[Part 4 of a four-part essay]

← PART III

In what ways can setting be used to establish the sub-genre of psychological horror in a Post-Apocalyptic novel?

The culmination of familiarity destroyed, setting as character and isolation establishes not a horror that you can see, taste or touch but one that you think you can smell or hear or feel on the back of your neck – the sixth sense ‘that haunts our lives and our literature’ as Sol Stein explains it in Solutions for Writers (1998). Continue Reading

[Part 3 of a four-part essay]

← PART II

In what ways can setting be used to establish the sub-genre of psychological horror in a Post-Apocalyptic novel?

Horrors are more frightening when characters are alone. ‘When you isolate a character, you’re usually ruling out rescue, so the protagonist must struggle alone (or with a small group) for survival’ (Morrell 2006, p.163). In THE NEST, the students are on their own. They are cut off from the outside world, and, for reasons unknown to them, there are no adults in the school to protect them and maintain order. Continue Reading

[Part 2 of a four-part essay]

← PART I

In what ways can setting be used to establish the sub-genre of psychological horror in a Post-Apocalyptic novel?

A school is an institution of learning and development, yet what is happening within this environment in THE NEST is the exact opposite as social decency degenerates within a post-apocalyptic setting. ‘There is nothing so shocking as innocence defiled or order destroyed’ (Morrell 2006, p160). In similar works of horror or of drama in which familiar, everyday settings are destroyed to drive the plot forward, the characters caught within are forced to deal with their mental anguish as the world they know is torn apart. Continue Reading

[Part I of a four-part essay]

In what ways can setting be used to establish the sub-genre of psychological horror in a Post-Apocalyptic novel?

The genre of any story is apparent the moment you open a book. Readers should not have to waste time trying to figure out if what they are reading is drama, action or comedy. But an author does have some flexibility to toy with the tone of a story at a secondary level. If it is a comedy, than it might amuse an audience to ponder whether or not the premise can be considered a dark comedy. Establishing the sub-genre in itself can be difficult and is often not even attempted in most works of fiction. But if a novelist feels adventurous and wants to add another layer to his story, then writing in a sub-genre can help the reader dive further into the plot. Continue Reading