Author: Angeline Trevena

As part of Women in Horror Month I interviewed fellow female horror writer, N.M. Scuri. She is a short story author, novelist, college instructor, and editor. She holds a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and her work has appeared in The Spectral Times, among others.

Her publications include “It’s All Good News,” which is included in the anthology Sins of the Past, 13: Thirteen Paintings and Stories, a collection of short stories and art by Byron Rempel, and “The Watcher in the Sea”, set in the Aokigahara forest in Japan. She is also a regular on the internet radio show Ghost News Network, where she discusses literature, as well as historical topics in the paranormal.

When she’s not terrorizing freshmen or posting two-sentence horror stories, she’s tending to her schnauzer, Yoshi’s, social media footprint and frightening her relatives. You can find her at gplus.to/nmscuri.

How did you first become interested in horror, and what led you to write in that genre?
It’s just a genre I’ve always loved. My mom was a huge Dark Shadows fan and I was raised on Hammer films and Stephen King.

How do people react when you tell them you write horror?
They don’t know what to make of it. People have, well, peculiar ideas about writers in general, horror writers in particular. I guess I don’t look the type to have bodies hidden in my basement, as far as they know…

What prompted your decision to publish under your initials rather than your full name?
When I graduated from college, I began teaching. I wanted to keep my online writing life separate from my teaching life.

Why do you think horror is such a male-dominated genre? Do women have a harder time as horror writers?
Unfortunately, I think we do. I was reading an excellent article about the public perception of horror writers, only to see the author (a male horror writer guest blogging on a female writer’s blog) refer to the “next generation of breakout horror writers” as great husbands and fathers. It can be frustrating.

What do you think the future of the horror genre is?
There are a lot of great new writers coming out, both male and female, established writers like Joe Lansdale and Stephen King are still producing excellent work, and shows like the Walking Dead are mainstream. Going forward, I see the genre continuing to grow. An important development is the diversification of the genre: we have everything from psychological horror to splatterpunk. There is something for every taste and sensibility.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a collection of two sentence horror stories with illustrator Byron Rempel. He’s great to work with and brings a suitably disturbing dimension to the stories. His 1000 Zombies project is worth checking out.

Women in Horror Month (WiHM) assists female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education. Every February, supporters host events, write blogs and articles, conduct interviews, and create videos and podcasts supporting the achievements of women involved in the most extreme storytelling genre: horror.

As part of WiHM, I have interviewed fellow female horror writer, Chantal Noordeloos. When she’s not raising her supervillain daughter, Chantal writes the stories that haunt her most. She’s a self-proclaimed genre floozie, who battles demons as easily as she travels through rips in space and time. If she had a warning label, it would read: “Warning, contains shenanigans.” You can visit her website at www.chantalnoordeloos.info

How did you first get interested in horror, and what prompted you to write in that genre?
My fascination with horror starts with the aesthetics of it all, there is elegance in darkness. There is a combination of shock and disgust, often mixed with a morbid form of beauty. I think fear is a big factor in why horror is so appealing. Many of us are drawn to that emotion, and as long as it is controlled, it is entertaining. My love for writing horror comes from being scared of everything. It started when I was a child, being alone in the dark terrified me. As soon as the lights went out, my brain would start to torment me, and conjure up the most horrific images. As a little girl I would protect myself from monsters with a big pile of cuddly toys. I would battle my own fears by telling scary stories. At least that way I could share them with others, and that took the sting off. Even now, I sometimes use the topics that really frighten me, as a way to ‘cast out my personal demons’, so to speak. Being afraid helps with the inspiration.

How do people react when you tell them you write horror?
People who know me won’t even flinch, and if they’re surprised or shocked, they don’t show it. I am not sure what that says about me? Maybe it says more about the people I know? I’ve always had an affinity with horror, even when I was younger. I would run role-play games that were horror themed. To be honest, I had a bit of a reputation for being a ‘horror Dungeon Master’. I liked nothing more than scaring the living day lights out of the people who played these games with me. The sadist in me would get great pleasure out of making people scream. As for strangers… I don’t get a lot of reactions to the themes I write. The worst I’ve had was people pulling up their noses and telling me they’re not horror fans.

You started out writing short stories. How does writing shorts differ to writing full-length works?
Writing short stories is a whole different ball game. In a short story, you need to tell a lot in only a few words. The disadvantage of this is that you have to omit a lot of back story, and you need to be very selective with your descriptions. There is no time for a slow build up, and you can’t ease your reader into the setting, or get them slowly acquainted with your characters. The advantage is that you don’t struggle with things such as pacing and plot holes. At least, not on the whole. I never have to outline a short story, all I need is to know how the story will end, and I’m good to go.

Novels are a different matter, I need to make a lot of notes, or I’ll write myself into a corner. Longer work requires a lot more attention, I’ve been known to mix up hair and eye color in minor characters.

For the record, I enjoy both. I do, however, need to be in the right frame of mind for either one. I find it very difficult to write a short story in between writing a novel, (I speak from recent experience) and vice versa, I struggle writing a novel after having written several short stories.

Why do you think horror is such a male dominated genre? How can women address this?
That’s a tricky question. It’s not just one reason why horror is male dominated, I think there is a lot to this topic. Let me try and give a shot at answering some of it.

Most genre fiction, with the exception of romance, children’s books and young adult, is male dominated. Certain genres, like horror and science fiction, have a bit of a gender label on them. I think this stems from the 19th century, where people believed that women were still delicate little flowers that should be protected from the unpleasantness in the world. Of course, nowadays we know this is baloney, but some stereotypes are difficult to break.

A lot of people use the argument that ‘women don’t write horror’, and that’s bull. There may be less female authors out there than male in the genre, but we’re there… and there are quite a few of us. What I’ve learned so far is that quite a few people shy away from female authors. What I suspect is that people assume that if horror is written by a woman, it will automatically focus on romance somehow. I’ve been told that women can’t write ‘real horror’, and that we don’t go as ‘deep’ or as ‘far’ as men do. To anyone who thinks that, I invite you to read my novel, or even my short stories. There is little I shy away from. I write brutal stuff.

Maybe we’re still quite invisible because female horror writers haven’t been as prolific over the past four centuries. We have Mary Shelley, who is our champion in Gothic horror, but women didn’t start getting a bit of fame in the genre until much later in the twentieth century. So we have a lot of catching up to do. I hope that things will change over time, that women will get more of a chance in the horror genre. We really do deserve it.

Do I think women can write a type of horror that men can’t? No I don’t. I don’t think women can write more emotional depth than men, just like I don’t think men can write better gore than women. It’s all up to the individual writer.

What are you working on now?
At the moment I’m working on the first novel in a series called Celestials (I haven’t come up with a title for the novel itself yet. Coming up with titles tends to be a long, and rather dramatic process for me, with lots of gasping, sighing and eye rolling). This series intertwines with my Lucifer Falls series (the first book of that is Angel Manor) and focuses around angels and demons. I’m not sure if this will be a horror series yet (Lucifer Falls is definitely horror, some would even say extreme horror) but Celestials will definitely be dark fiction.

There comes a time in every writer’s career when they need to ask the opinions of others. Be it finding beta readers, advice on their cover, their title, their blurb, or receiving reviews for their published works. There are hundreds of blog posts out there telling you how to offer a critique; we all know there’s a world of difference between critiquing and criticising. But what about the other way around? How do you accept the opinions of others?

We’ve all known people who don’t take criticism well. The writers who ask for opinions, and then tear down anyone who offers one. Some people aren’t looking for advice, they are simply looking for validation. So before you look for advice, ask yourself: are you ready to receive it?

If the answer is ‘yes’, then your next consideration is where to ask:

• Friends and family are an obvious starting point, but there is a big risk that they will be most concerned with sparing your feelings. Being told your work is perfect doesn’t help you; it doesn’t help you improve, it doesn’t help you grow. But if you can trust them to be honest, they can be a great resource. Just be careful advice doesn’t turn into arguments!
• Writing groups. If you’re lucky enough to have a writing group in your area, you have other writers there ready to help you out.
• Book groups can also be a great source of beta readers. They may not be writers themselves, but they are seasoned readers who know what works and what doesn’t.
• Online. Groups, forums, social networks; there are writers gathering everywhere online. Find groups that understand your genre, with writers with varying levels of experience. Those who have been through the process themselves can really help, while new writers can give fresh perspectives untainted by ‘being in the business’.

