{"id":90,"date":"2009-10-28T11:01:17","date_gmt":"2009-10-28T15:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=90"},"modified":"2016-07-12T12:22:14","modified_gmt":"2016-07-12T18:22:14","slug":"dr-frankensteins-secrets-of-style-by-norman-partridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/dr-frankensteins-secrets-of-style-by-norman-partridge\/","title":{"rendered":"“Dr. Frankenstein’s Secrets of Style” by Norman Partridge"},"content":{"rendered":"
“Dr. Frankenstein’s Secrets of Style” by Norman Partridge<\/div>\n
Okay. Since you\u2019re a prospective horror writer, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re familiar with our old buddy Dr. Frankenstein. You\u2019ve read Mary Shelley\u2019s classic novel, maybe a few anthologies chock full of Frankensteinian stories, and you\u2019ve seen those old movies, too.<\/div>\n
There\u2019s a scene in most of those movies. One that I love. Where the good doctor\u2019s son, or grandson, or granddaughter, or (better yet) some conniving interloper invades the doc\u2019s dusty old castle and finds a big thick book entitled Dr. Victor Frankenstein\u2019s Secrets of Life and Death, which naturally spares the prospective mad scientist a whole bunch of hair-tearing, grief, and anguish when it comes to learning the fine art of monster-making.<\/div>\n
When it comes to developing a writing style, I doubt that I can be as helpful as the good doc was with his dusty tome. But I\u2019ll try.<\/div>\n
First off, let\u2019s make like Victor Frankenstein and conduct an experiment. Here\u2019s what you do: get yourself down to the local book emporium. Ignore the cappuccino bar and the dessert counter and all those celebrity \u201cautobiographies\u201d penned by ghostwriters. What you\u2019re looking for is the horror section. You\u2019ve been there before, haven\u2019t you? Sure\u2026 I\u2019ll bet a big wad of green money that you have.<\/div>\n
Okay. Mission accomplished. You\u2019re standing in front of several rows of books with black spines dripping bloody red lettering. I know you\u2019ve read many of these titles already, so here\u2019s what I want you to do: select several you\u2019ve missed, but make sure they\u2019re written by authors you\u2019ve read before. Some of those \u201cbig names\u201d we\u2019re all familiar with.<\/div>\n
Buy those books. Take them home.<\/div>\n
Lock the doors. Close the drapes. Just like Dr. Frankenstein getting down to the business of serious experimentation, you don\u2019t want anyone to know what you\u2019re about to do.<\/div>\n
Place the books on a table in front of you. Now comes the hard part. But remember\u2014 you\u2019re doing it the way Dr. Frankenstein did. In the name of science and knowledge. Remember, too, that if nothing else the good doctor was certainly adept at dissection.<\/div>\n
One by one, snatch up those books. Rip off the covers.<\/div>\n
Title pages too. Peel the spine. Then find a thick black felt-tip pen (I recommend Marks-A-Lot). Cross out any further mention of the author\u2019s name\u2014page headers, bio section, whatever.<\/div>\n
Now\u2026 sit down and start reading. Maybe the first chapter of each book, maybe less. Again, I\u2019ll pull out my wad of green money, and I\u2019ll bet that you can tell the Stephen King books from those written by Dean R. Koontz just as easily as you can identify an Anne Rice or Peter Straub novel.<\/div>\n
You want to know why?<\/div>\n
King, Koontz, Rice, and Straub all have discernible styles, that\u2019s why.<\/div>\n
* * *<\/div>\n
Of course, the aforementioned quartet of bestselling authors has been at this game a little longer than you have. They developed their respective styles through countless hours of hard work.<\/div>\n
Work on short stories and novels, that is. Telling story after story, getting each one down on paper, typing \u201cThe End\u201d time and time again. Learning what works and what doesn\u2019t by trial and error. Even learning unconsciously. Because, let\u2019s face it, no beginning writer sits down at the good ol\u2019 word processor and says, \u201cForget all that story and plot junk\u2026 today I\u2019m going to develop a style.\u201d<\/div>\n
Well, maybe someone has tried that. Actually, I wouldn\u2019t doubt it. But I\u2019m still holding that green money, and I\u2019ll bet that any misguided boob who attempted such an endeavor failed miserably.<\/div>\n
Because your writing style comes from within. In fact, you\u2019ve probably already got it, or at least a good chunk of it. You just don\u2019t know about it yet. But maybe I can help you find it… or at least show you where to look.<\/div>\n
