Control: Writing a Horror Novel, Part Two…

My novel comes out July 27th.

I, Dalton Lewis, aka Daniel Trump, write about horror because real life is scary, too. I am almost done with a horror novel called Teen Slasher Zero. I tried to show all the scary things that can reflect what’s wrong with reality. Reality scares me. The things that scare me about reality are numerous. I have turned them into a helpful numbered list.

1. I worry about a stranger breaking into my bedroom at night. That is the introduction to my novel — a stranger breaks in and interrupts a couple of teen guys who are hanging out. These home invasion sequences happen in reality. I wanted to tap into that real possibility that this could be something that can happen — it isn’t an alien with a ray gun; it’s a guy who sneaks into someone’s home with malicious intent.
2. Paranoia, fear, and distrust between people can spread when there is a difficult situation that causes problems — such as a slasher killer causing problems for a group of friends. People don’t always agree with each other during disastrously difficult situations — trust breaks down and bonds are broken. People form friendships. I wanted to explore this mechanic.
3. Mental illness. I have a mentally ill character who suffers from hallucinations. I know — a lot of people have written about mental illness and hallucinations and so forth. I am different — I have paranoid schizophrenia and therefore know a lot about life with a debilitating mental illness. I can use that knowledge to write schizophrenic characters more effectively. I created a character that you can get behind and so that you, the reader, can understand a little what it’s like to be mentally ill in America.
4. The arts. I have the characters trying to create a play for the spring play that they are performing at their high school. I wanted to show young people trying to create art and make something into a work of art. Creating art is an obsession for many people — not just me. I wanted to reflect that and show the difficulty that young people face while trying to write and act and direct.
5. I understand the fear that the authorities cannot help you. I wanted to create a story in which the cops couldn’t solve the case for the characters — to probe the American feeling that the cops can’t be trusted to be innocent and get the job done. Tapping into that fear enriches the story by giving the characters real responsibility to stop any crimes being committed.
6. One cannot trust everyone in one’s social circle. That is simply a reality — sometimes one’s uncle or Warhammer friend or fellow shopkeeper decides to butcher one’s self in a van outside a Wal-Mart. People cannot trust people just because they are in your social circle. I wanted to tap into that very real paranoia.

This created an interesting and different scary story that I hope I can be proud of. I’ll see how it does when it comes out in a week!

Thanks, and take care, friends.