1. "Choose a pumpkin that has some character to it," says Tom Nardone, author of Extreme Pumpkins: Diabolical Do-It-Yourself Designs to Amuse Your Friends and Scare Your Neighbors. "Don’t just choose the round one. Choose an ugly one, they make for better carvings."

2. If possible, go to a pumpkin patch to choose your pumpkins. "It’s nice to see that these things actually come out of the ground," Tom says. "It’s a fun experience, you know."

3. You can tell a pumpkin is healthy by its stem. And don’t lift it by the stem.

4. Tom draws his designs on the pumpkins using dry erase markers. "That way when you’re done, the residual markings can be wiped off with a rag," he says. "That’s probably my biggest professional style tip."

5. Thinking about doing some intricate designs? Soak your pumpkin in a cold-water bath to firm it up before bringing it into surgery.

6. Tools are important. "I actually use power tools. Consider using a Jigsaw, it speeds up things immensely," Tom says.

7. Your design is important too. "I look for things that are truly scary or things that will really gross people out. Little witches, not really scary. Your kid vomiting all over the floor is scary. If you have a friend that is deathly afraid of cockroaches, you totally have to break out the plastic cockroaches," Tom says.

8. If you’re not comfortable handling power tools, Tom recommends picking up a simple dry wall saw from your local home improvement store. Don’t use a regular knife, it’s really not cut out for the job at hand.

9. When you’re ready to start scooping out the pumpkin’s innards, consider taking out the bottom of the pumpkin instead of the top off. "You can use the stem as the nose," Tom says.

10. Kosher salt on pumpkin seeds makes for a great toasted snack.

For more tips and tricks from Tom, check out his site at ExtremePumpkins.com