--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Write horror. Don’t let ANYONE ELSE tell…" description: "\"“Write horror. Don’t let ANYONE ELSE tell you how to conduct your muse. They’re all sour-grapes, wannabe, no-talent bums who WISH they had your skill a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/joe-mynhardt-59769_horror_write-horror-don-t-let-anyone-else-tell_2826390.jpg" --- # Write horror. Don’t let ANYONE ELSE tell you how to… ![“Write horror. Don’t let ANYONE ELSE tell you how to conduct your muse. They’re all sour-grapes, wannabe, no-talent bums who WISH they had your skill and motivation. So go forth, my son, and write HORROR.” quote by Joe Mynhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/joe-mynhardt-59769_horror_write-horror-don-t-let-anyone-else-tell_2826390.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/joe-mynhardt-59769_horror_write-horror-don-t-let-anyone-else-tell_2826390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/104/joe-mynhardt-59769_horror_write-horror-don-t-let-anyone-else-tell_2826390.jpg) > ““Write horror. Don’t let ANYONE ELSE tell you how to conduct your muse. They’re all sour-grapes, wannabe, no-talent bums who WISH they had your skill and motivation. So go forth, my son, and write HORROR.”” [Joe Mynhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mynhardt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages writers to ignore critics, pursue horror writing with confidence and passion. **In simple terms:** Ignore critics, write horror boldly. Key Takeaway Write despite fear of judgment. Themes creativity confidence writing Mood determined defiant Type inspirational creative When to use this quote - authoring a novel - blog writing - creative workshops Key Concepts self‑expression artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate constructive criticism from envy? - What drives your passion for horror? A Different Perspective Critics may offer useful feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [For me, it's very easy to write a horror movie that's just a succession of scary sequences, but it's hard to find horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehren-kruger/for-me-it-s-very-easy-to-write-a-horror-movie-that-s-just-a/) [Ehren Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehren-kruger/) > [I'm not a fan of horror. I don't think a proper horror movie has been done since The Shining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/i-m-not-a-fan-of-horror-i-don-t-think-a-proper-horror-movie-has-been/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [I write horror because I enjoy it. I'm endlessly fascinated by the supernatural, by death, by darkness. And, to be honest, I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bentley-little/i-write-horror-because-i-enjoy-it-i-m-endlessly-fascinated-by-the/) [Bentley Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bentley-little/) > [I hate violence, and I didn't plan to write horror; it just poured out of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herbert/i-hate-violence-and-i-didn-t-plan-to-write-horror-it-just-poured-out/) [James Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herbert/) > [I don't write that much horror. People tell me my books are scary, but they're not really; I don't go there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/i-don-t-write-that-much-horror-people-tell-me-my-books-are-scary-but/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [I like horror, but I tend to like it as seasoning. I'd get very bored if I was told I had to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-like-horror-but-i-tend-to-like-it-as-seasoning-i-d-get-very-bored/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I never actually wanted to write horror, oddly enough. It was a kind of misnomer, because I didn't ever actually write horror in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/i-never-actually-wanted-to-write-horror-oddly-enough-it-was-a-kind-of/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [“People talk and rumors follow,” I said. “Most people claim that only a person possessed of the devil could write such horror.” “And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-barger/people-talk-and-rumors-follow-i-said-most-people-claim-that-only-a/) [Andrew Barger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-barger/) > [Sometimes the biggest disasters aren't noticed at all - no one's around to write horror stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/sometimes-the-biggest-disasters-aren-t-noticed-at-all-no-one-s-around/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [It's easy for me to write a horror movie about real stuff because my mind is always going there anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-aster/it-s-easy-for-me-to-write-a-horror-movie-about-real-stuff-because-my/) [Ari Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-aster/) > [ \[Robert\] Aikman would write horror stories that weren't gore, they weren't slashers, and they weren't monster stories either. He called them ghost stories. The… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/robert-aikman-would-write-horror-stories-that-weren-t-gore-they-weren/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [Let women write horror. Let women write darkness, let women write trauma, without having to carve out their own trauma to justify it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/let-women-write-horror-let-women-write-darkness-let-women-write/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Growing up devouring horror comics and novels, and being inspired to become a writer because of horror novels, movies, and