The Many Faces of Horror...

In view of Halloween's rapid approach, and the current call for horror submissions at Mocha, I thought I'd do a post on horror fiction.

We all know horror takes many forms, appealing (and, disconcerting) in different ways to different people.  Eden Royce's anthology "In The Bloodstream" included many different paths through the dark; many different approaches to fear.  Some of the stories drew from ancient mythologies, others from modern movie-type horror, others from childhood fear and others still dealt with the living nightmare of not knowing where dark delusion ends and reality begins.

That last one is perhaps the most compelling kind of horror.  Trapped in a dark place, not knowing its parameters, desperately seeking any way out.  Sometimes, not knowing if you're asleep and dreaming...or, in hell.   It's a primal kind of fear, and often one that forces us to confront our most deeply-buried sins.  Maybe that's the most effective kind of horror; the kind that marries our inner demons to a maze of dark corridors in which we find ourselves trapped.  I tried to do something along those lines with my short story "Hellshift," in which the protagonist feels he's trapped in a nightmare, unsure of his own sanity and facing an unseen external enemy whose nature he doesn't understand. The monster out in the dark may be real or imaginary, but it's like the ghost of his own sin come to haunt him, and there's no place to run.

The writing that goes into Hollywood horror is, I'm sorry to say, growing sadly formulized.  The trend right now is demonic possession, which appeals more to the audience's desire for easy answers than anything else.

This evening, I braved the stubbornly lingering summer heat to catch a glimpse of this new bit of Euro horror:  "As Above, Below."  (I'm guessing it's not doing too well, since I had the theatre all to myself.)  Basically, the premise is "Indiana Jones Meets the Blair Witch Project."  Yes, yet another "live-action" mockumentary look at horror, where the camera joggles all over the place as screaming characters run through dark tunnels pursued by unseen horrors.  This time, the dark tunnels in question are the famous catacombs of Paris.  Which, according to this film, are actually a gateway into Hell.  (Satan's subway?)   The characters, trapped in the catacombs while hunting mysterious ancient relics pertaining to afterlife mythology, find themselves confronted in the dark corners of their labyrinthine subterranean prison by the ghosts of their innermost guilty secrets.  Obviously not the first time this has been done, and it's overdone in places, including the main character having to swim through a river of blood.  But, the all-too-familiar primal horror of claustrophobic dark tunnels coupled with the deep dark specters of guilt we all fear does make an effective combination.

Overall, maybe the most basic recipe for horror is:  Take a dark place, pour in the primal fear of the unknown, fold in a few repressed personal secrets for flavoring, sprinkle in the right number of surprise "ahas" just to spice it up a bit, and bake well with suspense.  Don't oversoak with blood, and you should get a fairly tasty treat.

Going Collective

I have always been fascinated by the fact that a group of crows is a murder. Who first decided that this was the correct name for a collection of the carrion birds? I don't know, but their imagination was so spot on.

We know--and expect--certain collective nouns. A herd of horses, a school of fish, a pride of lions. But you can really spice up your writing with some of the more unusual ones. It is always easiest to find the animal congregations. A good list can be found here. But animals aren't the only groups of nouns. There are also names for groups of people and things. Some of those more uncommon nouns can be found here.

Let's have some fun. Can you match the group to their collective noun -- without looking?

clowns                                                                    blush                                                                          
bishops                                                                   field
doctors                                                                   bench
zombies                                                                  mutiny                                                                    
boys                                                                       stench

or what about these?

baboons                                                                 romp
cats                                                                        mob
geese                                                                     tribe
otters                                                                     clowder
kangaroos                                                              skein


But not all group nouns have been given names yet, and you can have a lot of fun with those. For example, in one of my short stories, I had a group of cheerleaders, and I wanted to refer to them with a collective noun. They became a "giggle of cheerleaders." I was extremely proud of that one. ;)

Remember, a little goes a long way--especially with some of the more esoteric combinations, such as an "implausibility of gnus." This is a spice to use sparingly, but it can really add something to the mix.

(I will give you the answers next time. ;) )

Damn, I'm late

I totally forgot my spot on the 21st but I have a good excuse...life. I was in the middle of traveling for work and it's as if my brain goes on hiatus when it comes to things not work related. Although I have a largish head, it can only house so much at a time. I think that's the crux of the parttime writer experience. I'd love to be able to devote all of my time to writing and the little extras that go along with it being my full time gig, but I also love paying my mortgage and eating three meals a day (okay several meals a day because food is life!). So I'm late, but I'm not absent, and know that while my brain is bogged down with the many intricate details of my non-writer life, my imagination is patiently taking notes for when it has free reign again.

Spiral Bound

I have an admission to make. In this age of technology, when I have something hard to write or am blocked I...

Play around on Facebook
Play games
Read a book or ten...

And then I quite mucking around, and sit down to write. But when it's hard, when I'm stuck and just can't move on, after I do all those things I take a pad of paper and a pen and write it out by hand.

