Writing in the Dark: Clowning Around: Writing Terrifier 3 the Novelization

After a long wait, my novelization of Terrifier 3 is finally out! What was it like for me to revisit my good buddy Art the Clown? Read on!

When I wrote the novelization of Terrifier 2, the movie had been out for a while. I saw it in the theater, and it was available on streaming. This meant I could watch scenes as I wrote, and I could pause them or watch them more than once. The script I was given matched the finished film completely. There were no scenes in the script that weren’t filmed. The folks at Bloody Disgusting wanted the book to be 100,000 words long, and this meant I had to invent quite a bit of material. Damien Leone was fine with that, but he asked me to cut the last line of the book. I’d hinted at how Art would be resurrected for the next movie, but I’d guessed wrong.

The response to Terrifier 2: The Official Novelization was quite positive overall. Readers enjoyed the extra scenes I’d created, and they liked getting glimpses into Art’s perspective. Many people mentioned that the kill scenes were more brutal than in the actual film, and some reviewers commented on how I’d strengthened the role of women in the story. These last two elements were ones I purposefully added to the story. One of the things I do in my original horror is to make sure that characters – even minor ones – aren’t disposable ciphers. I want readers to empathize with them and understand that violence has real consequences. One of the critiques of Horror, especially Slasher films, is that they glorify violence against women. Sienna is a strong character in the film, but I gave the other women in the story deeper backgrounds to make them more developed characters. I always have artistic goals when I write, whether it’s my original fiction or a media tie-in novel. I’m happy if people enjoy my stories as entertainment, but I’m also happy when they see what else I attempted to do with the story.

Something that surprised me was that people who said they couldn’t bring themselves to watch the film were glad to be able to experience the story through my book. And some fans of the film said that reading the book rekindled an interest in reading for them, and I can’t imagine a more satisfying response to something I’ve written.

What didn’t surprise me was when I did book fairs, some people thought I’d written the script for the film, too. Most people aren’t familiar with how media tie-in fiction works. They just know that movies have scripts.

I was deeply honored when Terrifier 2: The Official Novelization won a Scribe Award for Best Adapted Novel this July. The award was presented by the International Association of Tie-In Writers at San Diego Comic-Con, and I was able to accept the award in person. Will the Terrifier 3 novel win the same award? We’ll find out next July.

Accepting the award at Comic-Con while bestselling novelist and IAMTW president Jonathan looks on.

So what was it like for me to write the novelization of Terrifier 3?

One big difference was that the film hadn’t been released when I started writing the book. This is the usual case when you write novelizations. The film is usually still being worked on while you’re writing. Instead of being able to see clothing and sets, like I could when writing the first book, I had to create those elements. Another difference is that the script for T3 was as long as the one for T2, but in interviews, Damien said the film wouldn’t be as long as the previous one. This told me that he wasn’t going to film everything in the script, so there would be scenes of Damien’s in the book that audiences wouldn’t see in theaters. Damien also said in interviews that he toned down the violence and gore in some scenes when filming. This meant my book would have some scenes that were more intense, violent, and gross than in the film.

I finished the book before the film was released, but I was able to see it in the theater before I turned in the final manuscript, and the studio gave me online access to the film soon after. This meant I could adjust my book to match the finished film. Once again, I wrote with a deeper point of view to strengthen the impact of violence. And while this script balanced gender roles more effectively than the first, I still made sure to develop all the women characters as fully as the males. I once again wrote some scenes from Art’s point of view, and since Bloody Disgusting again wanted the book to be 100,000 words long, I again had to create original scenes.

Sienna and Jonathan’s reaction to the trauma they experienced in T2 was a part of T3’s story, so I expanded the themes of mental health and PTSD that were in the script. I think it’s important for Horror creators to address the effects of violence and unnatural experiences on characters. Stephen King does a good job of this. Danny from The Shining struggles with PTSD from his experiences in the Overlook Hotel in the sequel Doctor Sleep.

As Damien began to work on the script for Terrifier 4, he asked me to avoid writing anything about Jonathan’s ultimate fate, as well as how Sienna recovered her sword from the Terrifier attraction. I hadn’t covered what happened to Jonathan, but I’d written two chapters detailing Sienna’s struggle to retrieve the sword, and I had to cut that material. Those were two of my favorite chapters in the book, and I was sorry to see them go. But that’s the deal when you write tie-ins. The IP holder is always the boss – and that’s how it should be.

Bloody Disgusting’s original intent was to release the T2 book through their own publishing company called Bloody Books. But it takes time to get a publishing company up and running, so they partnered with Titan Books to publish Terrifier 2: The Official Novelization. But they were determined to bring out the T3 book via Bloody Press, which is why it took a while for it to come out. Drew Stepek, Creative Director at Cineverse and publisher of Extreme Horror at Godless, collaborated with Bloody Press, and he worked his ass off to help Bloody Press get the T3 novelization published.

So what will Terrifier fans get from reading the novelization of Terrifier 3?

· Extra scenes and story elements of Damien’s that didn’t make it into the final film (and some of them are wild!).

· Some scenes will be more intense than they were in the final film.

· Scenes from Art’s point of view.

· Scenes and story elements that I added.

I really hope readers enjoy the novelization of Terrifier 3. People ask me all the time if I’m going to be writing novelizations of Terrifier and Terrifier 4. I hope so, but right now, I don’t have a contract to write either. Keep your (bloody) fingers crossed for me!

With Art at Horror on Main

If you want to check out Bloody Press or Godless, here are some links:

Bloody Press: https://bloodypress.com/

Godless: https://godless.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoq0ITJr2UQt-aLofQXb8yzYKX6FnXkGyyEQqGA4shXjsTkCA-2K

DEPARTMENT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Terrifier 3: The Official Novelization

No more clowning around. The unholy novelization of Terrifier 3 is here… and it’s the horrific splatterpunk event of the holidays!

After surviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they're safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.

Written by Tim Waggoner, the author of the Terrifier 2 Novelization, the X Trilogy (X, Pearl, and MaXXXine) Novelizations, and the Halloween Kills Novelization.

The Kindle version is ready to preorder now. The hardback and paperback versions will be available to order on Tuesday.

Amazon US: https://tinyurl.com/573hwu4u

Amazon UK: https://tinyurl.com/yrmrd626

Amazon Canada: https://tinyurl.com/yc6pupcn

Amazon France: https://tinyurl.com/mr6dn4zr

Amazon Australia: https://tinyurl.com/bmfu6spr

SCHEDULED APPEARANCES

Superstars Writing Seminar. Feb. 4-5. Colorado Springs, Colorado.

A Tasting with Friends. Feb. 26, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Benham’s Grove Event Center. Centerville, Ohio.

Akron Book Fest. March 7. Akron, Ohio.

Book Release Event for C.J. Dotson’s Novel These Familiar Walls. April 15, 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Fairlawn, Ohio.

“The Art of Suspense” workshop. May 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dayton Metro Library, Wilmington Stroop Branch. Kettering, Ohio.