Writing horror stories can be enjoyable but there is always one thing to keep in mind before you start. You need to be sure that the idea is really unique and not something that you saw or read in the past and managed to store in the back of your mind. That can be the downside of writing about things you love, it’s not always as new and fresh as you think it is.

Setting the Scene

When finding something to write about try to find something that is genuinely frightening. It can be tempting to choose a personal phobia, but if it is an unusual phobia readers won’t identify with it and if it is a popular one there are probably books out there already. Make sure that details are in order and you don’t get events and people mixed up. Keep it simple as if you can’t follow what you are writing how will the readers. There is a lot to be said for keeping a few steps ahead of yourself and the plot. While there is nothing wrong with throwing readers a curve ball from time to time, it will help if you always have one eye on what you are writing and one eye on the next chapter. Knowing what you want to happen later on can make it easier to write the chapter you are still working on

Grab the Attention

Intrigue the readers from the minute they pick up the book. If things get a little difficult in the middle readers will often carry on, but if there first chapter is tedious they will give up. It does not matter if it is an interesting character or a cliff hanger right at the beginning – grab their interest as soon as you can.

At one time it was necessary for writers to make sure that they were well organized before they began to write. With modern equipment there is the option to put down every bit of detail you can think of and sift through it later to make sure it is interesting and important. It is easier to delete the parts that are not needed anymore that to try and remember that vague idea you had weeks ago. Horror readers love detail and will want the story to be graphic. Keep them gripped and wanting more. It may be easier to scare people with films, but the written word can still intrigue and entice.

Stay Focused

Always explain what happens to people and at the end of events. Readers don’t what to have to reread sections to make sure they have not missed anything. Be realistic with the setting as there are some places that just won’t be as scary as others. Make it sensible and if you are making a seemingly everyday setting the center of the action explain why everyone should fear the place.

And Finally

Once you think you have finished, go through it again. Make alterations, add as much detail as you can but make sure it is relevant detail. Don’t spend more time writing about how the barn door creaked in the wind rather than expressing how the characters felt.

This article is by Luke Casey, a professional freelance writer and an upcoming novelist. He says he writes all kinds of articles and essay for magazines, blogs and newspapers. His hobbies include reading and gardening.

1: Would you rather listen to the Beatles or Green Day?

The Beatles, since I’m not familiar with the group, Green Day. . . . Am I going to get reamed by Green Day fans for that?

2: How long did it take you to write your book?

Six years. I worked on it off and on, often putting it aside for months at a time when newborns arrived in my household and life got really crazy.

3: Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

Besides my two main characters (Sir Calan and Lady Elsbeth) I like Sir Giles, a minor character. He’s full of charm and easy-going wit, adding some light reprieve to the more serious issues in the story. He’s always snacking on some sort of food, something I personally love to do, but in his case, he never gains weight from all his eating (just like my husband).

4: Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?

SWEETS are number one, but I love a good salty snack too.

5: What authors do you look up to and why?

This is a toughy because I love so many authors, but there are some who stand out in my mind as writers who have produced timeless stories that are unforgettable to me: Jane Austin, JRR Tolkien, and Charles Dickens. When I die, I want to shake their hands.

6: Which author do you think you write like the most?

Gee, I honestly have NO IDEA! I’ve never compared myself to any other author. I just write my own way and figure I’m the only one who writes like I do. I also figure everyone else just writes like they do. *shrug*

7: What’s your favorite food?

Ham and pineapple pizza, A&W root beer, and a side of cheesecake.

8: What’s your favorite movie?

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies by director Peter Jackson, any Disney/Pixar cartoon, and any Jane Austen movie – sorry I know you only asked for one, but it was impossible for me to choose.

9: If your book was turned into a movie, who would you cast for the main characters?

Sir Calan – Richard Armitage, Thomas Gibson or Gerard Butler
Lady Elsbeth – Kate Beckinsale

10: Describe your book in one sentence.

A knight-spy hunts smugglers while resisting his vengeance-driven desire to execute lethal justice, but a lady from his past seems bent on squelching his thirst for retaliation.

11: What kind of interaction do you hope to see from your fans?

