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Writing Horror Fiction
This writer's guide looks at the development of horror fiction and explains how to write short stories, graphic novels and horror fiction for children and adults. Beginning with the initial idea the author shows how to build on it, developing characters and plot. There are ideas for selecting and approaching publishers and information about contracts and publication.
- GenresHorrorNonfictionWriting
116 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 1996
4 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Guy N. Smith
175 books298 followersI was born on November 21, 1939, in the small village of Hopwas, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. My mother was a pre-war historical novelist (E. M. Weale) and she always encouraged me to write.
I was first published at the age of 12 in The Tettenhall Observer, a local weekly newspaper. Between 1952-57 I wrote 56 stories for them, many serialized. In 1990 I collated these into a book entitled Fifty Tales from the Fifties.
My father was a dedicated bank manager and I was destined for banking from birth. I accepted it but never found it very interesting. During the early years when I was working in Birmingham, I spent most of my lunch hours in the Birmingham gun quarter. I would have loved to have served an apprenticeship in the gun trade but my father would not hear of it.
Shooting (hunting) was my first love, and all my spare time was spent in this way. In 1961 I designed and made a 12-bore shotgun, intending to follow it up with six more, but I did not have the money to do this. I still use the Guy N. Smith short-barrelled magnum. During 1960-67 I operated a small shotgun cartridge loading business but this finished when my components suppliers closed down and I could no longer obtain components at competitive prices.
My writing in those days only concerned shooting. I wrote regularly for most of the sporting magazines, interspersed with fiction for such magazines as the legendary London Mystery Selection, a quarterly anthology for which I contributed 18 stories between 1972-82.
In 1972 I launched my second hand bookselling business which eventually became Black Hill Books. Originally my intention was to concentrate on this and maybe build it up to a full-time business which would enable me to leave banking. Although we still have this business, writing came along and this proved to be the vehicle which gave me my freedom.
I wrote a horror novel for the New English Library in 1974 entitled Werewolf by Moonlight. This was followed by a couple more, but it was Night of the Crabs in 1976 which really launched me as a writer. It was a bestseller, spawning five sequels, and was followed by another 60 or so horror novels through to the mid-1990's. Amicus bought the film rights to Crabs in 1976 and this gave me the chance to leave banking and by my own place, including my shoot, on the Black Hill.
The Guy N. Smith Fan Club was formed in 1990 and still has an active membership. We hold a convention every year at my home which is always well attended.
Around this time I became Poland's best-selling author. Phantom Press published two GNS books each month, mostly with print runs of around 100,000.
I have written much, much more than just horror; crime and mystery (as Gavin Newman), and children's animal novels (as Jonathan Guy). I have written a dozen or so shooting and countryside books, a book on Writing Horror Fiction (A. & C. Black). In 1997 my first full length western novel, The Pony Riders was published by Pinnacle in the States.
With 100-plus books to my credit, I was looking for new challenges. In 1999 I formed my own publishing company and began to publish my own books. They did rather well and gave me a lot of satisfaction. We plan to publish one or two every year.
Still regretting that I had not served an apprenticeship in the gun trade, the best job of my life dropped into my lap in 1999 when I was offered the post of Gun Editor of The Countryman's Weekly, a weekly magazine which covers all field sports. This entails my writing five illustrated feature articles a week on guns, cartridges, deer stalking, big game hunting etc.
Alongside this we have expanded our mail order second hand crime fiction business, still publish a few books, and I find as much time as possible for shooting.
Jean, my wife, helps with the business. Our four children, Rowan, Tara, Gavin and Angus have all moved away from home but they visit on a regular basis.
I would not want to live anywhere other than m
I was first published at the age of 12 in The Tettenhall Observer, a local weekly newspaper. Between 1952-57 I wrote 56 stories for them, many serialized. In 1990 I collated these into a book entitled Fifty Tales from the Fifties.
My father was a dedicated bank manager and I was destined for banking from birth. I accepted it but never found it very interesting. During the early years when I was working in Birmingham, I spent most of my lunch hours in the Birmingham gun quarter. I would have loved to have served an apprenticeship in the gun trade but my father would not hear of it.
Shooting (hunting) was my first love, and all my spare time was spent in this way. In 1961 I designed and made a 12-bore shotgun, intending to follow it up with six more, but I did not have the money to do this. I still use the Guy N. Smith short-barrelled magnum. During 1960-67 I operated a small shotgun cartridge loading business but this finished when my components suppliers closed down and I could no longer obtain components at competitive prices.
My writing in those days only concerned shooting. I wrote regularly for most of the sporting magazines, interspersed with fiction for such magazines as the legendary London Mystery Selection, a quarterly anthology for which I contributed 18 stories between 1972-82.
In 1972 I launched my second hand bookselling business which eventually became Black Hill Books. Originally my intention was to concentrate on this and maybe build it up to a full-time business which would enable me to leave banking. Although we still have this business, writing came along and this proved to be the vehicle which gave me my freedom.
I wrote a horror novel for the New English Library in 1974 entitled Werewolf by Moonlight. This was followed by a couple more, but it was Night of the Crabs in 1976 which really launched me as a writer. It was a bestseller, spawning five sequels, and was followed by another 60 or so horror novels through to the mid-1990's. Amicus bought the film rights to Crabs in 1976 and this gave me the chance to leave banking and by my own place, including my shoot, on the Black Hill.