You are going to get a wide range of opinions, and a lot of advice will contradict what others say. The hardest job you have is sifting through what you will act on, from what you will ignore. Here’s a few pointers:

• Not all advice is good advice. It may be well meaning, but it may not be right for you. It may come from misunderstanding, from inexperience, through misjudgement, or even through jealousy. You don’t need to follow every piece of advice you get.
• There will be trolls. Not everyone out there has your best interests at heart. Some people are simply out to cause trouble, or to start arguments.
• Don’t defend yourself. If people pick your work apart, don’t jump to your own defence. Don’t get angry or upset, don’t take it personally. Never get into arguments. Smile, thank them for their input, and move on. If you need to clarify something, do so politely and with consideration. Bad reputations are easy to get, but very hard to get rid of.
• You can’t please all of the people. You are very unlikely to get unanimous opinions; there will always be people who don’t like your work. That does not mean it’s bad, simply that it’s not for them. In most cases, you’re safe to go with the majority vote.
• Sleep on it. Before responding, following, or ignoring advice, let it sink in. Take your time, and don’t act on impulse or immediate emotion.
• Be wary of outspoken opinions and lone voices. Be wary of people who have nothing positive to say. Be wary of people who don’t explain their opinions, or who give criticism without any suggestions for improvement. Also be wary of people who tell you how it should be done.
• Consider everything that is suggested to you. Even if it seems silly or completely off the mark. Don’t dismiss anything out of hand. There may well be a gem hidden amongst some otherwise unusable advice.

Always act with decorum. The writing and publishing community is very small: you’ll be surprised who knows who, and how quickly reputations can spread. You don’t want to find yourself blacklisted because you had a tantrum online.

• Stand back and, largely, let the discussion happen without you.
• Thank everyone for their input.
• You needn’t tell people whether or not you’re going to take their advice.
• Make your own decisions. At the end of the day, this is your work, and you have to be true to yourself.
• Don’t dwell on criticism. Don’t take it personally or let it dent your confidence. If you need to, re-boost your ego by going to those kind friends and family who will tell you you’re amazing (we all need to hear that from time to time).

There is so much expertise out there, so much talent and creativity. There’s a lot of mutual support, a lot of championing going on. The writing community is, by and large, a wonderfully friendly place. Don’t be scared to ask for feedback, it’s the best way to fulfil your potential as a writer.

Last week I received the nicest rejection I’ve ever had. In fact, I’ve had less polite acceptances than this. This is what the rejection email said:

Thank you so much for sending us [story title] — I very much enjoyed reading it! Unfortunately, it’s not a good fit for us right now. It’s an interesting story, well-told and evocative, but it’s a little too far into horror for our particular project. I have no doubt you’ll find a home for it, though, as it’s quite good.

They went on to offer me a little editing advice, which I have acted on. And, you know, I can’t even be sad about being rejected for being ‘a little too far into horror’. I’m really rather proud of that!

But it’s really made me think about submission guidelines, getting a good feel for what publishers want, and the value of taking a risk on a submission.

Here’s what this particular publication said in their submission guidelines:

We strongly prefer science fiction and fantasy, but will consider just about anything that you think we might enjoy.

Yes, sending horror was a risk, but they also state a turnaround time of no more than 2 weeks, so I figured it was worth a punt. In fact, the turnaround was less than 24 hours, leaving me free to submit it elsewhere. And their lovely rejection gave me all the confidence I needed to resubmit it.

Because one thing I’ve learnt over the years is this: many publications that state they accept ‘any genre’ are less accepting of horror than anything else. Many of them won’t publish horror at all, despite that ‘any genre’ offer. As a horror writer, the safe bet is always to stick to horror-centric publishers. I can’t imagine a splatterpunk horror ever winning the Reader’s Digest short story competition (though I would love to see it happen!) Luckily for us, there is a vast, varied and truly exciting horror market out there.

