This may not be the wisest confession to make after all these years, but I’ve always had a “hidden agenda” in my dual literary career as a journalist and a writer of dark fiction.
You see, although I’ve enjoyed great professional satisfaction profiling the major creative talents in the overlapping genres of horror and dark suspense, I actually broke into the business of non-fiction because I’ve always been, well, a sort of psychic vampire at heart. Or do I reveal too much already to those swallowing the stereotype that you must be certifiably “warped” to be appreciative of the dark side of life or the arts?
All I’m trying to say is, although I’ve been a free-lance journalist since 1975, I originally intended to be solely a fiction writer. Like so many others represented here, I was “twisted” at an early age by the classic works of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, and knew I had to follow, however awkwardly, in their awe-inspiring, life-changing, exquisitely monstrous footsteps.
So when an opportunity presented itself in 1974 (while studying the Hollywood film industry for a summer on a college scholarship) to meet my favorite writer, Ray Bradbury, how could I not ignore making the most of this marvelous, possibly once-in-a-lifetime, encounter? The problem was, how to present myself to this world-famous author as a hip young professional — not a gawking, all but incoherent fan who was also hoping to somehow glean a few precious “writer’s secrets” from him?
Very simple solution: I instantly became a “reporter-at-large” for a weekly newspaper back in Massachusetts — before their editors ever knew I even existed. Armed with this paper-thin disguise, I ultimately did spend an unforgettable evening with Bradbury at his home. (And then subsequently sold the interview to that very same newspaper, in a clear case of going back to the future.) Although it would be six more years before I sold my first piece of fiction (in a short story competition judged by some obscure writer named Stephen King), I could truthfully declare myself a more than capable interviewer. And one already possessed of an unusually keen appreciation and special insight into this often misdiagnosed area of literature and popular culture.
With such a modest assessment of my skills, I embarked on my initial literary career as an “arts & entertainment reporter” and critic. Of course, what I really had was a legitimate opportunity to meet my favorite writers, artists, and filmmakers. And the chance to learn, first-hand, each and every one of their creative secrets.
So that’s where the “psychic vampire” analogy comes in to play: if I could present myself as an unusually dedicated journalist, perhaps I could then quench my unending thirst for the secrets of creating truly memorable dark fiction. Fortunately, my interest was doubly sincere — not only did I truly love and respect this “fiction of fear” as a reader, but I deeply desired to write professionally. Why not learn at the mouth of the masters, so to speak?
In a way, this lifelong devotion was my secret weapon — my creative edge in terms of getting these wonderfully creative people to tell me tales they might not reveal to just another disinterested, assignment-for-the-day reporter. What better interviewer could a subject have than someone who’d proudly declare: “You don’t have to worry about being portrayed foolishly or unfeelingly in this interview. I’ve read every one of your books — or seen all of your movies. And, by the way, I’ve most likely read all the books of your favorite author, too.”
So back in the late Seventies I began to live out the cliché of becoming just what I had always pretended to be. Not only did I have a viable career profiling our greatest authors and screenwriters; but by quietly searching and politely probing, I might also learn directly from them just how they “did it.” Just how they were able to scare and thrill their audiences to the maximum degree. How they were able to repeatedly face up to their fears, to look again and again directly into the abyss without ever falling into it themselves. To find out just what made them “tick” so perhaps, along the way, I might somehow also discover what made me “tick” as well.
So even if the magazine or newspaper I was working for at the time was interested only in the celebrity’s latest bestseller or movie deal, I made it a point to sneak in a few technical questions — fully aware they were not of interest to the general public. (Of course, the golden assignments were when the piece was intended for a publication like Writer’s Digest. Then I had absolutely no hesitation in demanding the subject at hand reveal their closely guarded secrets and techniques.) Only I knew these questions would be of considerable value to anyone interested in being a professional writer themselves one day. Okay — even if that subject’s comments never saw the light of publication, their candid advice and personal insights were sure as hell of intense interest to at least one fledgling author.
Which is how Dark Dreamers: On Writing came into being: one writer, one quote, at a time. Having had the immense pleasure of meeting practically every major horror and dark suspense writer published in the past quarter century, it seemed only natural that a quote book dealing with this topic might prove of value to others. And so, after diligently checking back through all my interviews and profiles (including a few inadvertently unpublished), I’ve attempted to capture here — from more than fifty universally acknowledged masters of their craft — the essence of their creative “Dark Dreamers.” (Along with several screenwriters who are even better known to the public as directors of horror or suspense films.)
The general categories which follow really need no further elaboration — with maybe the exception of the final one. “Where do get your ideas?” has supposedly always been the most difficult (and sometimes most ridiculous) question for any writer to effectively answer a demanding fan or interviewer.
However, beyond the times I posed this very question in a standard interview, the query was made on a more formal basis in my two anthologies of original fiction, Night Visions 7 and After The Darkness. In each volume I asked every contributor to take work-in-progress notes so as to later explain just when and why and how they created their particular (and in most cases very particular) short story. A sampling of these self-termed “after-words” is included here. They offer a fascinating glimpse of how a professional writer can drop a random idea or two into a top hat and then somehow make a magnificent flock of ravens take sudden flight from it.
The appendices are intended for both potential writers and scholars of the field. The first, “A Reader’s Guide To Writing Horror” will give the reader a thorough grounding — and this title may be even more appropriate — in “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Writing Horror But Were Afraid to Ask.”
To investigate the art of darkness as literature, “Modern Horror Fiction: A Selection of the 113 Best,” is my choice of the 113 books (with a bonus listing of the best anthologies) one must be familiar with before ever attempting to further this truly great literary tradition. (These critical listings were originally compiled in 1997 when this volume was first published under the title Dark Thoughts: On Writing. I stand by these selections, though they may be revised if readers so demand.)
So, please, come this way. Don’t worry-all your questions will be answered. That and even more than you had previously dared to imagine.
Watch your head. This way — it’s not that much further down, I assure you. Enter my private library, amassed from a lifetime of reading and collecting the very best-as recommended to yours truly by the very best. Feel free to browse around. Have a long drink at a particular novel... or just a few sips at a short story or two. Don’t be afraid to be a “vampire” too if you also share an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and practical advice from those who do it so well their pages practically bleed.
You have absolutely nothing to fear.
Except for maybe for the tall stranger coming up unexpectedly from behind because he believes this book you’re reading is somehow actually about him. About his secret madness at pretending to be a mild-mannered reader, when actually he’s the most obsessed and frightening of new writers.
Who will go to any lengths to prevent his being revealed to anyone who dares to look for him between these covers. Better stop now, better turn and confront him before it’s too late.
Put down the book. Now! While you still can, damn it!
Don’t you hear that heavy breathing?
For God’s sake, look behind you! Someone’s right over our —
Made you look, didn’t I?
Ahhh... just one of the many, many glorious secrets to be explained, entertained and appreciated with these Dark Dreamers On Writing.
Stanley Wiater
Springfield, Massachusetts