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Urgent! How to write an excellent horror story?



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Wed Nov 10, 2021 5:16 pm
BeingRivy says...



Hi ,
I have an important question/scenario:
I want to make a good horror written short stories like David Lubar short stories weenies, a shoujo manga series, 'Zekkyou Gakkyuu' by Ishikawa Emi (@ishikororin on twitter) that you can search up on google "read zekkyou gakkyuu manga online" and click on the link and some chapters if you can read them all (they mostly don't have a happy ending in these), A chapter plot review from a blog (http://tatsukida.blogspot.com/2021/10/zekkyou-gakkyuu-tensei-chapter-34.html) from 'Zekkyou Gakkyuu Tensei' sequel manga series which has a happier ending there, and "Bruises" from the YWS
( https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/work/stygianmoon17/Bruises-152912 ) .

I think I love horror stories relating to the ones above, however the problem is I am terrible at writing a good short horror story and comics, and I'm horrible at suspense as well. Any way I write it is more based on humor than horror. Even worse, anything I write won't make a good horror story and I need prompts. I think I'm too stuck to make anything good, and I know nothing about logic which I'm a main failure at that. and good short stories are made by written luck and pure chance.
But how do they even do it to make it that good. I feel left out in making any good horror story and I need help anylizing what to do to make a short story and what I can't do to make a short story.What can I do?
I'm running out of things to write on my portfolio and at home. I'm about to be more creative and I have to push myself even further and harder, to make more ideas and get rid of my limits. And I'm almost running out. Please help me and please write a review please!
from, @BeingRivy.
  





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Thu Nov 11, 2021 7:28 pm
BeingRivy says...



I’m starting to feel sad because i’m begginning to feel jelaous of any writer or animator or comic writer/artist I MEET, they just eaither reply or don’t want to hear a bout me and give me the cold shoulder and do something else. I guess i lost and that i should give up, but i feel like i don’t want to quit being a writer is something i want to do but no one listens to me. And that i should make an nefarious attempt to be the best writer in the world.
and hypnotize people‘s brains as i write and stuff like that.
but i guess i’m not good enough.
i’m trying to learn new things but i have autism, and i don’t know how to make myself better!
what can i do what can i do what can i do? Pleez plez plz respond
- from, BeingRivy
  





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Fri Nov 12, 2021 6:06 am
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Gale Dracworn says...



If you're having trouble writing certain scenarios, my advice would be to try to write small snippets of horror and suspense every day for 15 minutes. No need to make it a novel or something, just a one off. Also, expand your knowledge of the genre by reading many different horror authors. The key to horror is tension and release, if there is too much tension people become immune, not enough action, people get bored. If you have any questions or something I can help with feel free to message me.
  





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Fri Nov 12, 2021 5:37 pm
BeingRivy says...



Gale Dracworn wrote:If you're having trouble writing certain scenarios, my advice would be to try to write small snippets of horror and suspense every day for 15 minutes. No need to make it a novel or something, just a one off. Also, expand your knowledge of the genre by reading many different horror authors. The key to horror is tension and release, if there is too much tension people become immune, not enough action, people get bored. If you have any questions or something I can help with feel free to message me.


Hi, It's @BeingRivy again, how are you today? I'm doing good.
I need help on my horror stories, and thank you for the previous response.

1) I'm doing good but I need help on the horror stories and I'm pushing myself too hard. I understand that based on these links I just showed you in the forum, (http://tatsukida.blogspot.com/2021/10/z ... er-34.html , Bruises ) I need help with analyzing them, what do you think what these two stories (review and short story) have in common, you are an expert can you PLEASE show me the goods immediately ??? and what advice and tips to be better than anyone else!??!

2) you also said this:
"If you're having trouble writing certain scenarios, my advice would be to try to write small snippets of horror and suspense every day for 15 minutes. No need to make it a novel or something, just a one off. Also, expand your knowledge of the genre by reading many different horror authors. The key to horror is tension and release, if there is too much tension people become immune, not enough action, people get bored. If you have any questions or something I can help with feel free to message me."
Look, I'm trapped in writer's block and I'm trying to feel other things, but now I'm too busy with school and I want to write everyday. I'm stuck in procrastination process, and I need your help with accountability, and short story prompt and exercises. Also I stick to this advice: If I don't have any ideas, I need to push myself and stare at a blank screen even harder. what can I do? I'm also trying to learn but I have autism and I feel like I'm not learning enough about horror stories.
I'm just terrible at "showing not telling" and I want to be better.

