The blog
Long thoughts and late-night stories from our writers.
›Browse by tag
✕ clear “anthology”1950s cinema1980s cinema1980s nostalgia50 kisses80s nostalgiaabuse of poweractingactor's processadaptationadolescenceadviceafricaai narrationai storytellingai text-to-speechai voiceai voice generationamazonamazon bestselleramazon kindleambitionanalog horroranalogue horrorannouncementanthologyanthology filmanthology submissionanti-corporateanticipationapocalypseapocalypse filmappreciate lifearchiveart house filmartificial intelligenceaspiring writersatmosfearatmosphereatmosphericaudience connectionaudience engagementaudience feedbackaudio dramaaudio editingaudiobookaudiobook productionaudiobooksaustralian outbackauthor bioauthor experienceauthor journeyauthor platformauthor reflectionautobiographicalautumnaward certificateawardsawards ceremonyawards eventawards nightbath spabbc radio bristolbbfc certificationbbfc classificationbehindbehind the scenesbeing publishedbeing watchedbelongingbest sellerbestsellerbeta testingbinaural soundbittersweetblack humourboard gamesbody horrorbonfirebook coverbook cover designbook cover revealbook launchbook publishingbook seriesbrevitybritish televisionburnoutcall for submissionscall to actioncandidcannibalismcareer changecareer developmentcareer launchingcastingcatharsiscathartic fearcelebrationcelebratorycelebrity guestscharacter craftcharacter developmentcharacter voiceschildhood fearchildhood influenceschildhood memorieschildhood memorychosen familychris joneschristmas horrorcinema screeningcinema technologycinematographercollaborationcollaborativecollaborative creativitycollaborative filmcollaborative filmmakingcollaborative projectcomfort zonecommunitycommunity achievementcommunity announcementcommunity buildingcommunity celebrationcommunity challengecommunity engagementcommunity etiquettecommunity feedbackcommunity mobilisationcommunity mobilizationcommunity platformcommunity spotlightcommunity supportcommunity surveycompetitioncompetition analysisconfidenceconfronting fearconservationconstructive criticismconstructive feedbackcontemporary artcourtroom dramacraftcraft advicecraft developmentcraft of writingcraft tipscraft toolscreate 50create50creative achievementcreative ambitioncreative challengecreative collaborationcreative communitycreative confidencecreative constraintscreative encouragementcreative experimentcreative feedbackcreative freedomcreative industrycreative inspirationcreative isolationcreative journeycreative originscreative passioncreative pridecreative processcreative reawakeningcreative sparkcreative writingcreativitycreativity blockcreature featurescrowdfundingcrowdsourcingcult cinemacultural anxietydan mccurrydarkdark desiredark fictiondark humourdark sidedarknessdcpde-extinctiondeadlinedeadlinesdeathdecay and rebirthdepressiondesert island discsdesign decisiondestinydialoguedidndirectingdirecting debutdirector's processdirectorsdirk maggsdisciplinediy filmmakingdocumentarydocumentary filmmakingdomestic horrordopaminedramatic ironydreaddylan spicerdyslexiadystopiaearly adoptersedgar allan poeeditingediting adviceediting craftediting techniquesediting tipseditorialelevenlabsembracing the weirdemerging writersempathyempoweringencouragementencouragingend of the worldenfield poltergeistensemble storytellingerotic horroreuphoriaevent announcementevent photographyevent photosevent recapexcitementexecutive producerexperimentationextinctionfacing fearfacing nightmaresfahrenheit 451fascinationfatherhoodfearfear and desirefear of rejectionfear of the unknownfearless creativityfeature filmfeedbackfeedback culturefestivalfestival runfestival submissionfiction writingfilm adaptationfilm awardsfilm classificationfilm communityfilm distributionfilm editingfilm festivalfilm festivalsfilm marketingfilm merchandisefilm posterfilm premierefilm promotionfilm recommendationsfilm reviewfilmmaker advicefilmmaker communityfilmmaker diaryfilmmaker journeyfilmmaker spotlightfilmmakersfilmmakingfilmmaking advicefilmmaking careerfilmmaking challengefilmmaking communityfilmmaking craftfilmmaking journeyfilmmaking milestonefilmmaking on a budgetfilmmaking opportunityfinding flowfinding meaningfinding purposefinding your genrefinding your tribefinding your voicefirst dayfirst filmfirst publicationfirst submissionfirst-time delegatefirst-time directorfirst-time writersflash fictionfolk horrorfollowing your passionforestfound footagefrankensteinfreedom of expressionfundraisinggaming franchisesgazegen xgenre analysisgenre challengegenre claritygenre craftgenre definitiongenre discoverygenre fictiongenre filmmakinggenre inspirationgenre metaphorgenre switchinggenre televisiongenxgetting publishedghost storiesgiving feedbackglobal cinemaglobal writersgothicgothic horrorgothic influencesgratitudegravatargriefguest bloggingguilt and sinhalloweenhannibal lecterhaunted placesheadshothopefulhorrorhorror anthologyhorror challengehorror comicshorror crafthorror fictionhorror filmmakinghorror filmshorror genrehorror subgenreshorror writinghow-tohuman conditionhuman connectionhuman kindnesshumanityhypnagogic hallucinationsidentityimage promptsimaginationimdb creditimdb ratingimmersive storytellingimpact50imposter syndromeimpostor syndromein memoriamindependent filmindependent filmmakingindie filmindie filmmakingindustry adviceindustry insightinfluencesinspirationinspirationalinspiringinteractive experienceinternal conflictinternational collaborationinternshipinterviewintroductionjapanese horrorjust do itkickstarterkindle unlimitedlate bloominglate nightlater-in-life writinglaunch eventlearninglegacyless is moreletting golight and darknesslimited editionliterary influencelive eventliveslocal presslocation shootinglofi horrorlog linesloglinelondonlondon eventlondon screenwriters festivallondon undergroundlosslow budgetlow budget filmmakinglow budget productionmacabremagic realismmarketingmarketing your workmemoirmemorabiliamental healthmerchandisemetaphysicalmeteoritemicro shortmicro-budgetmidjourneymilestonemortalitymotivationmovie postermovingmukbangmusic influencesmythologynanowrimonarrative voicenaturenetworkingnetworking eventneurodivergencenew beginningsnight shiftnightmaresnostalgianostalgicnovellanovice writerobsessionon setonboardingonlineonline presenceopening linesopportunityovercoming excusesovercoming fearovercoming illnessovercoming lossovercoming perfectionismovercoming rejectionovercoming reluctanceovercoming self-doubtowning your identitypanel discussionparanormalparenthoodpatiencepeer feedbackpeer reviewpeopleperfectionismperseverancepersistencepersonal brandingpersonal essaypersonal experiencepersonal journeyphotographyphysical bookpitchpitchespitchingplagiarismplayfulpodcastpodcast interviewpolitics of horrorpollportugalpost-productionposterspr and presspr and promotionpractical advicepractical effectspractical filmmakingpractical guidepre-productionpremiereprideproduct feedbackproduction diaryproductivityprofessional identityprose stylepsychological horrorpublished authorpublishingpublishing economicspublishing updateradio dramaradio interviewreaching new audiencesreader engagementreader feedbackreading strugglesrealreceiving feedbackrecognitionrecurring characterred carpetreflectionreflectiveregretreigniting creativityreinventionremembrancerenewalresilienceretro horrorreviewreviewsrevisionrevision processrichard osbornerock bandroyaltiesrunning timesacrificesci-fisci-fi anthologysci-fi comedyscience fictionscience fiction historyscreenwritersscreenwritingscreenwriting advicescreenwriting careerscreenwriting challengescreenwriting communityscreenwriting competitionscreenwriting contestscreenwriting craftscreenwriting inspirationscript competitionscript developmentscript formatscript submissionseasonal affective disorderseasonal writingseizing opportunityselected writersself-acceptanceself-beliefself-discoveryself-doubtself-promotionself-publishingsense of placeserial killerserial killersshort fictionshort filmshort film awardsshort film competitionshort filmsshort scriptshort storiesshort storyshort story anthologyshort story collectionshort story competitionshort story competitionsshort story craftshort story showcaseshort story submissionshowssilent rolesingularity50sizzle reelslasher genresleep paralysissocial mediasoho radiosound designspeculative fictionstatisticsstephen kingstepping outside comfort zonestory descriptionstory premisestorytellingstorytelling craftstorytelling techniquesstorytelling toolsstroke recoverysubmission callsubmission processsubmission tipssubmissionssubmissions closedsubtextsubverting expectationssubverting the familiarsuccess storysuper 8mmsupernaturalsupportive critiquesuspensesuspension of disbelieftag linestaking actionteam effortteamworktech horrortechnology and writingtensiontestimonialtestimonialstext to speechthe impactthe impact50the uncannytheatrical distributionthresholdtimingtonetransparencytributetropes and clichéstrue storytutorialtwist endingtwistedtwisted 50twisted anthologytwisted50unreliable narratorunsettlinguser experiencevalidationvillain perspectivevoice actingvoice and pacingvotingwordsworkworkflowworld premiereworld recordworldbuildingwriterwriter communitywriter feedbackwriter identitywriter testimonialwriter's biblewriter's blockwriter's journeywriting advicewriting challengewriting communitywriting competitionwriting contestwriting craftwriting feedbackwriting habitwriting horrorwriting initiativewriting inspirationwriting journeywriting processwriting promptwriting tips
Join Us At The Twisted50 vol IV Awards
Get your posh frock out, your DJ or frankly anything you look deliciously demented wearing, and join us for the official book launch and awards for Twisted50 vol IV. When: Feb 16th, 6.45 pm for Awards, then drinks and…
Chris Jones · 13 January 2026 · 1 min
Podcast Ep 007… Inside Twisted Minds: A Deep Dive into Horror Writing
Meet Lewis Rice, Paul Shearer and James Burns, with Chris Jones and Kate Bemis Horror writing isn’t just about throwing some blood and guts on the page – it’s about diving deep into the darkest corners of your mind an…
Chris Jones · 10 March 2025 · 3 min
Podcast Ep 006… Embracing Horror, Inside the Twisted50 Writing Experience
Chris: So welcome to this podcast with me, Chris Jones, founder of Create 50 Talking All Things Twisted 50. We’ve just published volume three. As you know, we’re starting to do volume four. I’m delighted, thrilled, ex…
Chris Jones · 3 March 2025 · 31 min
Award Certificates To Get Posted Out
Following on from the Awards ceremony for Twisted50 vol 3 last week, we are now sending the certificates out to the writers who could not join us. Sadly we need to ask our writers to pay for their postage and packing…
Chris Jones · 13 February 2025 · 1 min
From Shadows to Spotlight: My Twisted 50 Adventure by Rebecca Golby
When I first submitted Murderabilia to the Twisted 50 anthology, I had no idea where it might lead. It felt like a chance to dip my toes into horror—a genre I’ve always admired but carefully avoided (blame that on my…
Rebecca Golby · 11 December 2024 · 3 min
Badge of Honour and the Power Of The Collective
Well done to all the writers and people behind the scenes who’ve helped to put together the latest Twisted 50. These books are a great incentive for procrastinating writers, or is that just me? to get our act together…
John Read · 5 December 2024 · 1 min
The rekindling of a (Twisted) love affair by James Burns
I blame Bette Davis. As an idiotic 10-year-old, I was allowed to stay up late to watch her terrifyingly demented performance in The Nanny and couldn’t sleep all night, convinced that she was hiding in the cupboard, re…
James Burns · 24 November 2024 · 4 min
Twisted50 Vol III… Is uploaded and we have a cover!
So today we finally uploaded the PDF of Twisted 50 Volume 3 to Amazon for them to review. That means we also had to finish the cover, which is both an EPUB for Kindle and a PDF for the paperback. The paperback is goin…
Mistress Twisted · 18 November 2024 · 1 min
Why I Love To Write Erotica Infused Horror
I have adored writing fantasy horror since I was lucky enough to be selected for Twisted50 volume 1. While my dull day job does keep me from writing as much as I would like to, I seem to squeeze in time for Twisted, r…
Sasha Black · 10 September 2024 · 1 min
Twisted50 Sinks Her Teeth In… And We Are Away!
We are just a couple of days into the launch of Twisted50 vol III and already we have fifteen dark and disturbed stories submitted, the authors now getting valuable feedback on their work. We have authors as far flung…
Chris Jones · 9 July 2024 · 1 min
Family Business by Vera Mark
Writers are weird, in general. Horror writers are twisted. Sci-fi writers are visionaries. Comet writers are… trailblazers? And they’re all part of the Create50 community, my weird, beloved family. I joined Create50 i…
Vera Mark · 7 November 2018 · 2 min
How a Sci-Fi Screenplay Ended up in an Anthology of Short Stories
Back in 2015, before the invention of Brexit and Trump, I wrote a short screenplay called Automatic Drive. Inspired by the development of driverless vehicles, I imagined a future in which corporations responsible for…
Mark Renshaw · 24 February 2018 · 2 min
The Beholder: How We’re All Watched… by Stephanie Wessell
For me, truly horrifying tales involve a hidden evil within normal, everyday life. Imagine: there’s an unsettling spirit entity watching you read this RIGHT NOW. Can’t you feel it, observing you? It’s right here, just…
Stephanie Wessell · 7 November 2016 · 2 min