I’m sure I’m not the only horror fan that gets a little giddy when a Friday the 13th rolls around. For me, these remind me of summer nights of my youth where we’d unfold the sofa bed, load up on snacks, and watch USA UP! All Night marathon of terribly censored TV versions of Friday the 13th.
Back then, (god, old) this was one of the best ways to check out all these movies at once. This was my first exposure to the series, interrupted with commercials, editing for time, scrunched up to fit on a TV screen. And I loved every minute of it.
I can still remember the shock of seeing the beginning of Jason Goes to Hell. Like most Jason fans, I don’t love this entry…it was a mess with a messy production. A Jason movie with not enough Jason, body swapping, little alien monster. But that first sequence, the false start, the subtle clues that something was up (how well she slides across then hood of the car!) was a chef’s kiss. It actually addressed a lot of questions about the town of Crystal Lake.
This scene, and the series as a whole, was a great influence on why I started writing horror. I came up with a single idea for a novel, the premise being: What if normal people, kids even, hunted these murderous slashers? Like Jason, Freddy, and Michael Meyers? And what if they were really good at it, what would it look like if these monsters were just…outmatched? (I really wanted a Creighton Duke spinoff!)
So I started writing furiously, and as a first time writer, I got overwhelmed. I took a step back, read some articles on how to write, and read some other authors’ works. One piece of advice I came across said to start by writing short stories. And I had a lot of fun there, honing my skillset and actually finishing works.
The scene popped into my head again and I opened up the unfinished novel to see how I did back then. I can say I’ve improved a lot already, though I wasn’t far! I immediately started editing the first chapter to match my current quality and style. Still rough, but showing promise. Happy Friday the 13th!
garrettkbrown 