With Halloween just one week away, we’re getting into the spirit of the season with these 13 quotes on the writing life from famous authors of horror, thriller and suspense:
1. “So where do the ideas—the salable ideas—come from? They come from my nightmares. Not the night-time variety, as a rule, but the ones that hide just beyond the doorway that separates the conscious from the unconscious.”
—Stephen King, “The Horror Writer Market and the Ten Bears,” November 1973, WD
2. “The first thing you have to know about writing is that it is something you must do everyday. There are two reasons for this rule: Getting the work done and connecting with your unconscious mind.”
—Walter Mosley
3. “I hope people are reading my work in the future. I hope I have done more than frightened a couple of generations. I hope I’ve inspired a few people one way or another.”
—Richard Matheson
4. “When one is writing a novel in the first person, one must be that person.”
—Daphne du Maurier
5. “When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books.”
—R.L. Stine
6. “[Horror fiction] shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.”
—Clive Barker
7. “Beauty is the sole legitimate province of the poem.”
—Edgar Allan Poe
8. “I have always loved to use fear, to take it and comprehend it and make it work and consolidate a situation where I was afraid and take it whole and work from there.”
—Shirley Jackson
9. “Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?”
—Tanith Lee
10. “I always wanted to be in the world of entertainment. I just love the idea of an audience being happy with what I am doing. Writing is showbusiness for shy people. That’s how I see it.”
—Lee Child
11. “I don’t think there is enough respect in general for the time it takes to write consistently good fiction. Too many people think they will master writing overnight, or that they are as good as they will ever be.”
—Tananarive Due
12. “What I love about the thriller form is that it makes you write a story. You can’t get lost in your own genius, which is a dangerous place for writers. You don’t want to ever get complacent. If a book starts going too well, I usually know there’s a problem. I need to struggle. I need that self-doubt. I need to think it’s not the best thing ever.”
—Harlan Coben, WD Interview, January 2011
13. “My reason for writing stories is to give myself the satisfaction of visualising more clearly and detailedly and stably the vague, elusive, fragmentary impressions of wonder, beauty, and adventurous expectancy which are conveyed to me by certain sights (scenic, architectural, atmospheric, etc.), ideas, occurrences, and images encountered in art and literature.”
—H.P. Lovecraft
Want to write your own horror, thriller or suspense novel? Then learn from a master with The Writer’s Digest Annotated Classic: Dracula.
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Tiffany Luckey is the associate editor of Writer’s Digest. She also writes about TV and pop culture at AnotherTVBlog.com. Follow Tiffany on Twitter @TiffanyElle.
After reading about so many rejected famous authors, I thought you might draw enough inspiration to keep writing and illustrating and continue to submit after reading this post.
REJECTED:
Author Dick Wimmer passed away on May 18, 2011, at 74 years old. He received 160+ rejections over 25 years! He spent a quarter of a century being told “no.”
He could have quit after 20 years, or 150 rejections, and no one would have blamed him. But he kept submitting. Maybe he had his own list of famous author rejection letters to keep him going!
Finally, his novel Irish Wine (Mercury House, 1989) was published to positive reviews. The New York Times called it a “taut, finely written, exhaustingly exuberant first novel.”
REJECTED:
Dr. Seuss got rejection letters, too. Here is one:
“too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.”
Here’s a rejection letter for THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK:
“The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.”
Madeleine L”Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME was turned down 29 times.
Jerry Spinelli was rejected for 15 years, before getting his first book contract for SPACE STATION SEVENTH GRADE.
THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT was turned down so many times, Beatrix Potter initially self-published it.
Rudyard Kipling received this: “I’m sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language.” Editor of the San Francisco Examiner.
H.G. Wells had to endure the indignity of a rejection when he submitted his manuscript, “The War of the Worlds” that said, “An endless nightmare. I do not believe it would “take”…I think the verdict would be ‘Oh don’t read that horrid book’.”
And when he tried to market “The Time Machine,” it was said, “It is not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader.”
Here is a rejection letter for Harry Potter:
30 June 1997
Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss J.K. Rowling:
At this time, we must decline your submission of HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE. Unfortunately, the manuscript reeks of being completed on a manual typewriter. For heaven’s sake, it is 1997. Do you own a computer?
The second major problem with this manuscript is its sheer length. Who do you think you are, Charles Dickens? We don’t pay by the word here. Plus, how do you expect parents to muddle through 309 pages to explain the characters, plot, subplots and themes to their children? What if the child has to do a book report on this thing? Can you imagine how long the CliffsNotes would have to be? Also, if parents and children spent time actually perusing the book together, the hours they would be stuck in the same room would be agonizing. Bringing families together is not something you would like to have on your conscience, I guarantee it.
