10 Top Horror Fiction Resources
June 15, 2009 by Melanie
Filed under Screen Writing, Writing How To's
Image by Sprungli
Here are ten great resources about and for writting horror fiction … short stories, novels and screenplays. Please DO tell us about your favorite sites and horror fiction books or movies.
Horror Factor offers great resources for almost all levels of horror writers; from enthusiasts to well known authors.
At Horror Factor, you will find almost all resources and tools needed to become a great writer, starting with their own email horror writing course.
User forums, horror writing contests, and horror market listings are also featured in this resourceful website. If you are interested in keeping up to date on what’s happening in the world of horror writing, simply subscribe to the horror fiction newsletter.
Horror Writers Association is a guild where horror writers can meet to discuss a spectrum of topics. Guests are only offered a taste of what’s available. To get the full meal deal, you have to become a member.
Horror Writers Association offers three levels of memberships based on the experience you have in horror writing. Once registered as a member, you will have unlimited access to site’s resources such as blogs, market listings, and tips and tools. You can connect with Horror writers around the world through their blogs, myspace pages and websites.
Horror Writers UK is an online community where you can publish your horror writing for reviews and critiques by other members. This is a place where, regardless of the type of writing, members are always willing to spend a bit of time helping your out. If you are a novice, then start by reading reviews available on the site. Doing so will give you insight in to how a proper fiction should be structured, the common mistakes in writing, and how a reader’s mind works.
This website is dedicated for the world horror convention, the annual gathering of professionals in the horror writing industry; authors, publishers, artists, and horror fans. The site also contains a lot of information about horror writing and the content is very well structured.
The message board allows users to share ideas and concerns. In addition to that, World Horror Convention contains many links to horror related websites. Unlike some other listings, this list of external links is up-to-date. By visiting this website, the users can get to know all information about the past horror conventions and also the future plans.
5. Writing Horror Fiction for Tweens
This is an excellent resource that we could not resist putting on the list!. Have you ever wondered how to write horror fictions for tweens?
This article systematically explains us the concerns, tips, and steps for writing horror for tweens. You should follow these advices and tips since you will be writing for a specific segment of children. The author needs to have a very good understanding of how tweens think and how sensitive they are for the subject on the horror fiction.
This is one of the special website that is dedicated for horror fictions with horror graphics. By far, this is the best website that can be found for this subject matter. Monolith Graphics offers its users a variety of resources such as books, dark realms, journals, music CDs, gothic tarot, calendars, posters, t-shits, stickers and so on.
When it comes to commercial products such as books, Monolith Graphics facilitates a service where users can directly order from the web. In addition to that, users can also read story excerpts, official book reviews, and fan comments of the books. This definitely allows users to get to know the value of the book before making the purchase.
7. Horror World
This could be your one stop horror writing resource website. Horror World allows users to enjoy many unique resources that cannot be found in other websites.
First of all, the interviews with horror fiction authors are one of the most important features offered by the website. This is a great way to understand how their minds work and their approach to great fiction. In addition to that, Horror World contains a great collection of books in the library, so users can make use of them.
The article archives and chat rooms are a great way of digging up and sharing information, as well. The horror fiction reviews available on this website are comprehensive, yet interestingly shorter than the regular.
8. Writing Horror
This is not a conventional horror writing resource website. It is rather a user group for horror writers created using Yahoo! Groups. In the usual scenario, Yahoo! Groups are created to maintain a community for a common objective. Through Yahoo! Groups, the members can keep others updated about the latest trends, news, events, etc. When it comes to Writing Horror, there is no exception. The members of Writing Horror keep the rest of the members informed about everything related to horror writing. The members can simply post messages conveying their ideas, concerns etc. and also ask questions from other members.
In addition to the group posts, there are files uploaded by users that contain useful information on horror writing. So check it out!
9. How to Write a Horror Screenplay
This is a quick outline guide to writing horror screenplays. It’s for people who know what a three act structure is and probably have written something before and are considering writing a horror for the first time. But it’s also worth reading if you want to know why horror movies hold their appeal (and why so many get made).
10. If you want to WRITE horror, you have to READ horror. Clive Barker is widely acknowledged as the master of nerve-shattering horror. Here are a great selection of his books. Clive Barker Horror Classics
I don’t think it’s true that you have to read horror to write horror. The greatest horror stories of all time came from one person’s unique perspective and imagination. Some writers build off of what the best have already written, but great writers create their own foundation and build something new.
I would love to hear other people’s perspective on this. I would never dream of writing a romance novel without having read one, nor would I attempt to write a horror screenplay without having seen a horror movie. Of course this just might be revealing my insecurities or my “need” to know what the market place is interested in and is buying.