How to Take Your Love of Horror to The Next Level
How to Take Your Love of Horror to The Next Level
By Kelly Florence and Meg Hafdahl
As we’re celebrating the re-vamp of our podcast and YouTube show Horror Rewind, we thought we’d talk about turning horror into more than just a pastime.
Sure, when we were reading Stephen King books and watching slasher flicks on summer breaks, we had a vague idea that a few, special people got to live and breathe horror as a career. Meg even used to pretend to be interviewed with a fake microphone in her mirror as the “next Stephen King” in grade school.
But then that stupid thing called reality came settling in, you know, rent, gas, diapers, the popcorn and movie ticket fund. Horror was our hobby, and for you, maybe that’s all it needs to be. Meg’s husband is content painting and playing Warhammer for fun, and Kelly’s husband is an avid golfer who doesn’t have ambitions to go pro. Though, if you’re like us, and have an inkling of interest in making horror more than a pastime, let us give you a few tips from our years in the gory trenches.
1) You’re opinion matters.
Have you spent countless hours watching horror films? Playing horror games? Reading horror books or comics? Good news! You’re an expert! Don’t let those trolls on the internet fool you, you have vital things to say about the genre you love. Now is the time to start compiling notes, and getting confident about what you have to say. Because, yeah, there are a lot of opinions out there, but we need YOURS.
2) Find what works for you.
Think about your personality first. Are you someone who won’t mind being on camera? Have interest in editing? Maybe a vlog is for you! Dabble in writing? Have a penchant for vocabulary? Blogs, newsletters, and online review magazines are still viable options to spread the word.
3) Create horror.
As we said your opinion matters, we also need you to MAKE horror! Don’t be intimidated by all those creators you follow, be inspired by them! Knit, paint, write, draw, bake, sing. This world needs less AI and more human makers of all things spooky. Then once you’ve made it, share it!
4) After lots of arduous work comes the “secret sauce.”
After you’ve begun to figure out what you are passionate about, and what your talents are, it’s going to become clear what makes you stand out. For us, it became an academic approach to horror, as well as a feminist angle. We love to talk nerdy when we talk horror, and we’re writers and researchers at heart. For you it might be that you have a special talent for video editing, as well as a filmic eye. Maybe you can make great 30 second slashers? Create hilarious, viral horror book t-shirts? Maybe you don’t even know what it is yet? How exciting!
So now, you’re asking, but Kelly and Meg, what about that money? In this economy I need that cash!
We’re not going to lie to you, quitting your day job to make slasher merch or review speculative books isn’t going to be an overnight recipe for success. Unless you know something we don’t? But, if you have the dedication to start a side hustle, add a dash of networking, plus a sprinkle of luck, you might just make some money. And then that side hustle, over time, may become your career!
- About the Author
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Horror and suspense author Meg Hafdahl is the creator of numerous stories and books. Her fiction has appeared in anthologies such as Eve’s Requiem: Tales of Women, Mystery and Horror and Eclectically Criminal. Her work has been produced for audio by The Wicked Library and The Lift, and she is the author of two popular short story collections including Twisted Reveries: Thirteen Tales of the Macabre. Meg is also the author of the two novels; Daughters of Darkness and Her Dark Inheritance called “an intricate tale of betrayal, murder, and small town intrigue” by Horror Addicts and “every bit as page turning as any King novel” by RW Magazine. Meg, also the co-host of the podcast Horror Rewind and co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King and upcoming The Science of Serial Killers, lives in the snowy bluffs of Minnesota.
Link to author page on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Meg-Hafdahl/e/B01B0W4PHA/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Kelly Florence teaches communication at Lake Superior College in Duluth, MN and is the creator of the Be a Better Communicator podcast. She received her BA in theatre from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and her MA in communicating arts from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. She has written, directed, produced, choreographed, and stage managed for dozens of productions in Minnesota including Carrie: The Musical through Rubber Chicken Theatre and Treasure Island for Wise Fool Theater. She is passionate about female representation in all media and particularly the horror genre. She is the co-author of The Science of Monsters, The Science of Women in Horror, The Science of Stephen King, The Science of Serial Killers, and The Science of Witchcraft with Meg Hafdahl. They co-host the Horror Rewind podcast and write and produce horror projects together. Kelly is repped by Stacey Kondla (Literary Agent) at The Rights Factory and Karmen Wells (TV/Film Agent) at The Rights Factory.