Most of the rejections you receive will be because your story isn’t a good fit for that publication, not because it is bad. Here’s some tips to help you find the right publisher for your story:

• Read the submission guidelines carefully. Do not skim-read them. If you can’t be bothered to read the guidelines, they won’t bother to read your story. Why should they?
• Read the submission guidelines carefully. Yes. Do it again. Do it a third time. Then again, just before you submit.
• If you’re submitting to a magazine, read a copy of it. Make it a recent copy, as their slant/focus/editors may have changed. If you can, read several copies. Get a real feel for what they want.
• If you’re submitting for a specific anthology call, check out the other anthologies the publisher has published. The same advice applies as for magazines.
• If it’s a brand new publisher, check out the editors. What do they write? What do they read? Find them on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Goodreads.
• If the editors aren’t listed, see what else you can find out about the publisher. Who runs it? Sometimes this information isn’t openly available, but there’s still things you can look at. What can you presume from the company name? The logo? The colour of the website?
• Follow the publishers on social networking. What other writers follow them? Engage with them. Ask them what they are looking for (but don’t ask questions that are clearly answered on their website)
• If you want to take a chance, choose a publisher with a quick turnaround.

And now a word on Punching Above your Weight.

As writers, we are constantly learning. You will never know it all. Let’s get that idea out of the way straight off. However long you’ve been writing, there is always something new to learn. Your style will change and mature over time. You are not going to get a professional sale with your first submission. You just won’t. But keep hold of that dream, keep striving, but be realistic too.

Submitting to the big name publishers, the professional payers, is great experience. It’s a valuable experience. Fortune favours the brave, you have to be in it to win it, in for a penny in for a pound, and all that. You have nothing to lose, and, if you should get some feedback from them, you have everything to gain.

But know your limits. If you’re rejected from a pro-paying market, consider lowering your price. Don’t blindly refuse to take anything other than the top whack. I know people who think like that. They’re not selling anything. Build you portfolio, gain the experience, improve, evolve, and try again.

As I’ve discussed (admitted, maybe) in previous posts, I am not a plotter. Why don’t I plot? Because I find it boring. I find that it stagnates my creativity and bleeds all of the excitement out of a story before I’ve even started it. I really enjoy bumbling around inside the story, letting the characters lead the way, letting them surprise me.

And it’s all well and good for writing short stories. But longer pieces? I believe this to be the reason that I haven’t finished a novel yet.

I’ve tried a million different ways to plot. I’ve read books, blog posts, and websites, watched YouTube videos, poured over all the plotting advice I can. But here’s the thing: there is not one magic formula that works for everyone. We all need to find what works for us. For years I’ve been kidding myself that my way works. But it really doesn’t.

Writing in this way causes problems – I abandon a lot of floundering stories, I drown in the middle, and I get stuck not knowing how to end. It’s hard to stick to a word limit, it’s hard to meet deadlines, and I often find editing results in an almost entire rewrite. While I have got much better, this made me a slow writer in the past; always waiting for my muse, going months without writing a word.

At the beginning of October I started writing a short story for a deadline on the 31st. I had a month, I knew I could do it. By the 15th, the story had tailed off. I was lost in it. I didn’t know where it was headed and I was writing nothing more than empty words without purpose. I thought I would have to give up on it all together.

Some time ago, I subscribed to The Self-Publishing Podcast; run by indie writers Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David W. Wright. I’m still catching up with it, and their July episode, The Long-Awaited “Story Beats” Episode, came at exactly the right time for me. Whether you’ve already found your perfect plotting method, or if you’re still floundering like me, I suggest you give it a listen either way.

Plotting with Story Beats—basically bullet pointing the main events of the story—is not only a quick and simple plotting tool, cutting back on stagnation, but it also allows a lot of scope for discovery writing around the skeleton outline, allowing the characters to continue coming up with surprises. It seems perfect for me.

With just 10 days to the submission deadline, and a promise that this method allows for much faster first drafts, I sat down to beat out a whole new story. In a matter of minutes, I had my plot scrawled onto one sheet of paper. I was ready to go.