Any other tips and tricks to make suspense better and how do I plot my horror stories?
I hope you respond to my message. Also please respond in an even longer message than you first one.
From, @BeingRivy.
  





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Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:05 pm
BeingRivy says...



BeingRivy wrote:
Gale Dracworn wrote:If you're having trouble writing certain scenarios, my advice would be to try to write small snippets of horror and suspense every day for 15 minutes. No need to make it a novel or something, just a one off. Also, expand your knowledge of the genre by reading many different horror authors. The key to horror is tension and release, if there is too much tension people become immune, not enough action, people get bored. If you have any questions or something I can help with feel free to message me.


Hi, It's @BeingRivy again, how are you today? I'm doing good.
I need help on my horror stories, and thank you for the previous response.

1) I'm doing good but I need help on the horror stories and I'm pushing myself too hard. I understand that based on these links I just showed you in the forum, (http://tatsukida.blogspot.com/2021/10/z ... er-34.html , Bruises ) I need help with analyzing them, what do you think what these two stories (review and short story) have in common, you are an expert can you PLEASE show me the goods immediately ??? and what advice and tips to be better than anyone else!??!

2) you also said this:
"If you're having trouble writing certain scenarios, my advice would be to try to write small snippets of horror and suspense every day for 15 minutes. No need to make it a novel or something, just a one off. Also, expand your knowledge of the genre by reading many different horror authors. The key to horror is tension and release, if there is too much tension people become immune, not enough action, people get bored. If you have any questions or something I can help with feel free to message me."
Look, I'm trapped in writer's block and I'm trying to feel other things, but now I'm too busy with school and I want to write everyday. I'm stuck in procrastination process, and I need your help with accountability, and short story prompt and exercises. Also I stick to this advice: If I don't have any ideas, I need to push myself and stare at a blank screen even harder. what can I do? I'm also trying to learn but I have autism and I feel like I'm not learning enough about horror stories.
I'm just terrible at "showing not telling" and I want to be better.

Any other tips and tricks to make suspense better and how do I plot my horror stories?
I hope you respond to my message. Also please respond in an even longer message than you first one.
From, @BeingRivy.


Hi Gale Dracworn,
It’s @BeingRivy again, sorry about the previous message. I did need help on horror short stories, but I also need help with short stories related to comedy (funny), fantasy, and adventure stories in general.I love anthologies, and I hate book series’s especially Harry Potter.
Look I was kind of upset when I sent the first pm message to you, because the advice you sent the first time was not helping or working out for me. I get really sad, upset, and emotional when nothing in my stories or writings go my way, or if the writing are not working out the way I want them to be, I’m angry and sad and they give me harsh feedback.
Also I was meant to force to to reply immediate, much longer messages in private messages, I’m really sorry.
I just want help immediately and I failed to end all of my stories, and any story I write isn’t an original story! It’s a story that’s boring and stale and everyone knows it. I just want to make a super original story no one (or nobody) knows yet or even done before. How can I do that when everything I write is completely garbage and is not original. That’s what I meant. In horror everything seems -> original, in comedy -> everything seems original too, in fantasy -> same thing it’s unique and original.
When I meant “ If I don't have any ideas, I need to push myself and stare at a blank screen even harder. what can I do?” I meant I was going to do the old fashioned way everyone writes: by pure chance and pure panster luck, and by staring at a screen and wait for ideas to come to ME! I feel devastated and that I should throw in the towel because I can never write like them. Anything original I want would exist and pop up in another person/story.
I want to make my stories with lots of plot twists, and mind bending stories.
May I also ask you three scenarios/questions when you don’t mind answering?
Q1) Any story I make has no original ending and every story I make fails to have a fun ending. I want my stories to be fun and unique. I want to show not tell my stories!!
What can I do and how can I have every story I make original and unique? How do I make the characters original as well? How can I make my stories better than anyone else’s?
Also I don’t want to hear the same advice that I need to read books, all books I can try to read, but I’m scared to even finish reading one book! That’s why I almost never read I’m too stubborn to read and finish one book and I though annotating a book would help me with stories but how can I enjoy my Book, when I’m not even finished with my books?? I also have autism and the inability to complete everything! What can I do???
Q2) what is your favorite books that are standalone/anthology, are not a series, and relate to comedy, fantasy, and action adventure? How can I ever enjoy books when I don’t have time to enjoy a book and have autism? I’m a person who loves to keep things incompleted and I don’t have time to enjoy any books because of school and if school never existed maybe I COULD HAVE BEEN *ahem* READING BOOKS!! What can I do?
Q3) How can I ever be popular with my stories and how can I do staring at the screen wait for some inspiration to strike later and start typing. I’m trapped in writer’s block or writer’s burnout!!! What can I ever do???
Please help me now and I hope you respond to my message :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D thank you.
From, @BeingRivy.
  