All you\u2019ll need is a shovel and a stout heart.<\/div>\n
Now, follow me to the cemetery\u2026.<\/div>\n
* * *<\/div>\n
Here we are. Cool fog raising gooseflesh on your arms. The full moon shining up above. Gnarled branches scratching the night sky. A forest of marble monuments and granite headstones looming before you.<\/div>\n
You recognize the scene, don\u2019t you? Sure you do. Any horror writer worth his salt recognizes Dr. Frankenstein\u2019s favorite bone garden. Just as you remember why the good doctor invariably makes the cemetery his first stop.<\/div>\n
It\u2019s the mad scientist\u2019s very first rule\u2014if you\u2019re gonna make a monster, you\u2019re gonna need parts.<\/div>\n
Creating a writing style isn\u2019t much different. Just as the Frankenstein Monster is a crazy quilt of dear-departed humanity, your writing style is an amalgam of influences. Which is why you must read\u2014 and read widely\u2014 if you want to write.<\/div>\n
Mad scientists open graves. Writers open books.<\/div>\n
I knew this from the start, long before I ever became serious about publishing my fiction. I worked for several years in the local public library, during which time I read the very best the horror genre had to offer. From Poe to Bradbury, from Matheson to King and on through Lansdale and Schow, I absorbed the lessons of those who labored in Dr. Frankenstein\u2019s cemetery long before I ever picked up my shovel.<\/div>\n
But I also learned a great deal from writers in completely unrelated genres. For me, crime writers were a big influence in developing every element of my work. I learned a great deal about mood from writers who specialize in crime noir. And when it comes to pace and plot, I found my best teachers in writers such as Elmore Leonard, John D. MacDonald, and Dan J. Marlowe.<\/div>\n
I didn\u2019t confine my reading to novels, either. I found anthologies especially valuable. In the space of a single anthology, I\u2019d invariably be exposed to as many styles as there were stories. Not all of them were successful or effective, of course. But sometimes it\u2019s just as important to learn what doesn\u2019t work as what does work\u2026 and why.<\/div>\n
Now, please don\u2019t get the impression that I\u2019m telling you to imitate other writers, especially when it comes to style. I certainly wouldn\u2019t advise you to do that.<\/div>\n
But I\u2019d be less than honest if I didn\u2019t tell you that a certain amount of imitation is unavoidable. Especially for a writer who\u2019s just starting out. H. P. Lovecraft\u2019s early work strongly echoes Poe. Other Lovecraft stories strongly recall the tales of Lord Dunsany. Robert Bloch began his career as a student of H. P. Lovecraft, only to evolve into one of the finest psychological suspense writers of his generation. Ramsey Campbell also followed in Lovecraft\u2019s footsteps, publishing Cthulhu mythos-inspired fiction as a teenager. But Campbell didn\u2019t stop there. He continued to grow and evolve, and today he is one of the most original stylists in horror fiction. While Campbell is still more than capable of putting a twist on Lovecraftian themes, his style of writing is now thoroughly his own. In fact, these days more than a few young writers have begun their careers by imitating Ramsey Campbell.<\/div>\n
So, consciously or unconsciously, every beginning writer imitates. Including me. Looking back, some of my early stories reflect stylistic influences that didn\u2019t quite pan out. Like \u201cBody Bags,\u201d the Vietnam war horror story written as a first person account that dripped with passages of lush, Poe-like description which was completely inappropriate to the story\u2019s timeframe. Or the overblown fantasy-epic fight scenes which read like something written by Robert E. Howard on steroids. Or the \u201csurprise ending\u201d stories which certainly didn\u2019t make anyone forget the nasty punch-to-the-gut climaxes patented by Robert Bloch in his prime.<\/div>\n
So I had my share of misfires, but the truth is that some of those imitative stories actually did work out. While compiling my short story collection, Bad Intentions, I was surprised to rediscover early tales written while I was obviously under the sway of writers as disparate as Dennis Etchison and Joe R. Lansdale. But reading those stories today is kind of like looking at a ten-year-old photograph of yourself. Sure, you recognize the guy in the picture, but the clothes you\u2019re wearing may surprise you!<\/div>\n