The Guy N. Smith Fan Club was formed in 1990 and still has an active membership. We hold a convention every year at my home which is always well attended.
Around this time I became Poland's best-selling author. Phantom Press published two GNS books each month, mostly with print runs of around 100,000.
I have written much, much more than just horror; crime and mystery (as Gavin Newman), and children's animal novels (as Jonathan Guy). I have written a dozen or so shooting and countryside books, a book on Writing Horror Fiction (A. & C. Black). In 1997 my first full length western novel, The Pony Riders was published by Pinnacle in the States.
With 100-plus books to my credit, I was looking for new challenges. In 1999 I formed my own publishing company and began to publish my own books. They did rather well and gave me a lot of satisfaction. We plan to publish one or two every year.
Still regretting that I had not served an apprenticeship in the gun trade, the best job of my life dropped into my lap in 1999 when I was offered the post of Gun Editor of The Countryman's Weekly, a weekly magazine which covers all field sports. This entails my writing five illustrated feature articles a week on guns, cartridges, deer stalking, big game hunting etc.
Alongside this we have expanded our mail order second hand crime fiction business, still publish a few books, and I find as much time as possible for shooting.
Jean, my wife, helps with the business. Our four children, Rowan, Tara, Gavin and Angus have all moved away from home but they visit on a regular basis.
I would not want to live anywhere other than m
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 12, 2018
This handy writer’s guide was probably perfectly serviceable when it was published but much has become redundant thanks to advances in technology.
Smith treats writing as a serious business, as much as an art form, which is only right and proper. Unfortunately, the business has moved on since 1996... a lot.
His advice concerning submissions, publicity, and cracking the American market feels terribly out-of-date in this world of self-publishing, instant email contact, and social media. In a similar way, his tips on writing fiction for children and teenagers comes across as a little antiquated following the cultural impact of the Harry Potter and Twilight series’.
When discussing the craft of writing, rather than the business, Smith is on firmer ground, propounding a system of detailed research, and chapter-by-chapter outline before setting down a word of your novel. Whether you agree with the approach or not, it certainly works for Smith, who had over sixty novels on the market at the time of writing.
Even here, technology marches on. When Smith waxes lyrical about investing in a dedicated word processing machine, or talks about pasting newspaper cuttings into a research scrapbook you would be forgiven for forgetting this book is only twenty years old.
Worth a read-through for nostalgia’s sake, but that’s about it.
Smith treats writing as a serious business, as much as an art form, which is only right and proper. Unfortunately, the business has moved on since 1996... a lot.
His advice concerning submissions, publicity, and cracking the American market feels terribly out-of-date in this world of self-publishing, instant email contact, and social media. In a similar way, his tips on writing fiction for children and teenagers comes across as a little antiquated following the cultural impact of the Harry Potter and Twilight series’.
When discussing the craft of writing, rather than the business, Smith is on firmer ground, propounding a system of detailed research, and chapter-by-chapter outline before setting down a word of your novel. Whether you agree with the approach or not, it certainly works for Smith, who had over sixty novels on the market at the time of writing.
Even here, technology marches on. When Smith waxes lyrical about investing in a dedicated word processing machine, or talks about pasting newspaper cuttings into a research scrapbook you would be forgiven for forgetting this book is only twenty years old.
Worth a read-through for nostalgia’s sake, but that’s about it.
June 12, 2015
I enjoyed this, but probably more for what I learned about author Guy N. Smith than what I did about writing. I'm always interested in the creative processes of successful writers, and I enjoyed the "behind the scenes" lowdown on Smith's career. Plus, this book is full of great recommendations for horror novels that somehow slipped under my radar.
As a writing tutorial, however, the book is admittedly weak. Much of Smith's advice is outdated and concerns the British publishing industry. Since I'm American, this wasn't very helpful. Smith also spends a good deal of this short guide talking about the history of horror, which probably isn't the best use of the book's page count if the goal is making you a better writer. Smith treats readers as if they don't know the first thing about horror (or writing in general), making this something I would only recommend to an absolute beginner.
This is one of those books on writing where most of it just feel like common sense. Read it if you are interested in learning more about the author, but take a pass if your primary concern is honing your craft.
As a writing tutorial, however, the book is admittedly weak. Much of Smith's advice is outdated and concerns the British publishing industry. Since I'm American, this wasn't very helpful. Smith also spends a good deal of this short guide talking about the history of horror, which probably isn't the best use of the book's page count if the goal is making you a better writer. Smith treats readers as if they don't know the first thing about horror (or writing in general), making this something I would only recommend to an absolute beginner.
This is one of those books on writing where most of it just feel like common sense. Read it if you are interested in learning more about the author, but take a pass if your primary concern is honing your craft.
February 22, 2019
Additional reading for an assignment in my Horror Fiction module
September 12, 2020
There's some interesting things mentioned, but it's insane that one of the first sentences in a book about writing is written as poorly as this: "The writer must always have his future in mind, his career will not be established, unless he is extremely lucky, on the strength of one book."
December 24, 2017
Interesting for beginners to horror fiction but not much use for anyone else.
January 22, 2020
Demasiado enfocado en la escritura y comercialización de historias en general. Describe experiencias personales de las que se puede extraer algún que otro tip interesante. Aporta muy poco a la caracterización del género de terror y al desarrollo de historias dentro del mismo.
November 10, 2018
Small book, pragmatic advice. Will re-read.
August 26, 2019
Outdated with a generic approach. Tell me again about which word processor to choose.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews