Ever wondered what it takes to put together a horror anthology? Well, the recent chat between Chris Jones and Kate, the masterminds behind Twisted50 Volume 3, gives us a fascinating peek behind the curtain. Kate, who edited this latest volume, brought her A-game to the table, wading through a whopping 170 horror stories to find the cream of the crop.

One of the coolest things they discussed was how they tackled the technical side of getting the book onto Amazon. Chris was pretty nervous about the whole thing, which is totally relatable if you've ever dealt with publishing platforms. It's like trying to solve a puzzle while wearing a blindfold - you know what you want to do, but the process can be super tricky.

Kate dropped some serious knowledge bombs about what makes a horror story work. She's big on keeping things tight and snappy - no meandering sentences that leave readers scratching their heads. As she put it, "Something that happens when you have a lot of really long sentences all put together is it gets jumbled and you don't really process anything." That's solid gold advice right there for any writer looking to keep readers hooked.

Here's something interesting - they're not just looking for great stories; they want engaged authors too. The Twisted50 team actually keeps tabs on how involved writers are with the community. So if you're thinking about submitting to future volumes, don't just fire off your story and ghost them. Get in there, mix it up with other writers, and show them you're serious about being part of the Twisted50 family.

When it comes to screenplays (yeah, they take those too!), Kate emphasized how different they are from regular stories. Every word has to earn its place on the page, and dialogue needs to sound natural when read aloud. It's like the difference between writing a letter and having a conversation - they might tell the same story, but they need different approaches.

The whole conversation wrapped up with some killer advice for aspiring Twisted50 contributors. My favorite bit was when they said, "Don't be afraid to get really, really weird." In a world of horror stories, being unique is your secret weapon. The Twisted50 community seems super supportive too, which is pretty rare in the publishing world.

For anyone thinking about diving into horror writing, this podcast basically laid out a roadmap. Keep it tight, stay engaged, don't be afraid to get weird, and remember - you're not just submitting a story, you're potentially joining a community of horror enthusiasts who are all about helping each other succeed. The door's open for Twisted50 Volume 4, and based on what we heard, it sounds like an awesome opportunity for writers ready to embrace their dark side.

Get ready for the ultimate Halloween launch party with Twisted 50! 50 writers, 50 chilling stories, and a chance to shine as an Amazon bestseller! Don’t miss Chris Jones sharing all the details with Bang2Write.

Remember those nights when you couldn’t sleep because a movie scared you senseless? That’s exactly what Chris Jones and Bob Schultz dive into during their fascinating chat about the horror movies that shaped their childhoods. As the founder of Twisted 50 and the London Screenwriters Festival, Chris brings a unique perspective that meshes perfectly with Bob’s experience as a horror movie writer and producer.

The conversation kicks off with those unforgettable first encounters with horror films – you know, the ones that left permanent marks on our psyches. They recall how Jaws and Alien totally changed the game, with that chest-burster scene in Alien being particularly nightmare-inducing. As one of them puts it, it “absolutely shook me to my core.” Who hasn’t felt that way after watching something truly terrifying for the first time?

Then there’s the whole slasher genre – what a wild ride that was! Halloween and Friday the 13th basically wrote the rulebook for how to scare teenagers out of their minds. The hosts share some pretty cool stories about watching these films in tiny theaters, which honestly sounds like the perfect way to experience a horror movie. They talk about how these films mastered the art of making you feel unsafe from the very first minute – like pulling the rug out from under you and never letting you find your footing again.

But let’s talk about the really gnarly stuff – the creature features. The Thing and The Fly pushed the boundaries of what practical effects could do, and boy, did they deliver! There’s this amazing moment when they discuss the maggot birthing scene in The Fly, where one of them proudly stayed in the theater while their friends bailed. That’s true horror dedication right there!

The supernatural hits get their moment in the spotlight too. The Exorcist, Poltergeist, and The Omen – these films didn’t just scare us, they got under our skin and stayed there. The hosts reminisce about that infamous sheet of glass scene in The Omen, and how Poltergeist managed to make even a peaceful lake seem terrifying. They also get into some interesting stuff about British horror TV shows and those weirdly scary public information films that traumatized an entire generation of UK kids.

Wrapping things up, they geek out over werewolves and vampires, particularly in films like An American Werewolf in London and Fright Night. These movies showed us that horror could be funny and scary at the same time – pretty revolutionary stuff! They also give props to the literary giants of horror, Stephen King and James Herbert, who proved that sometimes the scariest stories start on the page. The conversation ends with some solid advice for aspiring horror writers: “The more original and yourself you can be with your writing, the more you’re going to stand out and really sparkle. So don’t be afraid. Just make other people afraid and you’ll do great.”

And honestly, isn’t that what great horror is all about? Making other people afraid while having a blast doing it? This conversation really captures why we love being scared by movies – it’s not just about the jumps and screams, it’s about those moments that stick with us long after the credits roll, making us check under the bed just one more time before we go to sleep.