So while a certain amount of imitation is necessary, in the final analysis it\u2019s just another way of developing your own creative filter, of learning what works and what doesn\u2019t. But it\u2019s certainly not the end of the process, and I\u2019ll tell you why.<\/div>\n
No matter how high you aim, no matter how talented or successful or popular the writer you choose to emulate, you\u2019ll find that imitation is not only a dead end, it\u2019s also a trap.<\/div>\n
Let me give you an example. In the early eighties, the horror field was booming. Stephen King enjoyed a huge popularity. Naturally, many writers set out to be \u201cthe next Stephen King.\u201d They wrote knockoffs of \u2019Salem\u2019s Lot, replacing King\u2019s vampires with zombies or werewolves. They wrote limpid apocalyptic \u201cthrillers\u201d which paled when compared to The Stand. Neighborhoods of haunted houses populated with Jack Torrance wannabe\u2019s sprung up, and it seemed that every high school class (in fiction, anyway) contained at least one telekinetic teenager meant to rival Carrie White.<\/div>\n
Publishers jumped on these books, each one eager to create \u201canother Stephen King.\u201d Because of this, some of the King clones had a pretty good run in the eighties, publishing one book after another while pulling down some pretty healthy paychecks.<\/div>\n
Then the bottom fell out. The public caught on. \u201cWhy buy a King clone,\u201d they asked, \u201cwhen the real thing is still going strong?\u201d The clones stopped selling. Publishers lost money.<\/div>\n
Many houses stopped buying horror novels entirely or cut their horror lines dramatically. The King clones, some of whom had become accustomed to healthy advances, suddenly couldn\u2019t sell their new novels. To this day, the horror novel market has not quite recovered from the glut of unoriginal fiction which appeared in the eighties.<\/div>\n
* * *<\/div>\n
Okay. You\u2019ve been warned, and you\u2019re still determined to make a go of this mad scientist business. You\u2019re stitching your monster together, working every day.<\/div>\n
You\u2019re reading. You\u2019re writing. You\u2019re putting in the time.<\/div>\n
But you don\u2019t want to overdo it, especially when it comes to style. You\u2019re walking a fine line. A dash too much mood, an extra dollop of flowery description, and your horror stories will read like parodies. They\u2019ll invoke laughter rather than fright.<\/div>\n
It\u2019s the \u201chey, Ma, look at me write\u201d syndrome, and it\u2019s usually the result of over-polishing your prose.<\/div>\n
One of the hardest things to learn as a writer is when to quit. Some beginners become so obsessed with making each story \u201cperfect,\u201d each line of prose \u201cdeathless,\u201d that they sabotage their own fiction by revising it to death. And sabotage is not too strong a word. Because overblown description, multiple metaphors, and overused similes can wreak explosive destruction upon your tales of terror.<\/div>\n
Too much of a good thing is indeed too much of a good thing. Remember that.<\/div>\n
But also remember that even Dr. Frankenstein had his failures. That nasty bit of business with Igor and the abnormal brain, for example. But the good doc wasn\u2019t a quitter. When things didn\u2019t work out the way he\u2019d planned, Victor Frankenstein always got out his shovel and headed back to the cemetery.<\/div>\n
* * *<\/div>\n
So don\u2019t give up. Put in the time. Write those stories. Read those books. Stitch that monster together.<\/div>\n
One day he\u2019ll be stretched out on that slab before you, just like in the movies. You put him together\u2014an experiment here, an influence there\u2014but I think you\u2019ll find that he doesn\u2019t quite look like any of those things you made him from. He\u2019s no sum total of his parts, this guy. He\u2019s an original.<\/div>\n
And just when you\u2019re ready to throw the switch and juice him with electricity he\u2019ll probably surprise you by sitting up and stalking off completely on his own. See, you\u2019ve already done that\u2014all the work you put in, that was the juice your monster needed. Your creative spark gave him life.<\/div>\n
Just look at him.<\/div>\n
You can even holler \u201cIt\u2019s alive! It\u2019s alive!\u201d if you want to.<\/div>\n
Because this monster\u2019s lookin\u2019 good, isn\u2019t he?<\/div>\n
That\u2019s because he\u2019s got style.<\/div>\n
* * *<\/div>\n
[This essay is excerpted from the Subterranean Press edition of Norman Partridge\u2019s Stoker-winning collection, Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales, which features both early short stories and advice for writers looking to build careers in horror and suspense.]<\/div>\n

