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Pedro Iniguez
Pedro Iniguez is a horror and science-fiction writer from Los Angeles, California. He is a Rhysling Award finalist and a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominee.
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His fiction and poetry has appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Never Wake: An Anthology of Dream Horror, Shadows Over Main Street Volume 3, Qualia Nous Vol. 2, A Night of Screams: Latino Horror Stories, Speculative Fiction for Dreamers, Worlds of Possibility, Infinite Constellations, Tiny Nightmares, Shortwave Magazine, Star*Line, Eye to the Telescope, Space and Time Magazine, and Savage Realms Monthly, among others.
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Apart from leading writing workshops and speaking at several colleges, he has also been a sensitivity reader and has ghostwritten for award-winning apps and online clients.
Forthcoming, his SF poetry collection MEXICANS ON THE MOON: SPECULATIVE POETRY FROM A POSSIBLE FUTURE, is slated for publication in 2024 from Space Cowboy Books. His horror fiction collection, FEVER DREAMS OF A PARASITE, is slated for a 2025 release from publisher Raw Dog Screaming Press.
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Learn more at https://pedroiniguezauthor.com/
Chicanx Macabre and Social Critique
With Pedro Iniguez
This generative workshop will delve into Horror Fiction as a vehicle for social and political critique from a Chicanx perspective. Within the scope of dark fiction and its subgenres as allegory, we will explore the terrors and injustices that haunt us as a society and a people. We will utilize writing prompts, brainstorming, and a myriad of tools to kickstart our writing journey with the intention of creating a new short horror story by the end of the workshop. Q&A/Discussion at the end of every class.
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Goals:
1) Understanding how horror fiction can speak to social issues through metaphor and allegory.
2) Short Story from conception to completion. 2-3k Words.
3) Finding resources and markets to help you on your publishing endeavors.
Class Outline
Class 1. Introduction, Brainstorming, and Outlining.
9 A.M.-10 A.M.
Daily Presentation
10 A.M.-11 A.M
Class Introduction. Discussion of class and individual goals. Goals and Expectations.
Overview discussion of Horror’s purpose of invoking feelings of dread. Discussion of the various Horror subgenres. Discussion of Chicanx point of Views, themes, and experiences. Listing of Chicanx/Mexican-American/Mexican Horror authors.
Short Story Reading (“Shantytown”) which utilizes political and social commentary. Discussion and breakdown of story.
11 A.M-11:15 A.M.
Break.
11:15 A.M-12 P.M.
Journaling and brainstorming. Creating lists of obstacles, fears, political and social issues that Chicanx people face. Examples: Racism, Economic Issues, Deportation, Gang Violence, etc. Be specific. Class Discussion of generated lists. Selection of working topic.
Create a list of antagonistic threats typical of the Horror genre. Monsters, Ghosts, Aliens, Killers, Vampires, Slumbering Gods, Shape-Shifters, etc. Class Discussion of lists. Selection of Antagonistic threat.
Applying previously generated ideas and weaving them around a horror genre narrative to form the basis of a story. Pin-pointing which sub-genre best suits our needs to tell the story.
Contemplating frightening threats, creatures, and antagonists that parallels or juxtapose our theme/topic. Are they metaphor for our theme? Contemplate what message would we like to relay through our story.
12 P.M-12:15 P.M
Break.
12:15 P.M.-1 P.M.
Develop a rudimentary outline and structure. Bullet point system to organize chain of events and plot points. Begin expanding outline and bullet points into full story. Examples of bullet point expansion. Class reading, Discussion, and Q&A.
Class 2. Plotting.
9 A.M.- 10 A.M.
Daily Presentation.
10 A.M.-11 A.M.
Reading of Horror story excerpt that focuses on plot.
Discussion of plotting/structure in Horror. Utilizing certain techniques and tools, the class will begin to craft a story that serves as a vehicle for their themes and concepts. Pacing, tension, style, voice, show-vs-tell, story structure in short fiction will be discussed.
11 A.M.- 11:15 A.M.
Break.
11:15 A.M-12 P.M.
Writing/Expanding story from outline.
12 P.M.-12:15 P.M.
Break
12:15 P.M.-1 P.M.
Writing/Expanding story from outline. Class Reading, Discussion, Q&A.
Class 3. Developing Characters.
9 A.M.-10 A.M.
Daily Presentation.
10 A.M.-11 A.M.
Reading of Horror Story excerpt that focuses on Character Development.
Discussion of developing characters through backstory, actions, dialogue, and interactions with setting and other characters. Their motivations and decisions and how they move the plot forward. Discuss how characters serve as our eyes and ears; the vehicle that moves the plot along. By connecting with the characters, we begin to immerse ourselves into the unbelievable.
Brainstorming and outlining in-depth characters that serve the story. Class Discussion.
11 A.M.-11:15 A.M.
Break
11:15 A.M.-12 P.M.
Writing/Expanding Story/Integrating Characters into Story.
12 P.M.-12:15 P.M.
Break
12:15-1 P.M.
Writing/Expanding Story/Integrating Characters into Story. Class Reading, Class Discussion, Q&A.
Class 4. Editing, Proofreading, Markets.
9 A.M.-10 A.M.
Daily Presentation
10 A.M.-11 A.M.
Reading of editing examples. Discussion of editing/proofreading: Removing repetitive and unnecessary words, adjectives, slimming down the manuscript to improve pace and readability.
11 A.M.-11:15 A.M.
Break.
11:15 A.M.-12 P.M.
Writing/Proofing over Manuscripts to find editing opportunities.
12 P.M.-12:15 P.M.
Break.
12:15 P.M.-1 P.M
Class Reading, Discussion of Stories, Final Progress Report. Q&A.
Discussion of writing resources, literature, and markets. Submission Process and Querying. Class Discussion, Q&A.
Post-Workshop Story Review Offer.