Lovecraft: Day 2; The Colour Out of Space & Horror Writing Tips

Key Vocabulary for this unit:

Mood: the general feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates within the reader.
Tone: The speaker's or narrator's attitude towards the subject, rather than what the reader feels. Tone is created through...
Diction: the choice of words selected by a speaker or a writer.
Denotation: the literal, dictionary definition of a word.
Connotation: a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly. Words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings, in addition to their literal meanings or denotations.

Please turn in your answer to the question: What does the ropy thing in Sarrantonio's short story mean--what is the metaphor? Use textual support or references from the story in your answer.

Then, let's get back to Lovecraft's story: "The Color Out of Space"

H.P. Lovecraft describes his writing process:

"As to how I write a story—there is no one way. Each one of my tales has a different history. Once or twice I have literally written out a dream, but usually, I start with a mood or idea or image which I wish to express and revolve it in my mind until I can think of a good way of embodying it in some chain of dramatic occurrences capable of being recorded in concrete terms. I tend to run through a mental list of the basic conditions or situations best adapted to such a mood or idea or image, and then begin to speculate on logical and naturally motivated explanations of the given mood or idea or image in terms of the basic condition or situation chosen."

H.P. Lovecraft also gives us these planning/writing tips:

• "Prepare a synopsis or scenario of events in the order of their occurrence--not the order of their narration." This is also helpful when writing mystery fiction. You need to know what order things happened in so that your protagonist can unravel the mystery.
• "Prepare a second synopsis or scenario of events--this one in order of narration (not actual occurrence), with ample fullness and detail, and with notes as to changing perspective, stresses, and climax."
• "Write out the story--rapidly, fluently, and not too critically--following the second or narrative order synopsis. Change incidents and plot whenever the developing process seems to suggest such change, never being bound by any previous design."
• "Revise the text, paying attention to vocabulary, syntax, the rhythm of prose, proportioning of parts, niceties of tone, grace, and convincingness of transitions."

You can see here, of course, that young writers usually just jump into a story and try to battle their way out. This sort of tactic doesn't really work well with stories of mystery, suspense, and horror because the writer should have a good idea about what the plot IS--even if the story is more about the character or how the character solves or uncovers the mystery. In other words: you need to know what's going on so that you know what to highlight and focus on for the writer. Take models like Edgar Allan Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" for example. The narrator spells out his intention in the first sentence or two--then the rest of the story makes the reader wonder when this man is going to get his revenge. I.E., he creates suspense! That would not happen if Poe didn't know his plot events, and in what order they occur.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: You may read "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe and answer the 5 posted questions at the end of the text for extra participation credit. This may help those of you who have been falling behind or not reading the other required stories. Turn in the answers by Friday for credit.

Finally, in regards to the types of horror/weird stories, Lovecraft states:

"There are, I think, four distinct types of weird story; one expressing a mood or feeling, another expressing a pictorial conception, a third expressing a general situation, condition, legend, or intellectual conception, and a fourth explaining a definite tableau or specific dramatic situation or climax. In another way, weird tales may be grouped into two rough categories—those in which the marvel or horror concerns some condition or phenomenon, and those in which it concerns some action of persons in connexion with a bizarre condition or phenomenon." -- H.P. Lovecraft 

"Each weird story—to speak more particularly of the horror type—seems to involve five definite elements: (a) some basic, underlying horror or abnormality—condition, entity, etc.—, (b) the general effects or bearings of the horror, (c) the mode of manifestation—object embodying the horror and phenomena observed—, (d) the types of fear-reaction pertaining to the horror, and (e) the specific effects of the horror in relation to the given set of conditions." -- H.P. Lovecraft

In writing a weird story you might focus on the horror of a condition or phenomenon or write about a person who uncovers or comes across some bizarre and weird event or occurrence. Try these tips/tactics with the other writing prompts/brainstorming we have done so far. Begin writing your horror story draft. This is not due yet.

NOTE about suspense. Readers like suspense. We like to sit on the edge of our seat and wonder when the event we think is going to happen will happen. To create suspense, you should hint at the danger the protagonist is in. I like to write backward to create this suspense. I might start with the crime scene first--see what's there, investigate, then work BACKWARDS to figure out what caused the victim's death. By doing this, you will know the scene you are attempting to write. To add suspense, simply sprinkle in details or clues along the protagonist's way.

EXTRA, EXTRA CREDIT: For interested writers, here is a link to some Lovecraft fiction online: Dagonbytes. You may read any of Lovecraft's stories from the website. To gain credit, (a repeatable opportunity) summarize the story (what happens and to whom and where or when...please include the ending) AND examine and explain how Lovecraft uses setting, diction, or tone to create his story's mood. 

HOMEWORK: Finish reading Stephen King's On Writing. Complete any blog posts you did not complete over our Spring Break. Catch up. Read. Begin writing your horror story draft. Use the prompts, tips, and models we read to help you do just that.