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It's Alive: Bringing Your Nightmares to Life (The Dream Weaver Books on Writing Fiction) Paperback – Illustrated, December 13, 2018
Michael Bailey (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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Nightmares come to life in this comprehensive how-to guide for new and established authors…
Book two in Crystal Lake Publishing’s The Dream Weaver series picks up where the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Where Nightmares Come From: The Art Of Storytelling In The Horror Genre left off.
It’s Alive: Bringing your Nightmares to Life focuses on learning the craft in order to take your story from concept to completion.
With an introduction by Richard Chizmar and cover art by Luke Spooner. Featuring interior artwork from horror master Clive Barker!
Table of Contents:
- Introduction by Richard Chizmar
- Confessions of a Professional Day Dreamer by Jonathan Maberry
- What is Writing and Why Write Horror by John Skipp
- Tribal Layers by Gene O’Neill
- Bake That Cake: One Writer’s Method by Joe R. Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale
- Ah-Ha: Beginning to End with Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey (Discussing the Spark of Creativity)
- They Grow in the Shadows: Exploring the Roots of a Horror Story by Todd Keisling
- Sell Your Script, Keep Your Soul and Beware of Sheep in Wolves' Clothing by Paul Moore
- The Cult of Constraint (or To Outline or Not) by Yvonne Navarro
- Zombies, Ghosts and Vampires─Oh My! by Kelli Owen
- The Many Faces of Horror: Craft Techniques by Richard Thomas
- Giving Meaning to the Macabre by Rachel Autumn Deering
- The Horror Writer’s Ultimate Toolbox by Tim Waggoner
- Sarah Pinborough Interview by Marie O’Regan
- Conveying Character by F. Paul Wilson
- Sympathetic Characters Taste Better: Creating Empathy in Horror Fiction by Brian Kirk
- Virtue & Villainy: The Importance of Character by Kealan Patrick Burke
- How to write Descriptions in a story by Mercedes Yardley
- “Don’t Look Now, There’s a Head in That Box!” She Ejaculated Loudly (or Creating Effective Dialogue in Horror Fiction) by Elizabeth Massie
- Point of View by Lisa Mannetti
- What Came First the Monster or the Plot? In Conversation with Stephen Graham Jones by Vince A. Liaguno
- Building Suspense by David Wellington
- Conveying Horror by Ramsey Campbell
- Unveiling Theme Through Plot: An Analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” by Stephanie M. Wytovich
- Interview with Clive Barker by Tim Chizmar
- World Building (Building a terrifying world) by Kevin J. Anderson
- Speak Up: The Writer’s Voice by Robert Ford
- Writing for a Better World by Christopher Golden
- Shaping the Ideas: Getting Things from Your Head to the Paper or on Screen. Interview with Steve Niles, Mick Garris, Heather Graham, Mark Savage, and Maria Alexander by Del Howison
- On Research by Bev Vincent
- Editing Through Fear: Cutting and Stitching Stories by Jessica Marie Baumgartner
- Leaping into the Abyss by Greg Chapman
- Edit Your Anthology in Your Basement for Fun and Profit! . . . or Not by Tom Monteleone
- When It’s Their World: Writing for the Themed Anthology by Lisa Morton
- Roundtable Interview by John Palisano
- The Tale of the Perfect Submissions by Jess Landry
- Turning the Next Page: Getting Started with the Business of Writing by James Chambers
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
- Print length508 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateDecember 13, 2018
- Dimensions5.06 x 1.15 x 7.81 inches
- ISBN-101684545455
- ISBN-13978-1684545452
"The Venice Sketchbook?" by Rhys Bowen
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Editorial Reviews
Review
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "You need this book. If you're an aspiring writer, you need this book. If you're an experienced writer, you need this book. It's Alive offers something to think about no matter where you are in your career. You need this book."—Jeff Strand, author of DWELLER
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "There are, as I'm sure you've heard, no shortcuts to becoming a writer, but if you seriously want to become a better writer with a clearer understanding of the craft, It's Alive: Bringing Nightmares to Life can help. These articles are written by working writers who know the business and who have a wealth of hints, tips, and tricks that can speed you along on the road to being the kind of writer you want to be. Anyone seriously interested in writing would be crazy not to have this book on the shelf."—Ray Garton, author of Live Girls and Ravenous
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "IT'S ALIVE is the sequel to the equally outstanding WHERE THE NIGHTMARES COME FROM, and both volumes are an essential addition to any writer's library of reference and knowledge."—Eldritch Reading Reindeer
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Crystal Lake Publishing has assembled an incredibly impressive array of helpful writing advice and guidance from a wide variety of some of the best and brightest writers in the horror genre."—Eva Roslin
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "This is an astounding, invaluable collection of essays and interviews about all aspects of writing horror, from the short story to the feature-length film. I was highlighting something on every single page, and often several things per page."—Chris DiLeo
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Product details
- Publisher : Crystal Lake Publishing; Illustrated edition (December 13, 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 508 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1684545455
- ISBN-13 : 978-1684545452
- Item Weight : 1.08 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.06 x 1.15 x 7.81 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #742,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Horror Reference
- #148 in Horror & Supernatural Literary Criticism (Books)
- #220 in Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Tim Waggoner’s first novel came out in 2001, and he’s published close to fifty novels and seven collections of short stories since. He writes original fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. His novels include Like Death, considered a modern classic in the genre, and the popular Nekropolis series of urban fantasy novels. He’s written tie-in fiction for Supernatural, Alien, Grimm, the X-Files, Doctor Who, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Transformers, among others. His articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Writer’s Journal, and Writer’s Workshop of Horror. He’s won the Bram Stoker Award and been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, the Scribe Award, and the Splatterpunk Award. In addition to writing, Tim is also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College.
TODD KEISLING is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Devil’s Creek. His other works include The Final Reconciliation, Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors, and The Monochrome Trilogy, among several shorter works. He lives somewhere in the wilds of Pennsylvania with his family where he is at work on his next novel.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2019
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"It's Alive: Bringing your Nightmares to Life" isn't quite as good as meeting Ramsey Campbell for a fireside chat in Liverpool, or hanging out with Horror Master Clive Barker at his home in Beverly Hills, but for those who want inspiration, practical advice, and hell, just the sense of camaraderie that comes with meeting with like minds, "It's Alive" foots the bill. It's not quite as good as the first book in the series, "Where Nightmares come from," but that one was a peerless work on the craft, and a frankly impossible act to follow.
Standouts in this volume include Ramsey Campbell's essay (once again) on conveying horror (a terror-centric variation on the old "show, don't tell theme") as well as F. Paul Wilson's masterful mini-course on characterization in close third person. The big surprise for me was Paul Moore's "Sell your script, Keep your Soul," about how to make a living without sealing a Faustian bargain in order to get your screenplay turned into a movie. I found it by far the most compelling piece in the book, and considering I'm not a screenwriter and have no desire to try my hand at the form, I suppose that's saying something.
That balance between the practical and creative in Moore's "Sell your Script" pretty much encapsulates what's best about "It's Alive." With the market being as glutted as it is, and self-publishing and the on-demand revolutions amping up the level of white noise, it's more important than ever to remember that being professional in one's dealings, and consistent in their craft, is just as important as finding inspiration or following one's passion. All in all "adequate, very adequate," if I may quote Vincent Prince as Matthew Hopkins in "Witchfinder General." With some illustrations.

