Writing Prompt: Horror

Have you ever tried to write a horror story? I've toyed with a few ideas in the past, but always gave up in favour of something I was more comfortable with. The funny thing is, I love horror stories. I love stories of Werewolves, Ghosts, Demons and Ghouls, but it has to be said, my...

Writing Prompt: Magical Creatures

Although it is not the genre I usually gravitate towards, I’ve always been a fan of fantasy. Whether it’s the horror of Dracula or the adventures of Frodo Baggins, I have a place in my heart for things and characters created from our imaginations that break all the rules of what we accept as reality....

Writing Prompt: Dead by Dawn

When I emerged from the Filmhouse at 3am, I was a twitching little wreck. Three nights and days of horror films had exposed me to the sick and twisted possibilities of the human mind and I was left fascinated by what I had seen. Eye-puncturing acts with a paper clip, a child decapitated by a...

Writing Prompt: Random Acts of Violence

"I sent my soul through the invisible, some letter of that afterlife to spell; and by and by my soul returned to me and answered, "I myself am Heav'n and Hell"" ~ Omar Khayyam  There have been times, particularly when I've been hurt or angry that I have entertained truly violent thoughts. My reason kicks in...

Writing Prompt: Ghosts, Ghouls, Goblins and Gremlins part 1

Fantasy and Science fiction writing can be difficult. You need to create an alternate reality whilst ensuring that scene, characters and plot remain convincing enough to engage the reader. I've loved horror and science fiction stories most of my life (this stretches into the realm of film as well) and have tried to write horror...

Writing Prompt: What was that?

It's 3am, the house is dark and all of the shadows in the room have stretched themselves into irregular shapes of something frightening. Even the garment bag hanging on the hook on the back of my bedroom door has morphed into something sinister. I curled up in the middle of the bed with my cat...

It’s only 175 pages, does that count?

I know I said I was going to stick to my reading list and only use alternates when I came across something that was boring, but a friend gave me a copy of "How to Survive a Horror Movie" by Seth Grahme-Smith and I couldn't resist. The premise of the book is a breakdown of...