BOOK DEAL: Writing in the Dark Workbook

Writing Workbook Announced as Companion to Waggoner’s Writing in the Dark Manual

Raw Dog Screaming Press (RDSP) and Guide Dog Books is thrilled to announce the publication of a writing companion to award-winning author Tim Waggoner’s successful Writing in the Dark horror writing guide (published in Fall 2020). This workbook will be designed to complement Writing in the Dark, but can be used on its own as well, and will have a late 2021 or early 2022 release. Its focus will be entirely on providing exercises and resources that will jump start writers’ creativity and help hone their horror-writing skills.

“I’m grateful to everyone who’s written to tell me how much they enjoyed reading Writing in the Dark and – most importantly to me – how useful they’ve found it in improving their fiction,” Waggoner said. “I was surprised by how many people said their favorite aspect of the book was the writing exercises included with each chapter. I hadn’t considered doing a sequel to Writing in the Dark, as I felt I’d already said everything I have to say about writing horror in it. But then I remembered the extremely positive reaction people had to the exercises in the book, and I decided to write a companion volume focused on horror-writing exercises.”

As in Writing in the Dark, Waggoner will also include mini-interviews with horror professionals, but this time they will be providing a writing prompt, an exercise, or a specific writing technique that they find especially helpful in their own work. He said those interviewees will range “from established pros to exciting new voices.”

The workbook will likely be divided into different sections such as idea generating, scene construction, writing style, etc., and as in Writing in the Dark, be presented with horror-oriented titles. Waggoner will include various exercises and prompts throughout the workbook to help writers assess their current ideas and projects. There will be plenty of space for writers to brainstorm, take notes, and write.

Of Writing in the Dark, Cemetery Dance reviewer and author, David Simms wrote, “I was in the final edits of a novel that I believed to be solid. Waggoner’s advice suggested I dig deeper. I did and now the story feels so much more alive and relevant. I was completing the final chapters of a younger age novel that felt the same way. Waggoner sent me back to the woodshed with ideas I never would’ve considered. Enroll in this fine course with Professor Waggoner. You won’t mind the homework—even if the monster does eat it.”

Now, writers will be able to purchase a workbook companion to Writing in the Dark that opens their senses and synapses to pieces they’ve already written that are in draft stage, or as prompted, to new and exciting pieces. They can take that homework directly to the page.

Writing in the Dark Upcoming Workshop –

In addition, Waggoner, Raw Dog Screaming Press, and AllAccessCon have teamed up to offer a writing instruction online as well. The Writing in the Dark Workshop is a three-day symposium on horror writing and publishing and will feature workshops, lectures, extensive networking opportunities, and more. VIP PLUS ticket holders can send a short story or chapter for review and comments. The workshop will be March 26-28 and you can view more info and register at: https://hopin.com/events/writing-in-the-dark-spring-edition

Tim Waggoner, Biography –

Tim Waggoner’s first novel came out in 2001, and since then he’s published close to forty novels and three collections of short stories. He writes original dark fantasy and horror, as well as media tie-ins. His novels include Like Death, considered a modern classic in the genre, and the popular Nekropolis series of urban fantasy novels. He’s written tie-in fiction for Supernatural, Grimm, the X-Files, Doctor Who, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Transformers, among others, and he’s written novelizations for films such as Kingsman: the Golden Circle and Resident Evil: the Final Chapter.

His articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Writer’s Journal, Writer’s Workshop of Horror. Horror 101, and Where Nightmares Come From. In 2017 he received the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction, and he’s been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Scribe Award. Two of his stories have appeared in volumes of Year’s Best Hardcore, and his fiction has received numerous Honorable Mentions in volumes of Best Horror of the Year. In 2016, the Horror Writers Association honored him with the Mentor of the Year Award.

In addition to writing, he’s also a full-time tenured professor who teaches creative writing and composition at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio.

Raw Dog Screaming Press –

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