Tony Hoagland
|
| ASIN: B0CJKJMTPD |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
|
|
I have been doing some reading and research lately on topics that could be considered "sad". Devastating illnesses are not exactly cheerful. Neither are abandoned towns. I have always had some amount of fascination with the former, and the latter is the inspiration for poetry. The more I read, however, the more horror stories begin to gel in my mind. It's rich fodder for the genre.
Setting Authenticity & Inspiration
If your settings are the same stale forests, haunted/creepy houses, carnivals, or asylums, you might just want to change things up a bit. Honestly, there are pictures from all over the world of abandoned buildings and ghost towns. Some have their own weird/violent/unexpected stories as well, like the Salton Sea in the States. The decay can be creepy (say, Chernobyl) or hauntingly beautiful (i.e. Kolmanskop, Namibia), but they are always atmospheric.
To start with, you can just search for "ghost town" on google and then do image searches for specific towns that sound interesting. For the time being though, here is one gallery that I have used multiple times: Abandoned America: An Autopsy of the American Dream
Character Authenticity & Inspiration
Probably the most common ailment for any character in horror? Mental health issues. The psychopath, sociopath, and schizophrenic are alive and well in the horror genre. But how well do you know these illnesses? Anyone interested has probably seen a documentary or two and read the basics on wikipedia or an introductory book, but is that enough to really get into the head of your character? Well, no need to worry about that.
Just walk to the 616-618 section of your local library. That is where you can find the "Diseases or Medical Specialty" books. You will likely stumble across classic memoirs like Confessions of a Sociopath: Hiding in Plain Sight by M.E. Thomas and Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Marya Hornbacher alongside books about many types of compulsions, unusual illnesses, and abuse. Both memoirs and case studies from physicians and psychiatrists are available, and in addition to greater understanding in general, both types offer insights that could make your characters more real (both psycho killers and normal slightly-damaged human beings).
These are actually two of my...  "guilty pleasures", I guess you could call them. I have been reading the latter since I was a young teen, including clinical and diagnostic texts. I am something of a collector of weird stories (which is probably why I am a huge serial killer buff as well). The abandoned towns are just a more extreme form of something that has inspired me since I was a child... abandoned objects. Why is it there? Where did it come from? Who did it belong to? Was it accidentally left behind or deliberately abandoned? There is likely a story in any one of those questions.
|
Did you know that SCREAMS now accepts book entries?  Now, you can save portfolio space and create a book packed full of horror. Win-win!
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2089344 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2085167 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2089169 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2088474 by Not Available. |
|
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!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: 197380364X |
|
Amazon's Price: $ 15.99
|
|
What type of true stories affect you the most as a reader?  Do you have any tips on creating authenticity (and therefore, genuine chills & thrills) in a horror story?
|
| ASIN: B07K6Z2ZBF |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
|
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Horror/Scary: July 06, 2016 Issue [#7731]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