“Dr. Frankenstein’s Secrets of Style”
\nby Norman Partridge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay. Since you\u2019re a prospective horror writer, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re familiar with our old buddy Dr. Frankenstein. You\u2019ve read Mary Shelley\u2019s classic novel, maybe a few anthologies chock full of Frankensteinian stories, and you\u2019ve seen those old movies, too.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a scene in most of those movies. One that I love. Where the good doctor\u2019s son, or grandson, or granddaughter, or (better yet) some conniving interloper invades the doc\u2019s dusty old castle and finds a big thick book entitled Dr. Victor Frankenstein\u2019s Secrets of Life and Death, which naturally spares the prospective mad scientist a whole bunch of hair-tearing, grief, and anguish when it comes to learning the fine art of monster-making.<\/p>\n

When it comes to developing a writing style, I doubt that I can be as helpful as the good doc was with his dusty tome. But I\u2019ll try.<\/p>\n

First off, let\u2019s make like Victor Frankenstein and conduct an experiment. Here\u2019s what you do: get yourself down to the local book emporium. Ignore the cappuccino bar and the dessert counter and all those celebrity \u201cautobiographies\u201d penned by ghostwriters. What you\u2019re looking for is the horror section. You\u2019ve been there before, haven\u2019t you? Sure\u2026 I\u2019ll bet a big wad of green money that you have.<\/p>\n

Okay. Mission accomplished. You\u2019re standing in front of several rows of books with black spines dripping bloody red lettering. I know you\u2019ve read many of these titles already, so here\u2019s what I want you to do: select several you\u2019ve missed, but make sure they\u2019re written by authors you\u2019ve read before. Some of those \u201cbig names\u201d we\u2019re all familiar with.<\/p>\n

Buy those books. Take them home.<\/p>\n

Lock the doors. Close the drapes. Just like Dr. Frankenstein getting down to the business of serious experimentation, you don\u2019t want anyone to know what you\u2019re about to do.<\/p>\n

Place the books on a table in front of you. Now comes the hard part. But remember\u2014 you\u2019re doing it the way Dr. Frankenstein did. In the name of science and knowledge. Remember, too, that if nothing else the good doctor was certainly adept at dissection.<\/p>\n

One by one, snatch up those books. Rip off the covers.<\/p>\n

Title pages too. Peel the spine. Then find a thick black felt-tip pen (I recommend Marks-A-Lot). Cross out any further mention of the author\u2019s name\u2014page headers, bio section, whatever.<\/p>\n

Now\u2026 sit down and start reading. Maybe the first chapter of each book, maybe less. Again, I\u2019ll pull out my wad of green money, and I\u2019ll bet that you can tell the Stephen King books from those written by Dean R. Koontz just as easily as you can identify an Anne Rice or Peter Straub novel.<\/p>\n

You want to know why?<\/p>\n

King, Koontz, Rice, and Straub all have discernible styles, that\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Of course, the aforementioned quartet of bestselling authors has been at this game a little longer than you have. They developed their respective styles through countless hours of hard work.<\/p>\n

Work on short stories and novels, that is. Telling story after story, getting each one down on paper, typing \u201cThe End\u201d time and time again. Learning what works and what doesn\u2019t by trial and error. Even learning unconsciously. Because, let\u2019s face it, no beginning writer sits down at the good ol\u2019 word processor and says, \u201cForget all that story and plot junk\u2026 today I\u2019m going to develop a style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, maybe someone has tried that. Actually, I wouldn\u2019t doubt it. But I\u2019m still holding that green money, and I\u2019ll bet that any misguided boob who attempted such an endeavor failed miserably.<\/p>\n

Because your writing style comes from within. In fact, you\u2019ve probably already got it, or at least a good chunk of it. You just don\u2019t know about it yet. But maybe I can help you find it… or at least show you where to look.<\/p>\n

All you\u2019ll need is a shovel and a stout heart.<\/p>\n

Now, follow me to the cemetery\u2026.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Here we are. Cool fog raising gooseflesh on your arms. The full moon shining up above. Gnarled branches scratching the night sky. A forest of marble monuments and granite headstones looming before you.<\/p>\n