I hope to hear how they liked the book and become friends who I’ll be able to chat with for years to come. I also hope those who love and play music will simply enjoy the ballads I composed for the story.

12: Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

I’m an extrovert all the way. My shy husband is an introvert. Well hey, opposites attract!

13: If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

The Savior, Jesus Christ. Whether people know it or not, or whether they admit it or not, He’s the one who has provided the true purpose for life on Earth. Though I often fall short, I at least try to emulate his example of love, kindness and respect. Everything I’m blessed with, I owe to Him and God, His father.

Thank you for having me here today, Adrienne. These questions were really fun to answer!

Shadows of Valor will be released September 7, 2013 through Jolly Fish Press.

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Famous music from movies is almost instantly recognizable worldwide and can evoke strong emotions as they’re matched perfectly with the action on screen.  However, not many people know much about the music composers who create these pieces of audio artwork that manage to bring a movie to life.  Here’s a list of just some of the extremely talented film music composers.

John Williams

A true giant in the world of music, John Williams has composed pieces of music for all but two of the legendary director Steven Spielberg’s films.  With over forty prestigious awards to his name, including five Oscars and seven BAFTAs, there’s no shortage of recognition for this talented musician.  His list of movies is extensive with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, Saving Private Ryan and E.T. under his belt, to name just a few.  Judging by that impressive list, you don’t need to be told how incredibly talented he is and how in-demand his music is.

Maurice-Alexis Jarre

Maurice Jarre was unusual in that he only began learning music when he was in his late teens, as opposed to many musicians who begin from a very young age.  He is known for his favored use of percussive instruments.  In 1961, Jarre’s breakthrough came when he was asked to compose the score for Lawrence of Arabia, earning him his first Oscar.  Three years later he won his second Oscar by composing the music for Doctor Zhivago.  Needless to say, this music composer reaped the rewards for his hard work.

Hans Zimmer

One of the most diverse and innovative film movie composers in cinema history, here are just some of the movies Hans Zimmer has composed for:  The Lion King, Rain Man, Gladiator, The Last Samurai and The Dark Knight.  He has been nominated for seven Oscars, seven Golden Globes and seven Grammys; not bad to be able to put down on your CV.  His score for Gladiator became one of the best selling film score albums ever.

Howard Shore

With his trademark dark, ominous themed music, Shore often works with film directors Peter Jackson and David Cronenberg.  With well-known films such as The Lord of the Rings and The Silence of the Lambs to his name, Howard shore has proved himself time and time again as a very talented and reliable music composer.

James Newton Howard

Howard’s trademark seems to be that he will never conduct his own pieces of music.  Often collaborating with Hans Zimmer, Howard has been nominated for eight Academy Awards.  He has even toured with Elton John.  With his reputation as a very fast worker, Howard is often asked to provide last-minute soundtracks or to improve existing ones.

Danny Elfman

Of course the composer of The Simpsons’ theme tune is going to be on this list.  Although The Simpsons isn’t a movie, Danny Elfman has composed more than his fair share of well-known pieces of music for incredibly famous films.  These films include Batman, Spiderman, Mission: Impossible and Men in Black.  Quite an impressive list which is why he has cemented his position as one of the best music composers in Hollywood

Featured images:

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This article was written by Alex Girardi, who recommends www.envisionsound.com if you need a top quality music score composed.

Today’s post may seem a little unconventional to all my bookworm friends. I realize that by stating my opinions today, some people may not think of me as highly in the book nerd world, but I’m going to say what I think anyway. Cause, you know, I’m just that kind of person. 🙂

I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately that are based off of books. I think it’s great that the movie industry has found a niche for movies to be adapted from books. I always get excited when I hear that they’re going to make a movie out of a book that I’ve read and enjoyed so much. (I’ve been waiting for them to make the movie Ender’s Game since I was in 6th grade – it’s finally here!) It’s one of the reasons I like to write blogs that compare the movie to the book.

