Dark Thoughts on Writing: Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense [Paperback]

Stanley Wiater (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

A cornucopia of concrete, to-the-point advice about writing from more than 50 of the greatest horror writers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stanley Wiater is a veteran journalist of the horror field, and a skillful interviewer. In Dark Thoughts: On Writing he has thematically grouped well-selected quotations from horror creators: major influences; the day-to-day work of writing; choosing a form (short stories, novels, comics, or movies); fame and fortune; the game of making movies (as seen by Wes Craven, John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and George Romero, among others); sex and death; censorship; personal fears and philosophies; surprising advice; the function of horror; and "Where do you get your ideas?" Also included are two choice reading lists, and a guide to print and electronic resources. A sample quotation from Joe R. Lansdale: "It's very easy to offend--but it's not easy to offend deeply." Peter Straub: "Sometimes you want to 'hurt' [your] readers. But at the same time you don't want to hurt them too badly--I mean, you do want to hurt them very badly at a couple points--but you don't want to leave them that way." Clive Barker: "Writing about the unholy is one way to write about the sacred." Horror readers and writers, as well as movie fans and moviemakers, will find much here to savor, laugh at, and learn from. Just one complaint: of the 52 writers quoted, only 2 are women.

From the Publisher

For anyone interested in writing horror, as well as true fans of the genre, Dark Thoughts is a source of inspiration and revelation with behind-the-scenes looks at the most popular and acclaimed authors of our time. Stanley Wiater extracts something out-of-the-ordinary from each of his interview subjects, whether it's their special writing tricks, strange fanmail or views on censorship.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Underwood Books; 1st edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188742430X
• ISBN-13: 978-1887424301
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,838,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Praised by Stephen King as "a very talented journalist," Stanley Wiater is a widely acclaimed observer of the dark side of popular culture. He has interviewed more major horror and suspense authors, filmmakers, actors, and artists than any other journalist. He is the creator of "Dark Dreamers" (available on DVD at Amazon), a television series profiling these personalities, which has been broadcast in Canada and Great Britain.

Rue Morgue magazine has hailed him as "the top horror journalist in North
America for the past twenty-five years." He has won the coveted Bram Stoker
Award three times, and been nominated for the International Horror Guild, Hugo, Rondo, Eisner, Harvey, and Readercon awards. A collection of his short stories, "Intimate Strangers," has been dramatized and is available as an audio book at Amazon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading, May 13, 2000

By 

Deborah A. Woehr (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dark Thoughts on Writing: Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense (Paperback)

As an aspiring writer, I was especially interested in these writers' basic influences, fears, and drives. After the first chapter, I was glued to this book, absorbing the thoughts of writers such as Stephen King, Jack Ketchum, Anne Rice, and many others. This is a great gift for a horror fan.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book, November 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Thoughts on Writing: Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense (Paperback)

Excellent compilation of the thoughts, theories, tips and tricks of some of the best horror writers of our time. Especially interesting is the way Wiater juxtaposes conflicting opinions from his subjects. The book is slightly marred by a lack of biographical material on the writers and an index (so I can locate and reread especially interesting quotes)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is The Black Bible..., August 27, 2002

By 

Bret Jordan (Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Thoughts on Writing: Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense (Paperback)

...and quite possibly the best collection of quotes from the broadest range of leaders in the field that I have ever devoured. I started reading it with a highlighter to cover the best advice. Excluding the front and back covers and the title page, the book is now entirely yellow. From veterans to fresh meat on the hook, this is the bloody book to read if you want to take your craft seriously. What more can I say to rave about this? Buy it. Read it. Then read it again. Keep it within reach of your desk for inspiration when the words just don't seem to flow. It's like a horror convention in your brain!