How's it going my lurkers? Happy Belated New Year! Before I became preoccupied offline, I originally planned to publish a blog wishing everyone a happy new year.
In case you missed my posts around social media and the e-mail notifications I sent to subscribers, I was sick during Christmas.
To make matters worse, my mother had a medical emergency literally 1 day AFTER Christmas. We had to call the ambulance.
While battling a cold, winter allergies, sinuses, etc. ~2 weeks ago, I hope you enjoyed those creepy yet festive blogs regarding Yule and Christmas as throwbacks. Honestly, I did not have a chance to enjoy Christmas, in case you are wondering.
Aside from those issues, I cannot help noticing how extremely saturated the Horror Industry has become over the last 10-15 years. It is amazing how an entertainment genre such as Horror has surged in popularity over this last decade.
Within my immediate family, my mother and I are the only Horror fans. Being born and raised during the early 1980's and '90s, when Slasher Horror was at its pinnacle yet constantly being condemned and demonized by media watchdog groups, critics, and Christian zealots, I grew up watching Horror.
As much as I enjoy watching TV shows and movies about the paranormal, vampires, witches, etc. the Slasher Horror sub-genre has always been my favorite.
The villains are more realistic and believable. Most people will tell you that vampires, zombies, ghouls, werewolves, and other types of monsters are not real. There are even those skeptics, who refuse to believe in the paranormal.
Serial killers, sociopaths, stalkers, psychopaths, and those with other mental/behavioral disorders on the other hand, DO exist in everyday life. I am not saying, that I don't believe in ghosts because I do.
However, there are still those skeptics regardless if they believe in a higher power or not, who deny that ghosts exist. This especially applies to certain skeptics, who need to prove everything based on SCIENCE.
Out of all the Horror sub-genres, the Slasher sub-genre is the most believable and realistic. I believe the Slasher sub-genre is hands down the most frightening because serial killers ARE real.
When it comes to Slashers, the serial killer is labeled as "The Moral Villain." If you have ever watched Wes Craven's Slasher Horror film, SCREAM within these last 22 years, you should remember Jamie Kennedy's character, Randy Meeks.
In SCREAM, Randy explained what people should NOT do, in order to survive a Slasher Horror Movie.
SCREAM: Randy’s Rules For Successfully Surviving A Horror Movie (1996)
The Moral Villain will typically serial kill obnoxious teenagers, who are abusing drugs, having pre-marital sex, and saying "I'll be right back." Slashers can also segue into the Thriller genre.
Characters with killer instincts and life-threatening mental disorders can be important traits in Thrillers. Some of these traits in villains help assemble Horror/Thrillers.
As an author, my stories would fall into both the Horror and Thriller genres.
On Thursday, I spoke with someone on the phone, who helps writers find publishers and literary agents. I informed her, that I built my own website, blog, and share blogs regularly.
In addition, I explained about the type of short stories I write. Even though NONE of my stories are about the stereotypical vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc. I mostly consider myself to be a Horror writer.
Stories about stalkers, misogynists, the abused, scorned women seeking revenge, etc. can be disturbing as well as frightening.
I would love to see my work published in a Horror anthology and under the category, Horror. At the same time, there will be those closed-minded critics saying, "You're not a Horror author. Horror has vampires, zombies, creatures, etc."
I would LOVE to have my work branded as Horror because there is a lot more to the genre than only monsters. Stories and films about vampires and zombies over this last decade have become so cliche.
Anything can be horrifying WITHOUT vampires, zombies, werewolves, monsters, etc. being involved.
Over these last few years, I was very surprised to learn, that more women are Horror authors. Much like music, the overall Horror genre was always male-dominated. The times really have changed.
I was always that "weird girl" growing up in school, who wrote Horror Stories dating back to 3rd grade. As I became a young woman, I wrote more of them.
Seeing how saturated and cliche the Horror genre has become today, I have contemplated whether or not to target the Thriller genre.
While speaking to that lady, who helps writers on Thursday, she suggested that I try submitting my stories to literary journals for the Thriller genre.
Both of us believe my short stories would be better suited for the Thriller genre than Horror. In some ways, the Thriller genre seems more versatile than Horror. Also, my work could appeal to other types of readers.
So, this is where YOU, my subscribers come in:
Those of you, who have read some of my short stories and excerpts, what are your thoughts? Do you think my stories belong in the Thriller genre or can they be categorized as Horror/Thriller?
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