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Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:48 pm
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Snoink says...



Hi!

I like to write horror. The trick with horror is that you start with some sort of strange, but perhaps normal, premise that the character can easily ignore or escape from, so it doesn't really seem like a big deal. And then, as the character gets more and more involved, they start to realize that what they are facing is something weird. And then things get weirder. And weirder. And then it starts getting bad, but they are so involved at this point they can't escape. They have to face the horror, whatever it is.

So you sort of have to do your best to plot things out so that things gradually get weirder and weirder until the point where things get out of control.

Humor is actually pretty related to horror, so if you are good at writing humor then you can probably switch to horror pretty easily. After all, well-written humor often starts with something normal that becomes strange. And then, when you write comedy, you have to have good pacing where you kind of lead your characters into ridiculous situations. The main difference is that it's humorous. For horror, you have to make it horrific by making your characters feel so trapped and isolated that they begin to respond in desperation to the whole situation.

Anyway, good luck!
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Moth and Myth <- My comic! :D
  





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Sat Nov 13, 2021 12:15 am
BeingRivy says...



Snoink wrote:Hi!

I like to write horror. The trick with horror is that you start with some sort of strange, but perhaps normal, premise that the character can easily ignore or escape from, so it doesn't really seem like a big deal. And then, as the character gets more and more involved, they start to realize that what they are facing is something weird. And then things get weirder. And weirder. And then it starts getting bad, but they are so involved at this point they can't escape. They have to face the horror, whatever it is.

So you sort of have to do your best to plot things out so that things gradually get weirder and weirder until the point where things get out of control.

Humor is actually pretty related to horror, so if you are good at writing humor then you can probably switch to horror pretty easily. After all, well-written humor often starts with something normal that becomes strange. And then, when you write comedy, you have to have good pacing where you kind of lead your characters into ridiculous situations. The main difference is that it's humorous. For horror, you have to make it horrific by making your characters feel so trapped and isolated that they begin to respond in desperation to the whole situation.

Anyway, good luck!



Also I was meant to force to to reply immediate, much longer messages in private messages, I’m really sorry.
I just want help immediately and I failed to end all of my stories, and any story I write isn’t an original story! It’s a story that’s boring and stale and everyone knows it. I just want to make a super original story no one (or nobody) knows yet or even done before. How can I do that when everything I write is completely garbage and is not original. That’s what I meant. In horror everything seems -> original, in comedy -> everything seems original too, in fantasy -> same thing it’s unique and original.
When I meant “ If I don't have any ideas, I need to push myself and stare at a blank screen even harder. what can I do?” I meant I was going to do the old fashioned way everyone writes: by pure chance and pure panster luck, and by staring at a screen and wait for ideas to come to ME! I feel devastated and that I should throw in the towel because I can never write like them. Anything original I want would exist and pop up in another person/story.
I want to make my stories with lots of plot twists, and mind bending stories.
May I also ask you three scenarios/questions when you don’t mind answering?
Q1) Any story I make has no original ending and every story I make fails to have a fun ending. I want my stories to be fun and unique. I want to show not tell my stories!!
What can I do and how can I have every story I make original and unique? How do I make the characters original as well? How can I make my stories better than anyone else’s?
Also I don’t want to hear the same advice that I need to read books, all books I can try to read, but I’m scared to even finish reading one book! That’s why I almost never read I’m too stubborn to read and finish one book and I though annotating a book would help me with stories but how can I enjoy my Book, when I’m not even finished with my books?? I also have autism and the inability to complete everything! What can I do???
Q2) what is your favorite books that are standalone/anthology, are not a series, and relate to comedy, fantasy, and action adventure? How can I ever enjoy books when I don’t have time to enjoy a book and have autism? I’m a person who loves to keep things incompleted and I don’t have time to enjoy any books because of school and if school never existed maybe I COULD HAVE BEEN *ahem* READING BOOKS!! What can I do?
Q3) How can I ever be popular with my stories and how can I do staring at the screen wait for some inspiration to strike later and start typing. I’m trapped in writer’s block or writer’s burnout!!! What can I ever do???
Please help me now and I hope you respond to my message :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D thank you.
From, @BeingRivy.
  





