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Mort Castle

Michael McCarty

On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers Association Paperback – November 18, 2006

by Horror Writers Association (Author), Mort Castle (Editor)

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The masters of horror have united to teach you the secrets of success in the scariest genre of all! In On Writing Horror, Second Edition, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Harlan Ellison, David Morrell, Jack Ketchum, and many others tell you everything you need to know to successfully write and publish horror novels and short stories. Edited by the Horror Writers Association (HWA), a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature, On Writing Horror includes exclusive information and guidance from 58 of the biggest names in horror writing to give you the inspiration you need to start scaring and exciting readers and editors. You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as: • The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack Ketchum • Why horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert Weinberg • Tips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing—predicable clichés—from Ramsey Campbell • How to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort Castle With On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 18, 2006
Dimensions

6 x 0.68 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1582974209
ISBN-13

978-1582974200
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Writer's Digest Books; 2nd edition (November 18, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1582974209
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1582974200
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.68 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #574,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #815 in Authorship Reference
- #1,467 in Writing Skill Reference (Books)
- #2,062 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
117 ratings

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Amazon Customer

This book is NOT a handbook on how to write horror.

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017

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Look somewhere else. You think you're getting a handbook that is an instructional to help you along with your writing. You might think it's something to coach you along and guide the writing process. You are mistaken. It's just a series of essays and speeches from writers. One of the speeches is Stephen King's 2003 award acceptance speech which you can find on YouTube. I was expecting an instructional on how to develop creatures or plot points, something like that. I was looking for something that would give you rules and things to look out for and how to do certain writing techniques. You know...a handbook. Do not pay $15 on things you can read for free on the internet and watch on YouTube.

24 people found this helpful

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Catherine J. Cole

A Really Big Help for New Horror Writers

Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2018

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You can tell the editor and many collaborators of this book want to help keep the tradition of horror alive in giving new writers the tools to succeed.
Since many markets are born and die in a single year, many of the listed resources are no longer active markets, but it is the job of every writer to keep track of current, available markets. The industry is in constant change.

3 people found this helpful

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Paula Cappa Reviews

Not a handbook, but still valuable

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2014

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This book is somewhat dated now, but it's not really a "handbook" to instruct techniques on writing horror. I found it to be more a presentation of the current state of the horror industry, standards, and suggestions by some highly experienced and acclaimed horror authors (King, Ellison, Ketchum, Oates, Campbell). I liked Douglas Winter's chapter "Darkness Absolute: The Standards of Excellence in Horror Fiction." He specifies "horror is not a genre. It is an emotion." For new horror writers, this is important because he goes on to point out that "great horror fiction is rarely about shock, but rather more lasting emotions." I write horror. I read horror. I edit horror. And so many new writers in this genre are focused on big blood-splatter scenes and wicked jaw-slashing monsters and not on the characters we want to care about. Joyce Carole Oates on "The Madness of Art" speaks to how this genre (Gothic especially) is a "powerful vehicle of truth-telling." She points out that the standards for horror fiction are the same as literary fiction: "originality of concept, depth of characters, and attentiveness to language." This is certainly a book for new horror writers who are serious about their art and desire insights from the people who have done it successfully. One thing that is really awful about this book is the presentation of the text: The font size is too small and the pages have ragged right margins when they should be justified for smoother tracking when reading.

9 people found this helpful

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R. Vincent

Great resource!

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2018

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This was the textbook for a course I recently took, and I found a great deal of valuable information in it, well beyond the course reading. Read it cover to cover, and foresee it serving as a reference going forward.

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R. Alderman

Decent

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2019

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Very enjoyable series of treaties on various authors experiences with writing in the horror genre. That being said some of the offerings could be applied across numerous genres.

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Only

Great Book, Needs To Be Modernized.

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2011

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For the kind of reference book it attempts to be, this is a pretty good book. It's compiled well, has generally good advice by generally successful and well-received authors and industry professionals.

One problem with this book is that most of the people that supply the contend for the book are now senior citizens, many of whom are form the pre-TV generation, and don't have an entirely modern viewpoint on the publishing and promotional mechanisms available today. There is talk of the evils of vanity presses for example; which is silly, as modern platforms like the Kindle Self-Publishing Program render such things moot. Other examples are abound, but I won't get into it. The point is, some of the information in this book is both dated, and told from a dated perspective. Thus, if you buy this book, keep in mind that you don't have to take all of their advice literally, and that there are many, many more options available to you when it comes to publishing.

I'm not bagging on older people at all, mind you. I'm not saying that being a member of the pre-TV generation is a bad thing either; as a writer, it's a very good thing in my opinion. I just know that technology has opened about a half-billion doors that the people writing in this book aren't familiar with and haven't considered.

The other aspect of this book that I disagreed with is the great push for writers conferences and workshops. While there is a warning that they're not for everyone, the push is obvious. Why do they push them? It's not on-the-level, if you ask me. Many of those that write for this book have their own conferences and workshops that they sell as a service, so it's inherently biased advice.