Along with writing a fast first draft, you have to allow yourself to write badly. You have to silence that inner editor. It’s not easy, it takes practice. Every cliché, every lazy phrase, every plot hole and lack of foreshadowing, my inner editor went nuts. But I just drank more coffee, looked back at my story beats, and pressed on. I wrote badly.

In less than a week, I had my first draft. And actually, when I read it back, it wasn’t half as bad as I expected it to be.

As for the story’s success, I’m still waiting for a response, so I’ll have to let you know. But I think I may have found something that works for me, and that’s very good news. Sure, the jury’s still out right now; I can’t exactly claim one finished story as proof positive that this is the method for me. But I’m certainly going to give it a shot.

Largely, writers can be split into two different camps: those who plot, and those who don’t. Many writers fall into the spectrum in between, but at one end are the ‘Plotters’, and at the other end… well, they’re often called ‘Pantsers’, but I find that phrase a little uncouth. I prefer Discovery Writers. It makes me sound like I know what I’m doing, like I’m following some kind of official writing theory or strategy.

For some writers, starting a story without knowing where it will end is not only unthinkable, it’s terrifying. It’s like going for a drive on unfamiliar roads without a map, a GPS, an emergency flare. Many would say it’s idiotic, asking for trouble. So why would anyone want to write in this way?

• Plots can feel stifling and hamper creativity
• The feeling of the unknown can be really exciting
• It allows the story to grow more organically
• The writer can change their mind on what their characters do and where the story takes them

Admittedly, short story are far easier to discovery write than novels. There are fewer sub plots to get tangled up in, fewer characters to follow. Often, I set out writing a story with nothing more than an opening line or two, or the name of my main character. I very rarely know what the ending will be. I just have faith that it will reveal itself as I go along. To me, it’s all part of the adventure, and there are several benefits to writing like this:

• Ideas can crop up along the way that the writer may not have thought of otherwise
• It can make characterisation stronger; allowing the characters to lead the way can ensure everything they do or say is in character, and readers aren’t left thinking ‘they wouldn’t do that’
• Motivation to write is fuelled by the excitement of finding out what happens next
• It can help to avoid info-dumps, because the writer only discovers things about their world as their characters do

As with everything, there are downfalls. For one, discovery writing can make editing a heavier task—particularly going back through the text to foreshadow important plot points later in the story, changing character details, adding in explanations and context. And, of course, there is always the chance you may find yourself getting completely lost. But just like when you’re out on a drive, there are ways that you can find your way back to the main road again:

• Go back to the last strong plot marker you placed
• Think about that ending you had in mind
• Ask your characters; see what they want to do
• Walk away and do something else, let your brain come up with the answer subconsciously
• Read your story so far to someone else, and ask for ideas
• Brainstorm
• Just go for the ride and see where you end up

You need to be a little bit brave, a little reckless to be a discovery writer. But if you can silence your inner editor, and allow your first draft to suck, if you can have faith that everything will turn out fine in the end, then discovery writing can be a very exciting ride. It’s not going to be for everyone, but if you’re still unsure what kind of writer you are, or you’re open to trying something new, why not give it a go? Start with a sentence, and see where it takes you.

Acceptances are great, aren’t they? You idly check your email inbox, imagining today to simply be another day, and there; an email response to your submission. Your heart pounds, your breath comes in quick gasps, your hand trembles as you hover the mouse over the email. You count down from three, screw your eyes closed, and click. Peering through a half-open eye, you read the fateful words. You leap from your chair, scaring the cat in the process, and complete whatever kind of victory dance you’ve adopted over the years. You look ridiculous, but who cares? Your story was accepted!

However, that submissions coin has another side. The email is only one line long, and it starts with the word ‘unfortunately’. You read it again. Surely this is some kind of mistake. Did they send this to the wrong email? They can’t have hated your story, it was the work of a genius!

And then, the inevitable depression. The feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing. Perhaps you really are a terrible writer. You’re never going to get anywhere with this, you’re just wasting your time. That’s it, you’re never going to write again!

Sit down. Have a cuppa. Breathe.

Every writer gets rejections. Even that perfect, amazing, world-famous writer that you aspire to be bigger than someday. You know, the one whose name is in a larger font on their covers than the title is. And most of the time, you’re not rejected because your story was rubbish. You’re rejected because it didn’t quite fit the publication. But it may well fit somewhere else.

