8 spooky tips for writing a horror story | StoryFlintName (2023)

Horror writing is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of creativity, determination, and guts to write horror, but it pays off when you succeed. Find your way to horror writing with these eight terrifying tips!

But first, what is the horror genre really about?

Horror is a narrative genre that uses fear and anxiety as a vehicle to create an emotional connection with the audience. Horror stories are intended to terrify the audience, often using suspense, fear and shock to keep people on their toes.

Some great horror stories are allegorical or symbolic, while others are more literal. But horror is not limited to a single type of story. It could be a ghost story, a horror movie or a psychological thriller.

Horror, in any form, always aims to destabilize and disturb the audience.

1. Know your audience for your horror story

When writing horror, it's important to remember your audience. Who are you trying to scare? Horror stories can be tailored to different audiences, and by knowing who your target market is, you can focus your story on what scares them the most.

When writing horror stories for adults, you can use more descriptive imagery and language. However, if you are writing for children or young people, you must be careful about the level of violence and violence you include in your story.

Remember that horror writing is all about scaring people. So make sure any fears or concerns you address resonate with your target audience.

2. Horror, like all fiction, needs an emotional core.

A good horror story needs an emotional core to be successful. This adds weight to your story and makes it feel real to your audience.

Your emotional core can be based on various fears or apprehensions, but it must be something you are passionate about. If you don't care about the emotional core of your story, your audience won't care either.

Finding the emotional core of your horror story can be difficult, but it's critical to your story's success. What kind of message are you trying to convey to the audience and what emotional journey do your characters take during the story?

3. Make the stakes obvious

When writing a horror story, the audience needs to be aware of the risks the characters are taking. If the horror elements aren't cleared up, audiences quickly lose interest.

Be sure to make it clear what danger your characters are in and what might happen to them if they don't succeed. A great horror story uses suspense techniques to keep the audience on their toes and fear for the safety of their characters.

If, as a horror writer, you can get the audience interested in the characters, you can scare them even more about what might happen to them.

“Horror movies generally work best when we're involved in the game. The more we care about the characters, the more human they are to us, the more compelling they are to us, and the more effective the horror.” – Stephen King

4. Don't forget the psychological aspect

Your horror story must be scary for more than one reason! Psychological thrillers are another common subgenre of horror writing that focuses on an ordinary character who undergoes a disturbing transformation into someone mean and confused after being exposed to stressors in his life. It's not necessarily about what's going on around them, but how they react to it and how they deal with loss or guilt.

Horror stories are often more than just entertainment - they can be a way for writers to explore the darker side of human nature.

So don't be afraid to delve into the psychology of your characters and make them as complex as possible. Good horror writers often focus on psychological terror in their stories rather than relying solely on graphic imagery and gore.

5. Write about your own fears, experiences and observations

Horror fiction need not rely on all fictional elements. Some great horror movies are about experiences the writer worked through in his own life. You can also write horror based on your own observations of the world around you.

Drawing on personal fears, experiences, and observations will make your horror story seem more real to the audience. You'll find it easier to identify with your characters and their situation.

Make sure you are honest with your writing and that it comes from a place of sincerity. Once listeners realize you're calling, they quickly lose interest.

6. If you use a trope, do something else with it

Horror refers to the fear of the unknown, and the predominant horror tropes represent the definition of knowing. A haunted house. vampires and werewolves. serial killer. You've seen them all and can guess what happens in each type of story.

As audiences begin to understand these old tropes, they become more familiar and the tropes begin to lose their effectiveness.

To counteract this, choose new themes that offer distinct twists on the original designs. If you use horror tropes in your writing, make sure you do something different with them so they don't become stale and predictable.

Discover the clichés of your particular horror subgenre and how to subvert them to keep audiences guessing.

Incorporate new and unexpected elements into your horror story to keep your audience engaged. It could be anything from a new setting to an unusual character twist.

Make sure you keep surprising the reader with something new so they never know what's going to happen next.

7. Horror is internal not external

We all know that horror literature is supposed to be scary. But what makes them truly terrifying is their fear of the unknown and the dark aspects of human nature that often remain hidden.

For this reason, many horror stories rely on thrilling techniques to create an atmosphere of fear and terror. It's not what's happening on the screen, but what might happen that makes us scream in fear.

To make your horror story more effective, focus on developing inner fears in your characters rather than relying too heavily on external threats. This makes the horror more personal to the reader and dramatically increases the suspense.

Good horror writers know how to keep the horror mostly internalized. When writing horror, make sure your characters' fears and anxieties drive them and not outside threats like monsters or serial killers.

8. Don't Forget the Basics

Horror fiction is as complex and nuanced as any other type of fiction. Just because the horror genre is unique to all other genres, it shouldn't follow the same story and plot rules as others. As a horror writer, make sure you follow the basics of storytelling, such as: B. A strong plot, well-developed characters, and an interesting setting.

Remember, horror isn't just about fear - it's also about telling a great story. Be sure to focus on creating a cohesive and overall satisfying narrative.

Conclusion

With these eight tips, you should be well on your way to writing horror stories that send shivers down your spine, whether you're writing a horror novel or a screenplay. So get out there, aspiring horror writer, and start exploring those dark fears and hidden fears that make horror so scary!