Other than these small issues, the general advice in the book is solid. I really liked some of the suggested-reading and I liked reading the work by the authors that were name-dropped (whom I'd previously never heard of).

Take ALL writing advice with a grain of salt.

9 people found this helpful

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Harley Black

Awesomeness

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2020

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Exactly as described and better. I really love them

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Galo Romero

The philosophy of horror; the crafting of story...

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2011

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As I have learned, time and time again, great wisdom comes from years of experience, and the collective wisdom on display here has been conjured from an all-star roster of unyielding and wildly imaginative minds forged in decades of hard work and labor. The philosophy of horror and its impact on story, as channeled through some of the best published authors the genre has to offer, makes On Writing Horror an essential must-have resource for any novice or veteran writer. Some of the contributors preach their rightous wisdom in a "tell it like it is" manner, while others enlighten on the realities of the craft by evoking a love and passion for the art, which speaks to me on so many other levels; universal truths which are undeniable and clear. Get the book if your serious about writing.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Squeaky Joe

A useful and thought-provoking volume

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2019

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Revised edition of the handbook with contributions from Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Joyce Carol Oates and many others. Exploring everything from what horror is, to how to avoid falling into the trap of rehashing old tropes, there’s something here for everyone.

I originally bought the paperback version of this, but due to the ridiculously small typeface, I ended up buying the ebook version too, just to be able to read the damn thing! While there is much in this book to appeal to writers in any genre, it is mainly intended for writers of horror. Annoyingly, and despite the so-called ‘revised and updated' spiel, a lot of it is still aimed at American writers (writers’ groups, workshops etc in the US). There’s also a bit of an emphasis on the inclusion of Stevie King, even though his contribution is from an acceptance speech, rather than advice on writing, so not terribly helpful. (A search on YouTube will reveal an abundance of vids about the man and his work.)

Having said all that, there are some cracking good chapters in this volume. My favourites are David Morrell’s thoughts on dialogue and dialogue tags, and the conversation with Harlan Ellison. There are worthy contributions too from Tom Piccirilli, Karen E Taylor, Jack Ketchum and an interesting piece on redneck horror by Weston Ochse.

A useful and thought-provoking volume for writers everywhere, but if your eyesight ain’t great, buy the ebook.

D. J. H. Thorn

For writers of all fiction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2008

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Despite the title, 'On Writing Horror,' like many instructional guides, offers advice on fiction in general on topics such as characterisation and speech tags. Of course, it leans toward horror, but there lies a doubt. What is horror and is the label a useful one? What recurs in the chapters of the forty-odd contributors here is an emphasis on 'good fiction' first in which an element of darkness, uncertainty and the macabre can thrive. Most importantly, it is an entertaining book, as most of the contributors possess wit.

It's an American book, the Horror Writers Association being based in the US, with the result that a handful of chapters on topics such as workshops and local conventions are of little use unless you live there. These chapters are, however, the exception rather than the rule. I hadn't previously heard of most of the contributors, but the ones I had include Joyce Carol Oates, Ramsay Campbell, Jack Ketchum (who should be renamed Ketchup) and Harlan Ellison (his interview, in which he calls the value of horror as a genre into question, is one of the highlights). The transcript of a Stephen King award acceptance speech also appears, though it's of limited value.

Perhaps the lines that stick most in my mind come from critic Douglas E. Winter: 'Horror is not a genre. It is an emotion,' and 'it can be found in all great literature.' If you want advice on writing any kind of fiction, this is an illuminating read.

8 people found this helpful

David

Interesting...but not exceptional

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2009

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An interesting book. Each chapter is penned by a different author and covers the topics you would expect to see in an 'on writing' book. HWA are American and so as with another reviewer I agree that the sections on workshops are a little unhelpful.

Another good book in this line is Stephen King's On Writing On Writing that is part autobipgraphy and part advice.

3 people found this helpful

SandysCreativeDesign.ca

Insights for beginner horror writers

Reviewed in Canada on May 13, 2014

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As an aspiring writer I found this book very helpful in learning about plot and structuring a horror story. It included the point of view from a variety of masters in the craft and It was interesting to learn the different techniques from those various horror writers.

It is not a typical "How To" book, but it contains enough information to give a new horror writer the tools to get started. Part three finally got into the developing a horror concept which gives a wealth of information and examples. It also delved into the basics of "beginning, middle, and end" of a story with great insights.

I would certainly recommend this book as a companion book for the specific genre of horror writing as it gives additional techniques on writing in this specific genre that other generalized 'How to write' books do not cover.

One person found this helpful

stephenkingrules

The definitive “On Writing” text

Reviewed in Canada on December 2, 2018

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King is a legend! Only he can turn a supposed text book on writing into a semi-novel with great touching moments! A must read for fans of King, and of writing in general.

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