So here’s what you should do after getting that rejection:

• Write a piece about how stupid they are for not accepting you, how they don’t know talent when they see it. Then delete it.
• Moan to a friend or relative, and let them tell you how amazing you are.
• Make a list of your writing successes.
• Go through your rejected piece and highlight all your favourite lines.
• Eat an entire tub of ice cream.
• Watch your favourite movie.
• Find a new call for submissions and start writing a piece for that.
• Buy yourself a treat. You deserve it because you’re awesome.
• Look over your story, see where you can improve it, and submit it elsewhere.
• Use the rejection to make yourself a better writer.

Be stubborn, be tenacious, tell yourself your next submission will be better. Write more, submit more, grow your portfolio. They say that the best revenge is to live well. And it’s true. So set yourself a mission – to become such a talented, prolific writer that one day, that publisher that rejected you, comes to you and asks you for a story.

But just to balance things, and because we all do crazy things in the heat of the moment, here’s what not to do when you get a rejection:

• Email the publisher and attach the piece you wrote about how stupid they are for not accepting you, and how they don’t know talent when they see it.
• Email the publisher at all.
• Rant about them online, telling the world what a huge mistake they’ve made.
• Swear you’ll never submit to them again because they don’t know a good thing when they see it.
• Delete all your writing from your computer because it’s obviously rubbish.
• Think that this, in any way, reflects on you as a person.

The way you feel after a rejection, that will fade. All you need is a little ego boost. Here’s my coping secret: I keep a little list of places to submit that have super-fast response times. A couple of days, a week at most. Places I’ve submitted before, where I know they like my work, where I know I have a good chance of success. I submit to them. I get to do my victory dance. (It hasn’t backfired on me yet.)

The Horror Writer’s Association (HWA) are to accept self published works as membership qualification for the first time, after a referendum voted in favour of the changes by a significant margin.

Founded by horror writer Robert R. McCammon, the HWA’s inaugural meeting at the 1985 World Fantasy Convention was attended by no more than two dozen people. Today, the association boasts more than 800 members worldwide. In 1986, Dean Koontz was chosen as the organisation’s first president, and in a statement to members, he said that the HWA could “add dignity and publicity to the field, as well as giving horror fiction a focus.”

Since then, the organisation has sought to encourage public interest and appreciation of good horror and dark fantasy literature through sponsoring public readings and lectures, publishing newsletters, facilitating readings and signings, and maintaining an official presence at the major horror and fantasy conventions.

The new membership bylaws, effective from July 24th, will allow sign up to both Active and Affiliate membership levels based on qualifying self published book sales. Active (professional) membership requires proven earnings of $2000 from a single work within two years of publication, while the threshold for Affiliate (semi-professional) membership is $200. These requirements match those for non self published works, essentially seeing self publishers valued in equal measure to their traditionally published counterparts.

HWA’s President Rocky Wood said of the changes, “We are pleased to be leading the way in recognizing self-published authors who earn the same as mainstream, independent and specialty press authors. Self published authors are an important part of the very vibrant horror and dark fiction community and we welcome them at all levels of the Horror Writers Association.”

The changes are a significant development in the self publishing movement, reflecting a general shift in attitude across the literary profession as a whole. In its earlier days, the self publishing option was widely viewed as a short-cut or the only option for writers unable to obtain a publishing contract, thought to be flooding the market with poorly written and poorly edited literature. Many writers were fearful of self publishing, understanding that it would negatively impact their chances of a publishing contract in the future.

But in more recent years, self publishing has become a career choice, rather than a last option. Offering writers more control and, of course, a bigger return on sales, even big name authors have been joining the self publishing ranks. Figures released this month by the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, register a significant drop in author earnings since 2005 and, in response, the Society of Authors’ chief executive has claimed that traditional publishers’ terms “are no longer fair or sustainable”.

The changes in the HWA’s membership bylaws will now allow self published writers access to exclusive networking, mentoring, information trading, and promotional resources, all designed to support them in furthering their career: rubbing shoulders with a membership list that includes the likes of Stephen King and Clive Barker.