From the mind of Megan Arkenberg

October 16, 2015

Destroying Horror, Week 2

Posted by Megan Arkenberg with 6 comments
This week's story is Alyssa Wong's nightmarish "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers," and the nonfiction is Nightmare's H-Word column with a twist: Stoker Award winner Lucy A. Snyder's "A Good Story," which asks what "caring about the quality of the story" means in the context of a genre where a publisher requesting that a writer 'straighten' a queer protagonist is not out of the question.
Horror is the literature of fear. And if you’re queer, and if you write fiction about your darkest fears while also doing your very best to tell a good story, a funny thing happens. Many of those readers who claimed to just care about story are now all squirmy. Sure, the plot’s exciting . . . but you made it all weird! Why couldn’t you just write a good old-fashioned entertaining story where the monsters are uncomplicatedly monstrous and the heroic guy gets the trophy girl at the end? Why couldn’t your story be straight, darn it?
Read, enjoy, and keep spreading the word!

6 comments:

  1. I understand, it is indeed very true. We should be open to all sorts of stories and should realize that not every story would be 'straight'.

    ReplyDelete

  2. This week's blog post was an interesting look at how horror movies are changing and evolving. It was interesting to see how modern horror movies are becoming more focused on psychological horror rather than traditional horror elements.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are a group of digital marketers, SEO experts, social media marketers, creative web developers, passionate researchers, and enthusiastic nerds who constantly strive to stay ahead of the curve in the SEO industry. We have left no stone unturned in our SEO endeavors. Magento SEO Services

    ReplyDelete
  4. Megan Arkenberg's Bitter Irony sparks contemplation. In the same spirit, the Philips Notched Newborn Soothie Pacifier brings comfort to infants, a poetic harmony in the journey of parenthood.

    ReplyDelete