Write Like You Mean It: Zom Rom Coms
By Julia H. Jackson
What do Jane Austen, sea monsters, high school girls, and zombies have in common? I’ll give you a hint: “bloodline” takes new meaning when classic books are re-envisioned.
In honor of Halloween, we at Eduify have decided to investigate a new phenomenon: the burgeoning popularity of dark humor in popular literature, television and film. And by dark, we are referring to the macabre, sinister, and surprisingly funny sides of human nature. Looking for a way to spruce up your latest English paper? Need a new hook for that short story you’ve always meant to submit? In our first installment of Write Like You Mean It, we offer a creative writing prompt that jumpstarts your approach to writing. Today’s concept: crafting fiction, vis-à-vis elements of humor and horror.
Take a cue from Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Grahame-Smith, whose other credits include The Spider-Man Handbook: The Ultimate Manual and The Big Book of Porn: A Penetrating Look at the World of Dirty Movies, took an original approach to the Austen classics. Grahame-Smith explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that Austen might have subconsciously outlined “the perfect groundwork for an ultraviolent bone-crushing zombie massacre.” Why not add a little flare to the otherwise polished romantic masterpiece? Novelists, playwrights and poets have made their careers by imitating great works of literature. In the great quest for originality, maybe there is some hidden genius in the injection of monsters into otherwise traditional or realistic stories.
The advent of zombie- and vampire-inspired stories has been growing in the past few decades, including such favorites as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (first films and later a television show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar), True Blood, Twilight, and the new thriller from Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body. Many of these stories border the line between comedy, horror, and satire. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright , writers of the self-proclaimed “zombie romantic comedy” Shaun of the Dead, are excellent examples of twenty-first century writers who embrace the relationship between horror and humor. How often do these movies take themselves seriously? Just what exactly does this say about the future of fiction? And when does gratuitous violence become outright silly?
In an interview with the Huffington Post’s Marshall Fine, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody describes her latest film, Jennifer’s Body, as a “horror-thriller-comedy mash-up.” How does one blend such different genres? And why exactly does it work?
Maybe the relationship between humor and horror has to do with an ingrained survival skill; by making light of tragedy or violence, writers like Cody or Grahame-Smith are exposing bloodshed for what it really is: an unnecessary human act.
For the first of our Eduify Write Like You Mean It prompts, we challenge you, fearless readers, to compose a farcical comedy-horror mash-up of your own. How do you do that? Here are some tips to get you started:
- If you decide to imitate a classic, a la Grahame-Smith, keep in mind the author’s original intent. The advantage to rewriting fiction is that the characters and plot are already sketched out for you; your challenge is to add unique perspective. Maybe Sherlock Holmes’ detective instincts are actually based on a supernatural ability to sniff out vampires. Perhaps the Hunchback of Notre Dame was really just a façade for a revolutionary, flesh-eating monster. The sky’s the limit.
- In brainstorming your own characters, focus on what each character desperately wants and fears. The link between desire and dread can make for a compelling story; one worthy of mummies or deep sea monsters.
- Satire is an excellent mixture of knowledge and humor. When crafting a scary scene, see what elements of political or social commentary you can sneak in. It could be as simple as what brand of tennis shoes your villain wears, or what kind of cereal he or she eats for breakfast.
- Remember that specific details add spice to your story. What color is the sky when Sherlock Holmes gets up in the morning? How many age lines are on his forehead?
Feel free to share your zom-rom-coms with us. For those of you interested in submitting your work, check out magazines such as Zombies Quarterly or 23 House.
