Brandon Cornett's Blog, page 12

Demons in Horror Movies: 7 Demonic Possession Films to Haunt You

Do you like demons in horror movies? Do you like movies that involve demonic possession and other kinds of hellish hauntings? You’ve come to the right place. Grab your crucifix and your holy water. We’re about to get knee-deep in some horror movie demons and demonic possessions.

Pazuzu tormenting Regan in The Exorcist (1973). Warner Bros. Pictures. Demonic Forces: Frightening and Fascinating

What is it about demons that fascinates mere mortals like us? Why do they scare us? The answer ...

A High School Horror Novel Is Born: Meet ‘The Holdbacks’

The Breakfast Club meets 28 Days Later in this high school horror novel…

Do you like horror novels and movies set in high schools? Do you like viral “outbreak” stories that result in a breakdown of civilization? Do you like The Breakfast Club and/or 28 Days Later? Do you like the concept of high school sweethearts struggling against all odds to (A) survive the next hour and (B) reunite with one another?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you might enjoy my forthcoming h...

The Holdbacks: A High School Horror Novel Is Born

The Breakfast Club meets 28 Days Later in this high school horror novel…

Do you like horror novels and movies set in high schools? Do you like viral “outbreak” stories that result in a breakdown of civilization? Do you like The Breakfast Club and/or 28 Days Later? Do you like the concept of high school sweethearts struggling against all odds to (A) survive the next hour and (B) reunite with one another?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you might enjoy my forthcoming h...

Meet the Scariest Serial Killer in Fiction: Buffalo Bill

His name is Jame Gumb. He’s an introvert. He’s really into moths. He knows how to sew. And in my opinion, he is one of the scariest serial killers and villains in all of fiction.

Read on to find out what makes Jame Gumb (a.k.a. “Buffalo Bill”) one of the scariest fictional killers in literature.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Thomas Harris wrote The Silence of the Lambs in 1988. It’s a sequel to his 1981 Red Dragon, the novel that introduced us to Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Both bo...

How to Create Scary Robots, Androids and AI (in Sci-Fi Horror Fiction)

My current work in progress, Meadowview, is about a woman who visits a mega-mall at Christmastime to retrieve her errant teenage daughter. While she’s there, the mall’s service androids turn murderous and begin attacking shoppers. What starts as a routine trip turns into a harrowing survival situation.

I’m telling you this because it relates to the theme of this article. While writing the book, I spent a lot of time thinking of ways to make robots, androids and AI scary (within the context of...

How to Write a Novel When You Work Full Time: Tips, Schedule & More

The fact that you’ve arrived here tells me two things. You want to write a novel, and you work full time.

Maybe you need a sample writing schedule for people with full-time jobs. Maybe you want some tips and advice from someone who has “been there and done that.” You’re in the right place!

I’ve written three novels while working full time, and I’m currently finishing number four. So let me start by saying, it’s totally doable. The key is to optimize what little writing time you do have. So...

How to Write a Novel When You Work Full Time

The fact that you’ve arrived here tells me two things. You want to write a novel, and you work full time.

Maybe you need a sample writing schedule for people with full-time jobs. Maybe you want some tips and advice from someone who has “been there and done that.” You’re in the right place!

I’ve written three novels while working full time, and I’m currently finishing number four. So let me start by saying, it’s totally doable. The key is to optimize what little writing time you do have. So...

How to Make a Novel Longer: 5 Ways to Increase Word Count

Looking for ways to make your novel longer? Maybe you’re stuck in the novella range and want to increase the word count to reach novel length?

If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place! Below, I’ve outlined five techniques you can use to lengthen your story without sacrificing quality.

Five Ways to Make Your Novel Longer

You might want your novel to be longer. But I prefer to keep this blog post as short as possible, while delivering the goods. So let’s jump right in. Here are ...

A Post-Apocalyptic YA Novel with a Strong Female Protagonist

My latest book, Olive Undead, is a post-apocalyptic YA novel with a strong female protagonist. It’s the story of a 16-year-old girl struggling to survive in a world populated by monsters.

In addition to being a horror story, this novel falls into the outbreak / plague subgenre of post-apocalyptic fiction. (Yeah, I know. Timely, right? Here we are in a pandemic, and I’m writing about a viral outbreak. You go where the story takes you!)

The Story Behind the Story

This novel has an interes...

Stopping the Next Coronavirus Pandemic Starts With These Bats

The next coronavirus pandemic is out there in nature, right now, as you’re reading this words. It lives within bats. But bats are not the enemy. They are hugely important animals. Ignorance is the enemy.

If we don’t understand these viruses — and there are many of them — we are doomed to repeat history. We will almost certainly experience another coronavirus pandemic, maybe within our lifetimes. Let’s not be ignorant.

Rufous horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rouxii). Photo by Aditya Joshi. Image...