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Tim Sorrensen on Writing Part 2
Welcome back. The next step I take is to cut and paste the story parts in order. At this stage you may notice we have some names. Jack J. Novak, Jules Sinclair, and Isabel Novak. I chose these on the fly as I wrote. Note the syllable ratios. Jack J. Novak=1:1:2. Jules Sinclair=1:2. Isabel Novak=3:2.…
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Tim Sorrensen on Writing
Jack Tyler has asked me to talk to you about writing, about how I construct my short stories, about the nuts and bolts of the craft I love so much. At first, I refused. After all, I’m the new kid on the block. I’m a student not a teacher. Who would even listen, right? Then…
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How Not to Write a Horror Story
This is my first blog. What exactly do I mean by that statement? Is this my first blog on this new site created by my friend and fellow writer, Jack Tyler. No, I mean literally; this is the first blog I have ever written. The original thread that started this blog was on the theme…
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Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories
There’s something about the long, dark nights just as autumn turns into full-fledged winter that seems especially suited to spooky tales. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the Victorians were especially fond of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Of course, one of the most famous ghost stories of Christmas is none other than A…
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The Catacombs of Horror
Last week, our very capable colleague CW Hawes looked into the specifics of one man who saved one publication, which in turn went on to give voice to much of what we call modern horror. This week I propose to take a look at the whole shooting match, horror, terror, suspense, thrillers, and attempt to…
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Seabury Quinn: The Man Who Saved Weird Tales
…and saved weird fiction. Really? Weird Tales and weird fiction owe their existence to one man? The Unique Magazine? The magazine of HP Lovecraft? Actually, Weird Tales wasn’t the magazine of HP Lovecraft. Sure, he submitted stories to WT and had them published (and a few rejected). But HPL actually disdained the commercial press and…
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Updating Baba Yaga
I think it’s safe to say that many of us first encounter scary stories through fairy tales and folklore. Whether it be the wolves, ghosts, or trolls of the Brothers Grimm or banshees, werewolves, and vengeful witches of folklore, many of us have been kept awake at night worrying that one or more of these…
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The Beauty of a Horrible Book
Welcome back, loyal readers, and today I’m going to compare books and movies as art forms, and how the media of the presentation affects horror in particular. Adaptations of books exist across every genre, and you’ll frequently hear people opine that books are superior to their big-screen productions. I’m firmly in that camp. The obvious…
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Fear Is Always With Us
A week and a half ago, Jack Tyler opened our discussion by talking about fear. The fear we choose to enjoy. In this post, I’d like to personalize Jack’s post: the fear I choose. In his classic essay, Supernatural Horror In Literature, HP Lovecraft noted that “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,…
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The Fear We Choose
Horror may seem an odd choice for recreational reading, and to a person who doesn’t get it, there is no explanation you can offer that can make it reasonable. After all, our most visceral fear kicks in when our lives are in danger, and who in their right mind wants to have their lives in…
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