I am finishing up my 2nd book, and have a pretty good idea for my next one. it's a horror novel. I have about 40 pages of an outline. I showed it to a fellow published writer and a friend who is a Stephen King & Richard Mathison fan. They both really loved what I had.

But I wanted to ask the Org readers a few questions. And I'm specifically talking about books, not movies necessarily (although if your answers cross-reference both, great).

What do you like to see in a horror novel? And what do you not like to see? What is good, and what is cheesy or predictable to you personally? I'd appreciate your pluses and minuses on things you love or hate, whether character flaws, nuances, imagery, whatever.

good for you that's cool! for me i love plots that leave me guessing, characters i can relate to and fairly believable scenarios involving the supernatural.

i'm not as keen on tales of human madness because real life offers too many of those but they can be interesting too. please keep us posted.

Clive Barker Books of Blood.

I'm a huge Stephen King fan. I've read all his work, but I haven't read a lot of other horror otherwise. I would love some recommendations though. I do not like to see unnecessary brutal violence. I love good guys vs bad guys and those inbetween. I love solid characters who are flawed because that is real to me. I don't mind an ending that leaves me "wondering".

Empress said:

EmmaMcG said:

Tales of vampires and werewolves are all well and good but if you want something truly terrifying, I'd advise you to stay away from monsters and demons and such. Religious cults are what you need. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck and I look forward to reading it.

Yeah, there isn't a monster in this. I'm a huge King fan as well. I remember him saying that it's always more interesting when a person, a loved one, becomes a monster. People always make better monsters especially ones you would least expect to be, and that is what I believe. So no werewolves, zombies, demons, vampires, etc. No rabid dogs or cats with a bad attitude.

There is a "religious" type element in it, but it's unconventional. it's not about a cult or group of followers of some self-imposed leader. That seemed to easy. So think I'm on a decent path leaving out the above typical elements.

TrivialPursuit said:

EmmaMcG said:

Empress said:

I'm a huge Stephen King fan. I've read all his work, but I haven't read a lot of other horror otherwise. I would love some recommendations though. I do not like to see unnecessary brutal violence. I love good guys vs bad guys and those inbetween. I love solid characters who are flawed because that is real to me. I don't mind an ending that leaves me "wondering".

If you're looking for recommendations in the horror genre then you can't go wrong with the classics. Dracula is a particular favourite of mine but any of Edgar Allen Poe's horror stories are worth a look. As for Trivial's question, I'd like to see something that's not been done to death. There are so many horror clichés so stay away from those and I reckon you'll be on to a winner. We don't need to read about idiots walking alone in the woods during a full moon. Also, despite what I said earlier about Dracula, I generally prefer horror stories when it's something I can relate to. Tales of vampires and werewolves are all well and good but if you want something truly terrifying, I'd advise you to stay away from monsters and demons and such. Religious cults are what you need. I don't know about anyone else but the idea of someone blindly following a religion, ANY religion, and who is also willing to altar their own lives to suit that religion and or its leader, scares the fuck out of me. So yeah, a horror story based around the kidnap and brainwashing of local people by a religious cult would work really well, I think. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck and I look forward to reading it.

Thanks Emma, I have read Dracula and Frankenstein. Both are fantastic classics. Any recommendations for more current stuff?

Empress said:

EmmaMcG said:

Empress said:

Thanks Emma, I have read Dracula and Frankenstein. Both are fantastic classics. Any recommendations for more current stuff?

The Shining (not current but more current than Dracula and co.) The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. House Of Leaves. I can't remember who wrote it but I read it on my Kindle and it terrified me.

I have read all of these, but thanks anyway Emma.

Empress said:

not truly a horror NOVEL fan. But a short story fan... I like Fredric Brown and Robert Bloch (old old school)...mainly for the humor (Brown wasn't as great) and the cunning or ridiculousness....

I've read King novels... not a big fan of the ones I've read and I seldom read fiction. But for what it's worth I like 11/22/63 and THE STAND as well as CARRIE, but didn't like The Shining, Christine, err... Cujo.... geez and whichever other one I read... Its been a while and like I said. I seldom read fiction unless it's absurd or dark.... Use to read Patterson crime stuff... those were on a whim things...like Philip Margolin... easy night reads that used my brain but not too much.