Currently, I'm working on something I've never done before: First Person POV Paranormal. That's not what got me stuck, tho... I couldn't bear what I was about to do. Just. Couldn't. Do. It.

I couldn't see the next part, and I desperately needed to. It was something that was new, unique to this world view. Also, I couldn't bear to put my character's in that much peril. When I finally stopped wasting time, I sat with pen and paper, and began to write it out.

This method works for me. Why? Partly because I feel more connected to it; the slide of my hand against the paper, the ink flowing as if from my fingertips. There's also the fact that scribbling out something that doesn't work, the hard slash of the pen, is so satisfying. Much more so than a delete key. Also, if you change your mind? Well, if you scratch it out just so you can still read what was there before. (I sometimes doodle on the edges until the idea shakes free, too.) It also lends itself to short bursts of time, which is what I normally have. Between the day job and the Princeling, some days I don't even boot up the computer. A notebook is much easier to deal with in 10-15 minute increments.

I just sprinted across the line on my current work in progress. I still need to get the handwritten notes put into the computer file. I still need to write the final scene... But it's doable at this point.

Fun Fact: Dragon's Champion was written entirely in a spiral bound notebook the first time around. I started with the character, and decided I had to see what the heck she was getting herself into :)

Until next time, my lovelies. Enjoy reading!


If your looking for some new reads, check out the Toil, Trouble and Temptation titles out by MMP now!

Taking the plunge right off the deep end or This Sh*t is harder the second time around

*skids to a stop and looks around*

*whispers in the dark…pft I’m here might as well get on with it.*

*snaps fingers at the assistant muse*

“turn my mic up,  a little more”

*ignores the faint growling that lets me know he is in no way amused with my trying to run this show*

Getting on with it is quite possibly the hardest thing an author who has been on a self imposed hiatus from writing can do. There are a million reasons why you aren’t writing. You’re getting organized, you’re working on a schedule, and you’re re-reading old plot ideas. You’re mourning for the times gone past. You’re social networking on finstatumblawettagrambook. Hosting chats and interacting with fans.  But the truth is, all those things have just been ways for me to hide. Procrastination disguised as busy work.  I’ve been through counseling so I know that I’m just using old hurts and worries as and excuse to keep from getting over it and getting back on the horse.

Truth be told I’m scared.  I know for a fact that there are a million other authors out there that do what  I do and do it better, longer, harder than I can ever do it.  I’m afraid to fail.  I’m afraid that I can’t write a story as well as I can tell you a story.

I need the validation of being published. Most artists wont admit that. They’ll tell you that all the need is their arts and money and recognition don’t mean anything. I can’t say that without lying. I like knowing that my books, my creativity is earning your money. I like shoes. So I need to get paid. I really am learning that I like not “working” so I need to write so that my husband doesn’t decide that he doesn’t need a stay at home wife mooching off his hard earned money. 

No matter how big and bad I want to be…no matter how cocky I am. Truth is I’m scared. And despite having a nice fan base whom support me I still worry that I’m not good enough I’m not worth of the hard earned money that they save and spend. So I write but I hoard it. I keep it to myself and I never finish it.  I talk about it with others who write and sometimes I share it…just little bits, to get my ego rubbed and convince myself I’m not a complete fraud.  I blog…little teases of teases. Mostly to entertain myself and sometimes to try to convince readers that I really am doing more than sitting around naked…er in my underwear… in pjs watching cartoons and playing with instafacetwitblr all day.

But the truth really is. That I’m sitting here staring at the screen, breathing slowly.  Putting my fingers to the keys then taking them away to wipe the sweat from my palms before putting them back.

Today I made a decision.  To get on with it.  I took three stories that are for the most part complete and sent them to this publisher (MMP) who has been patiently waiting for me to do ANYTHING.  She’ll evaluate the stories and suggest changes and then ride me like I come with batteries and a suction cup stick to me until I clean them up and get them sent for edits. 

Three stories that have been sitting, wilting and stagnating on my hard drive for years… seriously like years half a decade for one of them. 

I’m getting over myself…and getting on with it.

And now I’m going to make my way to the kitchen and bake something unnecessarily sinful and then eat it while I hide in my closet and rock back and forward while plotting to fly to her home and steal her electronics before she can open the files.

*crumbles into a mess of nervous writer goo on stages and waits for the assistant muse as he stands over me rolling his eyes and mumbling about melodrama before gathering me up and carrying me to the car.  I ask if we can stop for ice cream as I snuggle in to his chest. His soft kiss on my forehead and the deep rumble of his chuckle makes me feel safe*

“You can even have a double scoop and extra sprinkles”

*The voice soothes me as does the rumble of the engine in his muscle car. Sigh, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.*

Well, since I was early enough to schedule this blog, I guess I'll see you guys in a month!   You can always catch up with me over at http://dreariley.blogspot.com/ or on fb where I'm sure I'll be doing some sort of procrastinating. Who knows? Maybe by September you'll have read something brand spanking new and sparkly by me.  Until next time, I'll be attending the shenanigans.