723 As of 9-28-12, my Unspeakable Horror Writing course will officially be closing its doors. Increased work outside of reddit has made maintaining the class nearly impossible, but I'm proud of the time students have spent with their stories; hopefully, they are too. Thank you for the opportunity to teach horror writing!
Thank you for considering my Unspeakable Horror Writing course, but be warned that your experience here might be... unpleasant. You will not be learning what scares, “people,” and implementing those fears into your writing; you'll be learning what scares you, and given the opportunity to share your findings. Are you willing to wound yourself so that others are shocked by the blood? As horror writers, you should be.
You'll be offended, disgusted, frightened, and shocked by the material we'll cover, but in the end, your ability to come up with horror-themed content will prosper.
Discussion of our topics will be the highest priority, so grammar and spelling won't be graded. However, following the given prompts and responding to other classmates' stories will, so be ready to participate!
- Morality
An interrogation of our conclusions of right and wrong.
- Trauma
A review of the trauma in our lives.
- Innocence
The reconstruction and redefinition of innocence and purity.
- Reality
How is reality itself a tool of horror? No, the answer isn't, "truth is scarier than fiction."
- Death
Death and life: our only guarantees.
- Suffering
NSFW/NSFL You've been warned.
-Basic reading and writing abilities
-Willingness to write graphic and disturbing content
-Willingness to view horrific pictures, videos, and audio
General
-My course will be held on a subreddit (/r/unspeakablehorror).
-Classes will be once a week on Friday, and homework won't be due until the day before the following lecture. A week should be plenty of time to plan, outline, and respond to the prompts.
-This is a six week course, starting on June 8th!
Here's the class line-up:
1) Morality
-What is morality?
-When is something immoral?
-How are you sure your choice of morality is right?
2) Psychological Trauma
-What is trauma?
-What trauma has been caused to you?
-What trauma have you caused others?
3) Innocence
-What is innocence?
-What is purity?
-Are innocence and purity intertwined, or can there be one without the other?'
4) Reality
-What is reality?
-What isn't reality?
-How is reality relevant?'
5) Death
-What is death?
-How can death be better than life?
-What do you consider the worst way to die?'
6) Suffering
-What is suffering?
-When does someone or something deserve to suffer?
-What have you done that makes you deserve to suffer?
Four points will be available for every class:
-Responding to a prompt for homework (two points)
-Responding to two other pieces of writing by other students (one point for each response)
-There is no extra credit!
-Each class will have two portions: discussion of a topic, and response to a prompt that will be due for homework. Between classes, students are expected to comment on at least two other stories.
-I understand many redditors see spelling as incredibly important, but our focus is content over presentation. If you bully other students because their grammar isn't flawless, you'll receive a zero in the course and will be banned from the subreddit. Please don't do it.
-There are no right or wrong answers. As long as you participate, you'll easily get an A!
-If you're curious what your grade is, send me a message and I'll reply as soon as possible.
-I've been a writer for five or six years, and have aced every writing class I've ever taken.
-Professors and teachers and praised my ability to think, “outside the box.”
-Many stories I've written have received fantastic feedback, specifically because of their graphic content.
-I've always wanted to share some of my ability with others, and learn from the people I teach. We're all students and teachers in the class of life.
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