There is no right or wrong way to write a novel. Each journey is different for every individual work and for every writer. The first error is never to begin; the second is never to finish.

If you focus on the humanity of your stories, your characters, then the horror will be stronger, scarier. Without the humanity, the horror becomes nothing more than a tawdry parlor trick. All flash and no magic, and worst of all, no heart.

Nothing says work efficiency like panic mode.

It’s hard to land a devastating jab/cross/hook/uppercut combo to your reader’s imagination when you’re telegraphing your punches.

But people in a small town tend to do a lot of talking, even when they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Regarding the creative: never assume you're the master, only the student. Your audience will determine if you're masterful.

Authors must spend months, years making fantasy believable in a single work while reality runs rampant and complete chaos elsewhere.