Ep. 65 - Tim Waggoner: The Horrors of Writing

It’s spooky season and we would be remiss if we didn’t explore a bit the things that make us unsettled and feel that four letter word FEAR. Our guest this week, Tim Waggoner, is a horror and dark fantasy writer who has been recognized in his field with awards such as the Shirley Jackson and the Bram Stoker Award. He is also an educator at heart. He is a professor at Sinclair College in Dayton OH where he teaches a wide variety of writing classes from basic composition all the way up to novel writing and tips for getting published. He has recently published a book that is a comprehensive guide to the craft of writing horror fiction called Writing in the Dark.

Tim talks to us about why dinosaurs were the thing as a little boy that made him first interested in reading, how empathy is an ingredient that distinguishes good horror from bad horror writing, why the darkness is blank space to inspire his imagination, and all about the devil’s bargain that writer’s make.

Books Mentioned in This Episode:

1- Writing in the Dark by Tim Waggoner
2- The Men Upstairs (novella) by Tim Waggoner
3- The Winter's Box (novella) by Tim Waggoner
4- Dark and Distant Voices by Tim Waggoner
5- Alone with the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell
6- Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
7- Unleashing the Artist Within: Breaking Through Blocks and Restoring Creative Purpose by Eric Maisel
8- Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel
9- The Shining by Stephen King
10- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
11- Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
12 - The Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery series by Lawrence Block
13- The Terror by Dan Simmons

Movies mentioned--
1- The Babadook
2- Hereditary
3- The Terror (series)on Hulu
4- Finian's Rainbow (musical on film)