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Sat Nov 13, 2021 1:28 am
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Snoink says...



Hmmm...

1. I actually like boring, unoriginal stories, lol. I love the familiar tropes. Still, I am told that I tend to write more original stories? What I do is just mix unoriginal story lines together and it turns into something pretty cool when you mix them together. I also am a Big Fan of various mythologies, so I like to steal their plots and mix them together with other various tropes. I also like to steal commonplace dream sequences and weave that in too. It's FUN. Also, because the myths are usually pretty short, they're easy to read and don't take forever, unlike large books, so it's totally doable, haha.

As far as original characters, I like to look deep into myself and bring out the worst parts about me and then fit them into original characters, haha. It makes them original because who actually likes to broadcast their faults??? Many people would rather create the perfect character instead of flawed characters. Yet, I dunno. I think it's pretty cool, lol.

Also, I don't worry about making my stories better than anyone else's. Everyone has their own story. It's cool. I just want to write my story, that's all!


2. As far as book recommendations go, I really love the Dark Lord of Derkholm, by Diane Wynne Jones. It's a standalone book that is quirky and odd and I adore it. It's funny, adventurous, and very much a fantasy. (Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Derkholm-Di ... 0064473368)

If you want FREE books, I would recommend The Man Who Was Thursday, by G.K. Chesterton. It is also quirky and odd with a fair bit of comedy, a crazy adventure, and definitely fantastical. (Gutenberg link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1695)

As far as finding time? I dunno. You just sort have to find time for the things you need to do, I guess. School is definitely a tough time where you definitely need to focus on stuff! But also, having some personal time to do what you like to do is important too, otherwise you kind of lose yourself. It's all a matter of balance, I guess. I have a tough time with balancing time myself, frankly. It's not an easy thing to do.

As far as autism goes, I admit to being completely ignorant about how autism affects everyday life. My advice would be to go to someone you trust who understands dealing with autism (preferably someone else who is autistic!) and see if you could find out how to achieve your various goals! Maybe they'll have some advice that just clicks with you and helps you to do what you want to do. :)


3. I dunno. I just underwent a very hard dry period where I didn't write anything for YEARS. And now all of a sudden I am writing everything. So yeah. I have no clue. My advice is to just be kind to yourself. You're going to go through various seasons of life, and sometimes it's going to be harder to do certain things you would like to do. Just be patient with yourself and focus on what you need to do.

But also, don't be afraid to daydream. Sometimes when we daydream, we get the best ideas! :)
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Moth and Myth <- My comic! :D
  





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Mon Nov 15, 2021 2:56 pm
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JoyDark says...



Hey, mate! I just saw you on the site and I just saw this on the site. I really like horror books too -- Junji Ito, Stephen King, I love those guys. (If you haven't heard of either of them, I suggest you look them up. Junji Ito is a Japanese comic artist who's written series like Uzumaki, and Stephen King is an American novelist... which you probably already knew, Stephen King is pretty famous.)

The advice these other replies gave, especially Snoink's, I tend to agree with. I just figured I'd add my two cents. I'm only 16 though, and very under-experienced when it comes to writing, so... it's quite likely my advice is crappy and not worth much, heh.