You recognize the scene, don\u2019t you? Sure you do. Any horror writer worth his salt recognizes Dr. Frankenstein\u2019s favorite bone garden. Just as you remember why the good doctor invariably makes the cemetery his first stop.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the mad scientist\u2019s very first rule\u2014if you\u2019re gonna make a monster, you\u2019re gonna need parts.<\/p>\n

Creating a writing style isn\u2019t much different. Just as the Frankenstein Monster is a crazy quilt of dear-departed humanity, your writing style is an amalgam of influences. Which is why you must read\u2014 and read widely\u2014 if you want to write.<\/p>\n

Mad scientists open graves. Writers open books.<\/p>\n

I knew this from the start, long before I ever became serious about publishing my fiction. I worked for several years in the local public library, during which time I read the very best the horror genre had to offer. From Poe to Bradbury, from Matheson to King and on through Lansdale and Schow, I absorbed the lessons of those who labored in Dr. Frankenstein\u2019s cemetery long before I ever picked up my shovel.<\/p>\n

But I also learned a great deal from writers in completely unrelated genres. For me, crime writers were a big influence in developing every element of my work. I learned a great deal about mood from writers who specialize in crime noir. And when it comes to pace and plot, I found my best teachers in writers such as Elmore Leonard, John D. MacDonald, and Dan J. Marlowe.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t confine my reading to novels, either. I found anthologies especially valuable. In the space of a single anthology, I\u2019d invariably be exposed to as many styles as there were stories. Not all of them were successful or effective, of course. But sometimes it\u2019s just as important to learn what doesn\u2019t work as what does work\u2026 and why.<\/p>\n

Now, please don\u2019t get the impression that I\u2019m telling you to imitate other writers, especially when it comes to style. I certainly wouldn\u2019t advise you to do that.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019d be less than honest if I didn\u2019t tell you that a certain amount of imitation is unavoidable. Especially for a writer who\u2019s just starting out. H. P. Lovecraft\u2019s early work strongly echoes Poe. Other Lovecraft stories strongly recall the tales of Lord Dunsany. Robert Bloch began his career as a student of H. P. Lovecraft, only to evolve into one of the finest psychological suspense writers of his generation. Ramsey Campbell also followed in Lovecraft\u2019s footsteps, publishing Cthulhu mythos-inspired fiction as a teenager. But Campbell didn\u2019t stop there. He continued to grow and evolve, and today he is one of the most original stylists in horror fiction. While Campbell is still more than capable of putting a twist on Lovecraftian themes, his style of writing is now thoroughly his own. In fact, these days more than a few young writers have begun their careers by imitating Ramsey Campbell.<\/p>\n

So, consciously or unconsciously, every beginning writer imitates. Including me. Looking back, some of my early stories reflect stylistic influences that didn\u2019t quite pan out. Like \u201cBody Bags,\u201d the Vietnam war horror story written as a first person account that dripped with passages of lush, Poe-like description which was completely inappropriate to the story\u2019s timeframe. Or the overblown fantasy-epic fight scenes which read like something written by Robert E. Howard on steroids. Or the \u201csurprise ending\u201d stories which certainly didn\u2019t make anyone forget the nasty punch-to-the-gut climaxes patented by Robert Bloch in his prime.<\/p>\n

So I had my share of misfires, but the truth is that some of those imitative stories actually did work out. While compiling my short story collection, Bad Intentions, I was surprised to rediscover early tales written while I was obviously under the sway of writers as disparate as Dennis Etchison and Joe R. Lansdale. But reading those stories today is kind of like looking at a ten-year-old photograph of yourself. Sure, you recognize the guy in the picture, but the clothes you\u2019re wearing may surprise you!<\/p>\n

So while a certain amount of imitation is necessary, in the final analysis it\u2019s just another way of developing your own creative filter, of learning what works and what doesn\u2019t. But it\u2019s certainly not the end of the process, and I\u2019ll tell you why.<\/p>\n

No matter how high you aim, no matter how talented or successful or popular the writer you choose to emulate, you\u2019ll find that imitation is not only a dead end, it\u2019s also a trap.<\/p>\n