But I’ve been noticing a trend in these movies the last few years. They are trying really hard to stay as close to the story as possible. But let’s be real here, shall we? That doesn’t actually work. If someone sees this movie who has never read the book, they’re probably going to be bored and not enjoy it very much because the movie is so focused on following the book that it’s not as comprehensive of a movie anymore. I thought this as I’ve watched Hunger Games, The Host, Beautiful Creatures, and a gazillion others, but it would take too long to name them all. The movies (in my opinion) were pretty lame, didn’t keep me enthralled, and I would never watch them again. But the concepts for these movies are fantastic.

So what’s the problem? It’s that you can’t fit a book into a movie. It simply doesn’t work. That’s why these movies are referred to as adaptations. The filmmakers need to “Hollywood-ize” them so that movie goers everywhere will be fully entertained with a 2-3 hour flick.

Some examples of movies based off of books, but were adapted to entertain movie goers, are such as: Jack Reacher, Count of Monte Cristo, The Pelican Brief, The Princess Bride, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Lord of the Rings. I think that these movies were able to capture the essence of the story and characters, but they didn’t follow the book too closely. In many cases, they changed several things (took out characters, changed the plotline a little) so it would fit better in the movie.

No matter how hard a movie tries to follow the book, everyone will almost always agree that the book was better anyway. I always say this – I even want a shirt that says it (It’s from ThinkGeek, if any of you are thinking of getting me something – that would be perfect! ;)). So why not stop trying to copy the book exactly, and use the great elements of movie studios to do what they do best: make it a real movie.

Mind you, I’m addressing movies that come out in the theater and are promoted as Blockbuster releases. I do know that there are some great mini-series based off of books that are able to follow the story closely while still capturing a wide audience. Even regular series, like HBO’s Game of Thrones, can pull that off amazingly well. But if you want to sit and be entertained for two hours, there is no way a movie can follow the book that closely. What will happen is that most people won’t like it and the movie will tank.

So Hollywood, I guess I’m asking you to go back to your older methods of adapting a movie from a book. Because what I‘ve been seeing lately really isn’t working for me.

Thoughts, anyone?

 With the movie (obviously, based on the book) coming out next week, I decided I had to pick this up and start the popular trilogy. So, the following is my review of the book. A comparison of the book to the movie will follow next month.

My overall impression is positive. I felt that the characters were well portrayed and that the author did a great job of covering darker themes while sticking to a YA standard. There was a little bit of swearing, sexual innuendo, and moderate violence. I know it sounds weird, but I appreciate that the book wasn’t squeaky clean, as that feels contrived to me. I remember what it was like being a teenager, and some of the things I heard at school would fall into a rated R genre. But as I said, the material wasn’t offensive or graphic and fit in perfectly with the story and characters, which made it feel like a more alive/realistic story. Another thing I appreciated is that things weren’t simplified too much (one of my biggest pet peeves when reading YA literature. Teenagers aren’t that dumb and can understand an intricate plot with three dimensional characters if we’d give them a chance! Okay, rant over. Moving on…).

The author also did a great job of setting up the characters and the plot. Everything was tied together nicely by the end and came full circle. The ending was a bit abrupt, but I would still like to read the next book of the trilogy.

The writing itself was really polished and tight. I don’t think an editor would be able to do much more to make it clean and impeccable.

A couple of things I didn’t love:

It seemed to me that almost everyone they ran into in New York City – in the middle of the night – were the same age as them (15-16). I’m not saying teens aren’t out late at night getting into trouble, but really? Every character they happen to meet on the streets is their same age? I get that this is YA, but not everyone they would meet would be 15 years old. What’s wrong with making a random character 18 or 19 every once in a while?

The author does put a love triangle in the story. I really am sick of reading about them, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the story, and (as I said above) I still want to finish the rest of the trilogy.

I also think it’s odd that so many teenagers were able to do whatever they wanted with no parental supervision. The main character is covered because her mother is missing and her dad died a long time ago. However, her friend who apparently comes from a normal family with a decent mother, is out at all hours of the night and sometimes did not go home for days at a time. It just seemed odd to me that his mother wasn’t worried about him or something. Even if the author had the friend call home to check in, I could have swallowed that more easily than him acting like he’s already in college.

Out of five stars, I give it three and a half. I think I may even like the next book better. I’ll let you know after I’ve finished reading it.