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Post by snarky on Sept 2, 2007 3:39:47 GMT
I'm just curious, as it suddenly occured to me that there is no "Best horror catagory."
Why?
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Post by piedflycatcher on Sept 2, 2007 12:17:48 GMT
Horror falls under miscellaneous. We figured it would probably be too small a genre to merit its own category.
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Ink
SOLDIER First Class
Jashin's going to smite your arse. Smite! SMITE, I say!
Posts: 1,681
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Post by Ink on Sept 2, 2007 19:09:32 GMT
Oh, but that's nearly all I read ;D
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Post by snarky on Sept 3, 2007 4:04:28 GMT
Ah, I see. All right then; thanks!
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Post by piedflycatcher on Sept 3, 2007 13:48:48 GMT
Funnily enough, I was just about to nominate your horror story, Snarky. I put a bunch of fics in the c2, ready to nominate later, and I've only just gotten around to it. But, hey, you saved me the trouble. XD
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Post by snarky on Sept 3, 2007 16:09:42 GMT
Oh? That's funny! x3 Well, thank you, though!
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Post by Neophyte Ronin on Dec 19, 2007 17:40:12 GMT
Horror... miscellany...
People are probably intimidated at the concept. They also associated horror with blood and guts--typically mature reading--but the premise of horror isn't about watching others suffer. That's just sadistic. Horror, in its true literary version, is really a play on self-discovery. The protagonist encounters something unimaginable, perhaps threatening, which suddenly begins breaking reality down bit by bit. The objective in horror fiction is to transform the protagonist through having to deal with the horror. Thus, horror stories are meant to be as transcendental as they are suspenseful... much akin to classic adventure tales.
As an example, pit you against a methodical, cunning, psychopathic killer, thrust into a situation where there are few authorities or hand-holds to grip upon. Would you be able to survive, or rot away with all the other dead teenagers lying at your feet? What if you suddenly realized that--in having multiple personality disorder--you wake up every morning, but never really sleep at night, and that what happens then is totally alien and perhaps even destructive? Learning how to handle (if you can or not) such gross examples of malfeasance is what horror fiction is about.
Academia aside, this genre got delegated to the miscellany category for two reasons. One: who the hell reads this stuff? They're often dubbed as sadists by all the Philistines. And Two: who the hell writes this stuff... or rather, writes it well? These reasons are chicken-and-egg, but no matter the paradox, fan-fiction is dead to horror.
I've re-called my stories because I suspect they contain fungi-derived hallucinogens (ergo LSD); they're otherwise not up to my meticulous standard. They're not that horrific, or in adherence to the genre requirements. I also named them as "horror/fantasy", a genre that seems redundant at first glance, though there are multiple genres of fantasy (in my case, it's a blend of the high fantasy of Tolkein, traditional dream-like fantasy, and of course, the dark fantasy). Most people mistook the horror aspect and imagined my stories are inherently bloodbaths (the movie-land horror is a far cry from the literary format, but again... Philistines). Furthermore, they were too long; I got flak for that around here. Of course before--when I really stressed the concepts of horror, I received many misunderstandings, which evolved into some very harsh criticism locally.
One good example of horror fan-fiction is one of Peptuck's FFVIII stories. Derived heavily from games like Grand Theft Auto and Silent Hill, Seifer is a hired hitman who escapes his pursuers through an abandoned, dilapidated hospital/laboratory. A supernatural presence starts following him around, killing his enemies with inexplicable supernatural forces. The story doubles as an "origins" tale which, as luck would have it, emphasizes my case that horror is really about self-discovery (hence, the plot is really a quest). Through blending classic games' concepts, Peptuck's tale has enough originality to remove the FFVIII canon and stand on its own two feet (akin to Sanctuary, I Tried).
I thought it was odd as well that there wasn't a horror genre by itself as a category, but sensing the reasoning of the others around here, it's understandable... and also tragic. It's like the protagonist gave up without a fight, only to join the bodies upon the ground.
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