Rob Parnell's Writing Academy

Topic: GENRE HORROR WRITING

Level: Beginner / Intermediate

Duration: 6 hours approx

Delivery: Text, PDF

RPWA Certificate: Yes

Important message from Rob Parnell, "The World's Foremost Writing Guru"

Have you noticed that every seven to ten years, the media likes to claim that the demand for horror is over? Yeah right. Me too!

So why is horror still a multi-billion dollar industry that entertains and attracts record numbers of followers year in, year out? Savvy writers know that there's a fortune to be made in thrilling their readers with everything from monster stories, psychological suspense, ghost stories and good old fashioned gore.

Now it's your chance to cash in on this most lucrative of genres.

Whatever your area of preference: Short Stories, Novels, Film and /or TV, there is an ever hungry need for thrillers and dramas using supernatural themes and settings.

All you have to do is to understand the conventions associated with this most prestigious of genres.

Now, don't go thinking in cliche.

Horror is not just Stephen King and Slasher movies!

Horror and Dark Fantasy Fiction also encompasses the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, the Matrix series, and TV shows like Buffy, Charmed, Medium and The Ghost Whisperer.

Of course there are the classics to aspire to: Edgar Allen Poe, Lovecraft, MR James, and more modern writers like Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Graham Masterton, James Herbert. Stephen King himself also describes Thomas Harris (Silence of the Lambs), James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell as closet horror writers too!

All of the above writers know - and have profited - from the notion that scaring the pants off your reader not only makes you successful, it keeps readers coming back for more!

Good horror is sophisticated. More and more writers, like Joe Hill and Jack Ketchum, are winding up in the literary section of your local bookshop or library. No longer is horror marginalized. It's increasingly seen as respectable and justifiably good writing.

I know that in my own case, my Bad Blood series of novels and short stories have proved incredibly popular, garnering rave reviews and awards in Australia, the UK, France, Germany and beyond. So much so I've been commissioned to write a Hollywood horror movie based on just one of my ideas!

So, believe me, it's more than possible to make a very good living from writing horror and dark fantasy!

ABSOLUTELY!

Especially if you want success as a writer - and get to grips with a genre that will benefit all of your writing.

What this course covers:

* How to build suspense (great horror happens in the mind after all)

* How to create deep and believable characters

* How to come up with original and compelling ideas

* The secret ingredient to writing a bestseller

* How to create convincing monsters and psychological enemies

* How to sustain a series of stories / books / movies

* And much more!

Lesson One:

A thorough analysis of the horror genre from its origins to its place in the modern world. We will examine the various forms of storytelling in the past and in the present, identifying the roots of the genre and how certain functional characteristics have been carried over into the modern diversity of horror / suspense / mystery / thriller and crime genres.

Lesson Two:
We waste no time creating our own stories. This lesson we establish the parameters and the requirements of character, the main conventions and ways to stretch the envelope. The emphasis is on creating strong durable protagonists with believable agendas at credible odds with the antagonist / monster / psychological threat.

Lesson Three:
The importance of setting, environment and the psychological landscape. We discuss the various ways in which authors use setting as 'the third character' - and how to create our own living breathing locations. We also examine mood, tone and factors like theme, purpose and the overall feel of your supernatural stories in this context. We touch a little on premise to give us a firm grounding to continue into the next stage.

Lesson Four:
Plotting. How to take a rough story idea from inspiration to a full blown template for a novel. The importance of planning and organisation. How to easily construct plots using the various forms of writing software available and other tried and true methods - card file systems, cut and paste etc. We also study pace, building suspense, tension and examine the fear factor. What is it and how do you create compelling fictional classics?

Lesson Five:
The writing. How to sustain motivation and enthusiasm for your writing project and ensure it is written until it's finished. Procrastination, time and self doubt are the writer's natural enemies. We deal with these issues head on - and head them off! We study time management and self support systems in detail to help us get past any slumps, writers blocks or personal health issues. This lesson alone will help turn you into a writing machine!

Lesson Six:
Markets - and what to do with your novel / short story / screenplay after the writing. I'll show you how to construct a career path and a strategy for success. Full listings of the various paying markets available including agents, publishers, producers and distributors. (These are my own private, ultra secret files - made available only to you with this course!) There's no point in writing unless you get your work out there, to the right people, consistently. I'll show how you can do this, and achieve positive results, every time.

Sign up for this course right now and you'll instantly receive this amazing BONUS item - absolutely FREE:

Written by a bestselling Horror author, M. Kenyon Charboneaux, this ebook is not available in any shops. But it's FREE when you sign up to the Horror Writing for Fun and Profit course.

See you in class!