WRITING HORROR NOW

This workshop will help you think through the horror genre in new and creative ways, and open up your work to fresh possibilities.

Now is an exciting time to be writing in this demanding genre. A 'horror' aspect can intensify stories which might otherwise lack cinematic interest, increasing their stakes, heightening their emotions and opening up visual possibilities.

Some of the most popular recent TV series have strong horror aspects (think of Hannibal, Being Human, Dexter, etc).

So producers are keen to find good scripts with horror elements.

Horror gives writers and filmmakers enormous scope and creative potential. We can cut to the chase, dealing with deep, primal issues that other types of story merely skate around.

We'll look for new variations on the characters, scenarios and ideas which constitute the genre.

Stimulating clips. We’ll watch clips illustrating key ideas, inspiring you to come up with your own variations.

Some of the areas we'll cover:

Blending Genres. Many genres have taken on horror elements. We'll investigate ways of making something new from the "blending" process.

Human Monsters. Following on from this, we'll look at ways in which non-supernatural figures can carry a horrific charge.

Tone and Style. Two overlooked methods of creating new story
variations.

The Undead. A horror staple, whether in the form of vampires or zombies. But how can we find novel twists on these archetypal figures?

Your own projects. You’ll end the evening with a sheaf of self-generated ideas to use in your original horror scripts.

Humans Need Horror. At root, it seems we need the things that horror offers us. We'll ponder some of the reasons why.