comic books, I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/growing-up-devouring-horror-comics-and-novels-and-being-inspired-to/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [One day I want to write a full-on horror book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/one-day-i-want-to-write-a-full-on-horror-book/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) > [“Sartre, Kierkegaard, Heidegger: cool guys, smart, lotta meat between the ears on those fellas, and certainly trying to define who we are in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lee/sartre-kierkegaard-heidegger-cool-guys-smart-lotta-meat-between-the/) [Edward Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lee/) ## More by Joe Mynhardt > [“Fiction should always challenge what you believe in, and make you think hard about what it is to be a human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mynhardt/fiction-should-always-challenge-what-you-believe-in-and-make-you/) [Joe Mynhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mynhardt/) > [“you can’t empathize, if you can’t or aren’t willing to put yourself into someone else’s place with all the compassion and insight you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mynhardt/you-can-t-empathize-if-you-can-t-or-aren-t-willing-to-put-yourself/) [Joe Mynhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mynhardt/) > [“Reality is strange, exhilarating, and tragic. Sometimes reality is well beyond our understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mynhardt/reality-is-strange-exhilarating-and-tragic-sometimes-reality-is-well/) [Joe Mynhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mynhardt/) > [“horror MUST stimulate the reader’s mental pressure points more effectively and more consistently than other genres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mynhardt/horror-must-stimulate-the-reader-s-mental-pressure-points-more/) [Joe Mynhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mynhardt/) [Explore all 5 Joe Mynhardt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mynhardt/) ## More Horror quotes > [“In the attempt to find the just measure of horror and terror, I came upon the writing of Carole Gill whose work revealed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-gill/in-the-attempt-to-find-the-just-measure-of-horror-and-terror-i-came/) [Carole Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-gill/) > [I will say that when it comes to the horror genre, for me, the scariest thing is when something is actually in the frame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-whannell/i-will-say-that-when-it-comes-to-the-horror-genre-for-me-the-scariest/) [Leigh Whannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-whannell/) > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [What I love about watching classic horror films is that they take you on a ride and they obviously make you scared because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/what-i-love-about-watching-classic-horror-films-is-that-they-take-you/) [Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/) > [One day, if I had to do a horror movie, it will be a very realistic war movie. For me, war is horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/one-day-if-i-had-to-do-a-horror-movie-it-will-be-a-very-realistic-war/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Damn it, it wasn’t quite fresh enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/damn-it-it-wasn-t-quite-fresh-enough/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Photojournalists know the horrors of war can only be exposed at close range. Kodak Film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/photojournalists-know-the-horrors-of-war-can-only-be-exposed-at-close/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [“Other folk thought the Rage was simple bloodlust, a berserk savagery that neither knew nor cared what its target was, and so it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/other-folk-thought-the-rage-was-simple-bloodlust-a-berserk-savagery/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [“When we mated I felt your heart stop beating and it was as if the world had stopped turning. It was only while surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/when-we-mated-i-felt-your-heart-stop-beating-and-it-was-as-if-the/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [I'm generally never at a lack for words, but it's indescribable how poor the response was from our own government officials, ... We could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal/i-m-generally-never-at-a-lack-for-words-but-it-s-indescribable-how/) [Hannibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal/) > [“Unlike the rest he had seen of the bungalow, the hall beyond the door was dark. He could see the glimmer of three doors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsey-campbell/unlike-the-rest-he-had-seen-of-the-bungalow-the-hall-beyond-the-door/) [Ramsey Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsey-campbell/) > [Some of my fondest and most impressionable movie memories are from those early sci-fi and horror films. I've always been a Dracula/vampire aficionado, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-wise/some-of-my-fondest-and-most-impressionable-movie-memories-are-from/) [Ray Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-wise/) [Browse all 4,296 Horror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Write horror. Don’t let ANYONE ELSE tell you how to conduct your muse. They’re all sour-grapes, wannabe, no-talent bums who WISH they had your skill and motivation. 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