H.C. Gray's Blog, page 3
October 15, 2013
British Horror
Putting together a collection of horror stories for self-publishing, I got curious about who else was out there doing the same thing. Turns out, thousands are. Who knew.
A massive amount of horror short story collections however seem to be stuff inspired by films such as "Saw". They are all about the horror of physical pain. That didn't interest me much, truth be told.
What did interest me was psychological horror, about states of fear, set in scary, creepy, terrifying situations. I wanted a bit of supernatural, I wanted hauntings, I wanted ghosts. I wanted the same experiences from the pages of a book that I got from the screen when I watched "Halloween" or "The Others" or "Poltergeist"
I also got curious about British horror. There is a lot of American horror, which is not a complaint, but I thought British horror would have a different edge. I ended up with a chap called Algernon Blackwood and so far, he does not disappoint. He is a masterful storyteller and a genius at describing chilling fearful psychological states.
I also went looking for women horror writers and found Vivienne Tuffnell's "The Moth's Kiss and other Tales". Ten superb creepy stories.
I intend to find and read other female horror short story writers, but this month I am going to start Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep". It'll be the first time I've read King's work newly published and it gives me a chance to join in fresh discussions on Goodreads.
A massive amount of horror short story collections however seem to be stuff inspired by films such as "Saw". They are all about the horror of physical pain. That didn't interest me much, truth be told.
What did interest me was psychological horror, about states of fear, set in scary, creepy, terrifying situations. I wanted a bit of supernatural, I wanted hauntings, I wanted ghosts. I wanted the same experiences from the pages of a book that I got from the screen when I watched "Halloween" or "The Others" or "Poltergeist"
I also got curious about British horror. There is a lot of American horror, which is not a complaint, but I thought British horror would have a different edge. I ended up with a chap called Algernon Blackwood and so far, he does not disappoint. He is a masterful storyteller and a genius at describing chilling fearful psychological states.
I also went looking for women horror writers and found Vivienne Tuffnell's "The Moth's Kiss and other Tales". Ten superb creepy stories.
I intend to find and read other female horror short story writers, but this month I am going to start Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep". It'll be the first time I've read King's work newly published and it gives me a chance to join in fresh discussions on Goodreads.
October 14, 2013
Decisions, Decisions
Writing is about making decisions, isn't it? A writer starts with their story, characters and setting, then has to make decisions about such things as Point of View, where to start, how much information to reveal, who does what and when. Each decision leads you down a pathway where further decisions await.
Publishing, so I discover, is the same. I have been writing stories since I could use a pen, and in the last ten years alone I have written countless stories and full-length books that I have never actually done anything with. So the first decision was to figure out what, if any, were worth publishing?
I got out all my old folders, because I only have hard copies of older work, and read through them all. It was as emotive as going through old photo albums, and just as accurate a reflection of what was happening in my life then. Then I read through my newer work, sat in folders on my laptop. So much work. Where to even start?
In the end, to test the self-publishing route, I decided to leave the books and start with a more manageable collection of short-stories. But which short stories, which genre?
Finally, it was the time of year that decided it. I love autumn and I especially love Halloween! Putting together a collection of horror stories would be so much fun! But which stories counted as *horror*? Which were good enough? Which would work together in a collection? In what order should they go?
Once all of that was decided, there was then a title to come up with and a cover to design, which was more painful than I could ever have imagined!
It feels such a relief now my book 'Five Very British Short Stories' is finished, done, complete, and finally out there. I am now terrified that people are actually going to read it ... or perhaps I shouldn't worry too much about that. Maybe nobody ever will!
Publishing, so I discover, is the same. I have been writing stories since I could use a pen, and in the last ten years alone I have written countless stories and full-length books that I have never actually done anything with. So the first decision was to figure out what, if any, were worth publishing?
I got out all my old folders, because I only have hard copies of older work, and read through them all. It was as emotive as going through old photo albums, and just as accurate a reflection of what was happening in my life then. Then I read through my newer work, sat in folders on my laptop. So much work. Where to even start?
In the end, to test the self-publishing route, I decided to leave the books and start with a more manageable collection of short-stories. But which short stories, which genre?
Finally, it was the time of year that decided it. I love autumn and I especially love Halloween! Putting together a collection of horror stories would be so much fun! But which stories counted as *horror*? Which were good enough? Which would work together in a collection? In what order should they go?
Once all of that was decided, there was then a title to come up with and a cover to design, which was more painful than I could ever have imagined!
It feels such a relief now my book 'Five Very British Short Stories' is finished, done, complete, and finally out there. I am now terrified that people are actually going to read it ... or perhaps I shouldn't worry too much about that. Maybe nobody ever will!