Firstly, it's okay if not everything in your stories are original. Authors take inspiration from other writings and authors all the time -- that's why you might see certain plot points or character tropes repeated in different stories. It's hard to create something that's entirely unique and original. Using others' ideas and concepts and making them your own is totally okay. Even in horror, you can take inspiration from others' works and apply it to your own writing. That's part of the reason why reading is so important to writing -- the more things you read, the more ideas you're exposed to, the more inspiration you can get for your own narratives. If you don't really have the time or resources to read full-on books, try and see if you can find short stories on the internet. For example, you can sometimes find PDFs of different horror stories straight off the web. When I type in "The Lottery by Shirley Jackson pdf" into Google, there's a result that pops right up, and I can read the short story. ("The Lottery" is an interesting story, by the way. In my opinion.) That could be a way to expose yourself to more writing and thus add to your idea-making process, if that makes any sense.

If you want to make something out-of-the-box and more original, something you could try doing is looking around at your own life and asking "What if?" For example, I look around at my life and see a bunch of teenagers on social media -- heck, I spend a lot of time on apps like Instagram. What if there was a new social media app that came out and got super popular, with everyone getting it... except somehow downloading this app did something to your phone? What if it had a Siri-like voice helper, except this Siri-like helper knew everything you were doing, even when your phone was turned off? What if it was watching you, recording everything you said, taking over your phone? What if... you can keep asking questions, thinking about more plot points. I came up with that idea off the top of my head, and even though it's not very good, I could develop it, maybe looking at examples of similar stories to help me along. It's a starting point.

Developing the characters in your story can also help to make it unique, as well as help draw empathy from the audience -- which only makes it more horrifying when something happens to them. It's often more gut-wrenching to watch a character that the audience feels they know experience something horrible... than to watch a blank, flat character have something horrible befall them. Focusing on character work in horror stories can help build a better narrative, especially if you're looking for more plot-driven, twisty stories. Of course, that isn't the rule. You can still have a chilling horror story without as much character work, but it can be helpful to have the main character connect to the audience in some way.

The unfortunate thing is, writing isn't a magic trick. There isn't one single answer or cure-all to writing troubles. (If there was, I would be cranking out novels like Stephen King does.) Experimentation, failing, writing over and over again is how you get better. If the stuff you're writing now isn't the best, that's okay. Try and find time to try out your ideas, evaluate your efforts, keep gathering inspiration, and try again. If you've got writer's block or burnout, maybe take some time away from the computer and then come back again. Nobody has a constant stream of ideas, so don't feel bad if you run out of idea juice.

That's all the advice I have really. Hopefully some of it is useful!
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Mon Nov 15, 2021 4:31 pm
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Necromancer14 says...



My advice for writing horror:

Don't tell the reader everything. The more they know, the less scared they'll be. Tell them something is wrong, tell them something is off... but don't tell them exactly what is happening, just part of it. Gradually build the suspense and horror, telling your reader only one little fact at a time.

Another tip is, if you have any gory or visually creepy things in your book. DON'T HOLD BACK ON THE DETAILS. Envision exactly what the monster/horrible event is in your head and then write every little horrid detail in. The only time I would hold back is if you don't want it TOO scary, but remember you can always delete stuff later.

My third, and probably most important, tip, is to have a scary concept in the first place. And I mean a REALLY scary concept, something deeply disturbing. You see, books, unlike movies, do not have the same visual scariness, and they definitely don't have jumpscares. So, you have to make it disturbing instead. Don't rely too much on describing how creepy the clown looks, instead focus on what the clown does that's so horrible. That doesn't mean you should slack off on the details though, all I'm saying is that your sensual details will fall flat if your concept is not disturbing enough. Otherwise it just becomes a thriller book and not horror.

I wrote a couple of short horror stories, here's one of them if you want to take a read: Horrifying Events #2: A Craving for Meat
Dumbledore: "Now, it's great that you've been saving the school and all Harry, but unfortunately your grades have been a tad low, and, well... perhaps Gandalf could explain it better... hit it, Gandalf!

Gandalf: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
  








The idea that a poem was a made thing stayed with me, and I decided then that I wanted to be an artist, not just a diarist. So I put myself through a kind of apprenticeship in writing poetry, and I understood even then that my practice as a poet was deeply related to my reading.
— Edward Hirsch