In addition, the subject matter of HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE leaves a bit to be desired. Why would children want to read about a dorky, bespectacled tween’s experiences with the world of wizards and magic? And what about the lightning bolt on the main character’s forehead? What does it mean? How did
These have been around for a while, but I still think they’re incredibly amazing and wanted to share with anyone who hasn’t seen them yet.
These posters are actually the words from the book, word for word, displayed in the image. They are created by Postertext.com. According to their own website:
Hang your favorite book on the wall with the book’s text, arranged to depict a memorable scene from the book!
My teenaged son walked into the room while I was writing this and was shocked! He got so excited as he perused the various offerings, saying, “I’ve read that book and that one. There’s Moby Dick, my favorite.”
There is a multitude of book titles available and they continually work on more. Here’s but a small sampling:
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I came across this trailer recently and surprised myself at how emotional I became. It's not like I cry at all movie trailers. And in fact, I wasn't crying because of the trailer; I was crying because it is the absolute end of the Harry Potter reign.
While Rowlings' books will live forever (and the movies) and probably become classics for my grandchildren, there will be no new adventures--no more Harry Potter and gang acting brave and foolhardy. Continue reading →
When I was teaching, I never entered a classroom without several of Shel Silverstein's wonderful books of poetry. Later, when I substituted, I carried them in my case. And whenever the lessons ran dry or we finished early, out came the hilarious poetry and illustrations of one of the most prolific and humorous authors of our age. When I got my first glimpse of Shel, the man, I wasn't surprised--he looks just like his poetry--odd and different.
In this posting, I just wanted to remind those who are familiar with him so you might find some of his books and read them again--just for laughs; and inform those who have never read him that his work is worth finding. And make sure there is a child beside you as you read and chuckle. Continue reading →
I read recently that Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, and Philip Pullman all crossed paths with J.R.R. Tolkien (lucky them!). Their memories differ. Cooper heard him lecture and called him “a wonderful lecturer.” Jones, who also attended some of his lectures, said in an interview, “They were absolutely appalling.” Pullman, who had dinner with Tolkien later, when the latter was in his seventies, calls him “a genial old fellow” but his description of the dinner doesn’t sound very genial to me.
Reading this reminded me of hearing Tamora Pierce speak at a conference for the first time a few years ago. I will never forget how she performed — starting her speech as though it were going to be a terrible, dry, painful 45 minutes and then, as the audience’s eyes glazed over, showing us how the joke was on us. That impressed me, and probably always will, more than any book of hers that I’ve read.
The Internet makes connections with authors easier than ever, even if they’re not often in person. Which SFF authors have you had an encounter with? How was it surprising or rewarding?
 — Joni, who would really like to meet Philip Pullman, Garth Nix, and Stephen King in person, if they’re reading this and would like to extend an invitation
Filed under: Joni Sensel Tagged: authors, famous authors        
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With Halloween just one week away, we’re getting into the spirit of the season with these 13 quotes on the writing life from famous authors of horror, thriller and suspense:
Tiffany Luckey is the associate editor of Writer’s Digest. She also writes about TV and pop culture at AnotherTVBlog.com. Follow Tiffany on Twitter @TiffanyElle.
Excellent question, Kathy
Mine is pretty high, I think. I haven’t nearly hit my possible “limit” with any of books, especially since I’ve slowed down my submissions to a near halt. (I need to work on something specific before I can submit my work to an agent, so I’m not actively submitting just now.)
I find it amazing the things that have been said about these books and how “off the mark” they were. Are you sure the Harry Potter one is real? I’m pretty sure that’s one that was written to show how ridiculous rejection letters can be.
Anyway, good point as to NOT STOP TRYING!
Thanks! 
onna
Thank you. Needed this post today;)
Rejections are like a rite of passage. Or like having to sit the bench the first year you play softball. They maim but fill you with determination at the same time
Yes, I can’t imagine that Potter letter is real.
Agreed! We all have to pay our dues…
Mary and Donna,
I’m not sure about that, since it has appeared on places like Writer’s Digest.
Kathy
Elena,
My pleasure.
Kathy
Jan,
Good way to look at it. Of course, there is a big difference between sitting on the bench for one year, compared to sitting there for fifteen. I wish we all could sit on the bench for one year. Wouldn’t that be grand?
Kathy
Donna,
I need to start submitting, too. I remember the time about eight or nine years ago when I decided to submit to artist reps and to editors. I sent out a bunch of submissions to both and then the double rejections started coming in. That was really tough.
You could be right about the Harry Potter letter, but it has been published on Writer’s Digest. You would think they would vet those things.
Kathy
Yeah, but I remember there being an article or something somewhere (very possibly Writer’s Digest) with bogus rejection letters of successful books. I REALLY wish I could remember where, and that one sounds too familiar to me. It’s also signed “Harriet Plotter.” lol Pretty funny, I think!
great post! Thanks for putting it all together.