I collected Bloch for a bit... he released some real duds in the mix.

Horror fan here (and published author if you want to pick my brains) ...

The A to B to C flow of the story needs to trump everything. Pages of descripton or non-essential info can kill a story. This can be tricky with horror as atmosphere is pretty essential to, but paragraphs of pure description as a short cut to atmosphere is something I see a lot of in cheap / poor quality horror. Stick to telling the story and be smart about weaving in the atmosphere.

Characters need to be likeable ... obviously that doesn't mean two-dimensional but too much modern horror makes their lead characters arseholes when I think what they were aiming for is "edgy".

Avoid the Tarantino effect with the dialogue too ... it was fresh in 1992, but its been done to death since.

Good luck!

DaveT said:

Horror fan here (and published author if you want to pick my brains) ...

The A to B to C flow of the story needs to trump everything. Pages of descripton or non-essential info can kill a story. This can be tricky with horror as atmosphere is pretty essential to, but paragraphs of pure description as a short cut to atmosphere is something I see a lot of in cheap / poor quality horror. Stick to telling the story and be smart about weaving in the atmosphere.

Characters need to be likeable ... obviously that doesn't mean two-dimensional but too much modern horror makes their lead characters arseholes when I think what they were aiming for is "edgy".

Avoid the Tarantino effect with the dialogue too ... it was fresh in 1992, but its been done to death since.

Good luck!

Thanks! I hate Tarantino. He's a fucking hack, so no worries about lifting anything he's done. You sort of nailed what I was thinking. I want to interlace the atmosphere (a wide-spread term for many things here) into the storyline.

Many of the characters are sort of bitchy or assholes to begin with, which will let me easily pit them against the other. But there are a couple of folks that are otherwise clueless or innocent of the shit that will happen, which I think balances out the evil. In fact, one character's name translates to "pure" or "innocent".

I might pvt msg you about another element, just to get your thoughts on it.

I never thought I'd write this sort of book but the whole thing came to me so quickly I knew I had to do it.

TrivialPursuit said:

DaveT said:

Horror fan here (and published author if you want to pick my brains) ...

The A to B to C flow of the story needs to trump everything. Pages of descripton or non-essential info can kill a story. This can be tricky with horror as atmosphere is pretty essential to, but paragraphs of pure description as a short cut to atmosphere is something I see a lot of in cheap / poor quality horror. Stick to telling the story and be smart about weaving in the atmosphere.

Characters need to be likeable ... obviously that doesn't mean two-dimensional but too much modern horror makes their lead characters arseholes when I think what they were aiming for is "edgy".

Avoid the Tarantino effect with the dialogue too ... it was fresh in 1992, but its been done to death since.

Good luck!

Thanks! I hate Tarantino. He's a fucking hack, so no worries about lifting anything he's done. You sort of nailed what I was thinking. I want to interlace the atmosphere (a wide-spread term for many things here) into the storyline.

Many of the characters are sort of bitchy or assholes to begin with, which will let me easily pit them against the other. But there are a couple of folks that are otherwise clueless or innocent of the shit that will happen, which I think balances out the evil. In fact, one character's name translates to "pure" or "innocent".

I might pvt msg you about another element, just to get your thoughts on it.

I never thought I'd write this sort of book but the whole thing came to me so quickly I knew I had to do it.

Definitely intrigued by your premise, and those diamond ideas for stories are always the ones that suddenly come to you and you just have to write them ... would love to hear more.

I've just finished my current project and it was a similar thing, the central premise popped in my head one day. I've finished my proof reads and just writing the synopsis for shopping around, which is always the bit I hate ... trying to do the story justice in eight or so pages I find a struggle.

Happy to chat over anything else if you want to PM.

Welp, my male erotica book published October 15, and I'm about 35 page into the horror novel. There are about 3 or 4 scenes that take place 40 years ago, before the main story in 1994. That is what I've walked through thus far. There is some violence against the wife/mother and it was harsh writing it. But, it's there for a reason. thank God for the 38-page outline I wrote beforehand. It's already serving as a steady roadmap for the book itself.

Here goes somethin' or nothin'...