Let me give you an example. In the early eighties, the horror field was booming. Stephen King enjoyed a huge popularity. Naturally, many writers set out to be \u201cthe next Stephen King.\u201d They wrote knockoffs of \u2019Salem\u2019s Lot, replacing King\u2019s vampires with zombies or werewolves. They wrote limpid apocalyptic \u201cthrillers\u201d which paled when compared to The Stand. Neighborhoods of haunted houses populated with Jack Torrance wannabe\u2019s sprung up, and it seemed that every high school class (in fiction, anyway) contained at least one telekinetic teenager meant to rival Carrie White.<\/p>\n

Publishers jumped on these books, each one eager to create \u201canother Stephen King.\u201d Because of this, some of the King clones had a pretty good run in the eighties, publishing one book after another while pulling down some pretty healthy paychecks.<\/p>\n

Then the bottom fell out. The public caught on. \u201cWhy buy a King clone,\u201d they asked, \u201cwhen the real thing is still going strong?\u201d The clones stopped selling. Publishers lost money.<\/p>\n

Many houses stopped buying horror novels entirely or cut their horror lines dramatically. The King clones, some of whom had become accustomed to healthy advances, suddenly couldn\u2019t sell their new novels. To this day, the horror novel market has not quite recovered from the glut of unoriginal fiction which appeared in the eighties.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Okay. You\u2019ve been warned, and you\u2019re still determined to make a go of this mad scientist business. You\u2019re stitching your monster together, working every day.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re reading. You\u2019re writing. You\u2019re putting in the time.<\/p>\n

But you don\u2019t want to overdo it, especially when it comes to style. You\u2019re walking a fine line. A dash too much mood, an extra dollop of flowery description, and your horror stories will read like parodies. They\u2019ll invoke laughter rather than fright.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the \u201chey, Ma, look at me write\u201d syndrome, and it\u2019s usually the result of over-polishing your prose.<\/p>\n

One of the hardest things to learn as a writer is when to quit. Some beginners become so obsessed with making each story \u201cperfect,\u201d each line of prose \u201cdeathless,\u201d that they sabotage their own fiction by revising it to death. And sabotage is not too strong a word. Because overblown description, multiple metaphors, and overused similes can wreak explosive destruction upon your tales of terror.<\/p>\n

Too much of a good thing is indeed too much of a good thing. Remember that.<\/p>\n

But also remember that even Dr. Frankenstein had his failures. That nasty bit of business with Igor and the abnormal brain, for example. But the good doc wasn\u2019t a quitter. When things didn\u2019t work out the way he\u2019d planned, Victor Frankenstein always got out his shovel and headed back to the cemetery.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t give up. Put in the time. Write those stories. Read those books. Stitch that monster together.<\/p>\n

One day he\u2019ll be stretched out on that slab before you, just like in the movies. You put him together\u2014an experiment here, an influence there\u2014but I think you\u2019ll find that he doesn\u2019t quite look like any of those things you made him from. He\u2019s no sum total of his parts, this guy. He\u2019s an original.<\/p>\n

And just when you\u2019re ready to throw the switch and juice him with electricity he\u2019ll probably surprise you by sitting up and stalking off completely on his own. See, you\u2019ve already done that\u2014all the work you put in, that was the juice your monster needed. Your creative spark gave him life.<\/p>\n

Just look at him.<\/p>\n

You can even holler \u201cIt\u2019s alive! It\u2019s alive!\u201d if you want to.<\/p>\n

Because this monster\u2019s lookin\u2019 good, isn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because he\u2019s got style.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

[This essay is excerpted from the Subterranean Press edition of Norman Partridge\u2019s Stoker-winning collection, Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales, which features both early short stories and advice for writers looking to build careers in horror and suspense.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Dr. Frankenstein’s Secrets of Style” by Norman Partridge Okay. Since you\u2019re a prospective horror writer, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re familiar with our old buddy Dr. Frankenstein. You\u2019ve read Mary Shelley\u2019s classic novel, maybe a few anthologies chock full of Frankensteinian stories, and you\u2019ve seen those old movies, too. There\u2019s a scene in most of those movies. … Continue Reading! ““Dr. Frankenstein’s Secrets of Style” by Norman Partridge”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice-for-writers"],"yoast_head":"\n"Dr. Frankenstein's Secrets of Style" by Norman Partridge - 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