Talking Scars with Jack Ketchum

A four-week intensive exploration of the needs, demands, and possibilities of horror and suspense writing, led by a grand master of the form.

Your Instructor: Jack Ketchum (author of The Girl Next Door)

Where: Online — Available everywhere!

When: This class is not currently enrolling. To be notified when it is offered again, Click Here

Enrollment: 20 Students Maximum

Price: $399

Class Description

In this four-week intensive online class, grand master of horror and suspense, Jack Ketchum, will take you by the hand and lead you through the dark side, revealing the working dynamics for how to craft compelling horror and suspense stories.

Just as his own work both helps define and ultimately transcends contemporary horror fiction, Jack will share his deepest personal insights into finding your own path to character depth and thematic unity, all while crafting stories that thrill and delight a hungry audience.

You'll find Jack's extensive experience and mastery of the dark tale rivaled only by his generosity and appreciation for students and emerging authors.

Read Jack's Essay, 'Splat Goes the Hero: Visceral Horror'

Jack Ketchum on violence, pain, and the importance of not looking away.

Read Our Q&A With Jack Ketchum

5 Questions with LitReactor's Master of Horror, Jack Ketchum; 'Talking Scars' 

What This Class Covers

Week One: Making Contact

Explore the writer's relationship to fear and the importance of empathy and emotional honesty in carving out your best stories.

Week Two: Bolts

Learn the "Bookstore Browser Test" for crafting a powerful opening passage.

Week Three: Don't Waste My Time

Find your deeper themes and use them gracefully and powerfully within the context of genre fiction.

Week Four: Facing the Music

On beating the "300 Pound Gorilla" known as submission anxiety to get your work out there, get paid, and even get representation when the time is right.

Goals Of This Class

  • Turn your fears into compelling fiction that serves an audience
  • Explore the dynamics of "Writing from the Wound"
  • Dare to glance into "The Abyss that's Looking Back"
  • Practice a kind of “Method Acting” for Horror Writers
  • Choose a theme for a horror or suspense story & experience the versatility of the form
  • Internalize the power of Horror and Suspense as Cautionary Tales
  • Create Suspense - from sentence-level techniques
  • Understand the "Bookstore Browser Test" for your opening paragraph
  • Communicate your deeper meaning through genre fiction
  • Receive important tips from a veteran for the good writer turning pro
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