Where Nightmares Come From: The Art of Storytelling in the Horror Genre (Dream Weaver #1) edited by Joe Mynhardt and Eugene Johnson

Crystal Lake Publishing. 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1640074682

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

With a few exceptions, books on writing usually bring on the snoozes, but Where Nightmares Come From is constructed in a manner that sidesteps the pitfalls of a typical writing book. It delivers both to amateur writers and seasoned authors, as well as giving readers an insight into how their favorite books came to be.

Twenty-eight chapters lurk between the covers, each by a different author (or several). Even if the reader doesn’t connect with one article or interview, there’s plenty more to capture his or her interest. The price of the book is covered in the first chapter, by Joe R. Lansdale, who talks about how the storyteller rules the roost, not the story. The conversational tone in which he spills his secrets brings to mind sitting across a table in a honky tonk, tossing back a few, and discussing the weather or sports, instead of the keys to a masterful story. “The Process of a Tale” is pure gold by Ramsey Campbell, a guru of the short story. Instead of telling how to write something in the abstract form, he shows the reader by taking them on a ride through drafts of an actual published story, dissecting each passage before improving it, piece by piece, tinkering with the language and design. It’s doubtful a struggling writer will close the book without feeling a kinship with the king of British horror. Charlaine Harris, author of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and Midnight, Texas takes readers on her own journey of storytelling, and how she concocts her novels. Like Lansdale, Harris knows how to explain her magic in a way that simply makes sense. Stephen King and Richard Chizmar share their experience collaborating on their recent bestselling book Gwendy’s Button Box. Elizabeth Massie, Ray Garton, and John Connolly also make great contributions, along with a slew of lesser-known authors readers should be aware of.  While I’ve mentioned just a few chapters in detail, every single entry has something crucial to offer the writer (or reader). This is a tool writers will be using for years. Highly recommended.