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How comfortable are you with ambiguity in horror? |
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JamesGBoswell 
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Joined: 24 Oct 2019 Location: Kansas City Status: Offline Points: 14 |
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 Topic: How comfortable are you with ambiguity in horror?Posted: 11 Nov 2019 at 6:08pm |
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One thing I've noticed is that there's a spectrum when it comes to comfort levels with ambiguity as a plot device in horror. Some people prefer the very ambiguous, creeping, growing dread of existential horror like in Bird Box, while others prefer the explicit, in-your-face, "I'm going to kill you right now with this knife I'm holding in my hand"-sort of unambiguous terror like in slashers and gore-fests.
I fall almost completely on the side of the former; I don't want to see what the monster looks like or even know if there's really a monster there at all, I just want to be afraid that there could be a monster and believe it's probably horrible, if so. What about you? |
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I write dread-inducing stories inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone.
"That Feeling When You Know You're Doomed" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S3Z6LK8< |
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ruagray
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Joined: 27 Jul 2016 Location: Bloomington, IN Status: Offline Points: 704 |
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Posted: 11 Nov 2019 at 6:17pm |
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I love it all. For the purposes of this contest, I think going more explicit might be the safer bet though.
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FFC#3 - Rise the Midnight Girl (horror)
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jennifer.quail
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Posted: 11 Nov 2019 at 9:51pm |
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Ambiguity is often scarier. But it's also usually over the judges' heads here.
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SSC2021 R1 Gr 56: Terra Nova
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manifestlynot
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Posted: 11 Nov 2019 at 10:18pm |
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It’s tough - horror tropes typically includes some sort of violence and/or gore, which is not ambiguous at all. I can’t think of a horror story offhand that is super ambiguous without going to stories or movies that are more suspenseful or psychological thrillers, neither of which include violent tropes. I have not received horror in NYCM yet (I just jinxed myself didn’t I??) but I will definitely consider this debate when I do!
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cheddarbaked
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Posted: 11 Nov 2019 at 10:48pm |
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Ugh, I got horror for round 3, and this is exactly what I don't want to hear, lol. My story does feature a murderous ghost, so I guess I just have to hope that's horror-y enough for the judges. It's just a really slow burn to get there.
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ruagray
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Posted: 11 Nov 2019 at 11:11pm |
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I think the concern is less about evoking horror and more whether the judge is paying enough attention/allowing themselves enough time to think about the story. Some of the feedback has been so off the mark that it almost shakes my faith in humanity.
To give some of the judging the benefit of the doubt, it may be fatigue from trying to judge too many stories in a window of time that are on same prompts. There are plenty of times when there is no issue at all. So being ambiguous isn't so much a death sentence as it is a roll of the dice imo.
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FFC#3 - Rise the Midnight Girl (horror)
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Fabala
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Joined: 20 Jul 2019 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 57 |
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Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 2:04am |
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I went pretty ambiguous for my first story and scored 15 points. Don't be discouraged!
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MontyinMaine
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Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 5:26am |
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This is where I struggled the most after drawing horror this round. I tried to find a balance but ended up more ambiguous than I intended. I think my story is more along the lines of disturbing than horrifying. This was the genre I most wanted, yet I found it was more challenging than Political Satire, which I dreaded. Very difficult to tell a story that horrifies in less than 1000 words.
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thebrokegamer
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Joined: 14 Jul 2018 Location: Boston, MA Status: Offline Points: 500 |
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Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 8:32am |
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Horror is sort of my home genre, and I always lean into ambiguity. To me, it's much more interesting to wonder if it's all in someone's head or if some force is really out to get them. Hits to a broader universal.
Last year I thought I lucked out by drawing horror. I wrote a piece I'm still proud of about a man being wracked by guilt that had the same maybe-supernatural themes. It bagged 9th place, and every single top scorer was of the gory slasher variety. It's like pitting Shirley Jackson against Stephen King: two very valid interpretations of the genre, but some folks will just like one more than the other. Seems to be the consensus that the judges here are solidly in the Stephen King camp.
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MontyinMaine
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Posted: 12 Nov 2019 at 8:38am |
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Yikes! My story sounds very similar to yours. I actually reread the Lottery and several Poe works when I drew horror. Maybe the judges have broadened their views on horror this year!
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ruagray wrote: