On Writing [ 21 ]

A Flash of Fear: Why Write Short-form Horror

For many (if not most), the first introduction to horror doesn’t come from a book or movie, but from a brief scary story told to them, perhaps around a smoky campfire in lonely–or are you alone after all?–woods. Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories collections include many of the selfsame creepy jewels of storytelling’s oral tradition, and have inducted many a child into the ranks of the horror lovers.

Sometimes, what readers really need is unfiltered, filler-free horror delivered directly to the brain.

Short horror is also popular in amateur circles, via various user-driven websites and podcasts. So, even though word counts …

Writing Prompt: Knock on Wood

Writing Prompt: Knock on Wood

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Young Horror brings you writing prompts to energize your week with spooky idea inspiration. Are you writing picture books, chapter books, middle grade, or YA? Your next great idea could be sparked right here.

Check back every Monday for new writing prompts. Share your ideas and discuss in the comments below.


“Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational–but how much does it cost you to knock on wood?” -Judith Viorst

Your superstitions are much older than you. If you take that moment to knock on wood, you’re joining in on an activity to ward off anger and

Q&A for The Frightful Ride of Michael McMichael

Q&A for The Frightful Ride of Michael McMichael

It’s Friday the 13th–the perfect day to reach down into the grave dirt and resurrect the Young Horror (formerly YA Horror) blog and to talk about NEW BOOKS.

Hop aboard the Thirteen bus and drive through the brand new spooky picture book The Frightful Ride of Michael McMichael (Candlewick 2018). Author Bonny Becker and Illustrator Mark Fearing give all the gory details to HWA YH blogger Shanna Heath below.

Whether you write horror for young people, or want to share more horror stories with the kids in your life, check in every Monday for Young Horror Writing Prompts and every …

“So, Who Wants to be a Horror Writer?” by Edo van Belkom

© 2000 by Edo van Belkom
(From the book WRITING HORROR)

Whenever I give a talk on the craft of writing (whether the talk is on horror writing, fantasy writing, short story writing, or just plain creative writing) I always begin with a question. And even though this is a book on the subject of writing, it has the feel — to me anyway — of a long talk. So, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t begin the book any differently than I would a talk, although I will make one concession and modify the question …

“The Horror of It All” by Tim Waggoner

© 2000 by Tim Waggoner

Want to write horror? A lot of folks do. The mainstream publishing industry
may have momentarily turned its collective back on the genre, but the
small press scene is thriving, not to mention the burgeoning number of
horror ‘zines on the Net. Unfortunately, a great many stories published
in these markets are uninspired (to put it kindly) and just plain bad
(to put it honestly). Want your work to stand out from the rest of the
lycanthropic pack? Want to start selling to larger and more prestigious
markets? Want your horror stories to be so …

In March: “Found Poetry” with Terrie Leigh Relf & HWA Poetry Showcase Announcement

In March: “Found Poetry” with Terrie Leigh Relf & HWA Poetry Showcase Announcement

Poet Terrie Leigh Relf talks about “Found Poetry” and shares a little bit of herself and her own work this month. Personally, before reading this article, I’d never heard of “Found Poetry” and it’s a fascinating literary field. Special thanks to Terrie for pulling back the curtain a little on a lesser known form of poetry.

What Is Found Poetry and Where-Oh-Where Can It Be?
by Terrie Leigh Relf

While on staff at Alban Lake Publishing, one of our regular contributors and a writer friend, Lauren McBride, asked me about found poetry. When she requested an article on this …

Rescuing Pirated Stories


by Guy Anthony De Marco

As authors, piracy is a constant threat to our income and property. Some don’t mind having their works available for download, while others are adamant that their work should be purchased.

Should you find your works posted on a pirate website—or worse, plagiarized with someone else’s name as the author—you can take action to remove the infringing material using the legal tools provided by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. Please note that sending false claims can get you into legal trouble, so don’t use the DMCA tools to play a practical joke. These …

HWA Sponsoring 5 Members to Attend Mort Castle’s Workshop at 2012 World Horror Convention

Mort Castle, editor of the acclaimed On Writing Horror, will be conducting writing workshops at the 2012 World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City , March 29 – April 1, 2012.

The cost of the four-hour workshop is $50.00.

The HWA Board is giving away five of these workshops at our cost. If you are interested, and we get more than five applications, they will given away in a random drawing.

To qualify, you need to have registered for the WHC before 29 February, and of course, you need to be a member of the HWA.

To register …

Dark Whispers Watercooler: The Genre That Devoured Itself?

Rose Fox over at her Publishers Weekly blog offers up The Genre Formerly Known as Horror, and Other Stories. Horror as an effect versus genuine genre? Horror as a fluke – one named Stephen King? Did the horror genre devour itself?

“Horror, swept away while this has gone on, has re-emerged as a component underneath the “thriller” umbrella, probably coming in through the serial-killer side door. I’ve been told that Scott Smith’s superb The Ruins was to have ushered in a category dubbed “literary horror,” although I’m almost certain that Thomas Harris would argue he’s been delivering that for

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