CRM : What is the scariest thing you ’ ve ever found yourself writing ? How did you deal with the fear enough to write the story properly ?
TANANARIVE : I may have just written it yesterday . I ’ m working on a historical novel about a haunted reformatory , and I have known for two years that I was writing up to a terrible beating scene ( based on the true-life Dozier School in Florida , where a great-uncle of mine died in 1937 ). I am in love with my 12-year-old protagonist and don ’ t want to be cruel to him , but I also don ’ t want to sugarcoat how horrible this place was . And I finally got past the beating yesterday , so that may have been the scariest . Pure human evil . The haunted part is nothing compared to the way people treat children , or prisoners .
CRM : What is your favorite novel to read and reread , where each time you read it you discover another reason why you love it ?
TANANARIVE : I teach Afrofuturism at UCLA , so I keep going back to Octavia Butler ’ s Parable of the Sower . The book has more meaning to me post-election , when her words “ The only lasting truth is Change ” truly helped me make sense of what had just happened . And her future sight . In terms of my own books , I love the audio book for The Good House and have listened to it many times . My Soul to Keep also has a good audio book .
CRM : What advice would you give to someone interested in writing horror ?
TANANARIVE : Well , this may get me in trouble ... but here goes . 1 ) Watch horror movies and TV only for fun , never for inspiration , 2 ) Read the best horror you can find , but by no means limit your reading to horror : read lasting literature and literary classics too , and 3 . Try to make your characters as big ( or bigger ) than the scary premise . The rule I learned from reading Stephen King is that readers will believe any supernatural premise if they believe in your characters . As a teacher , I tell my students that good writing is good writing period , whether it ’ s a ghost story or two women having coffee .
The same rules apply to all writing , not just horror writing . Read a lot . Be diverse in your reading . Write a lot . Get feedback from readers who can help you grow . Write at least a sentence a day .
Cerece Rennie Murphy , host of the chat with Tananarive Due , Murphy is the national bestselling and award-winning author who has penned six books , including the Order of the Seers Sci-fi Trilogy , the Ellis and The Magic Mirror children ’ s book series , and To Find You , a historical romance . To learn more about her work and upcoming projects , visit w w w . c e r e c e r e n n i e m u r p h y . c o m