Young Writers Society

You’ll usually be told that writing horror means to put in constant scares. Yes, that’s true. Putting the scares in constantly is very important, but my favorite thing to do when I write horror is to put in a sort of tragic element and mystery to it. For example, in my “Elsdale circus” stories, one of the characters, Percy Hatchett, has a problem where whenever he thinks about death, the people closest to him die. Death is one of those things that most people really don’t want to talk about, but they can’t help but think about it. It’s no fault of his own that it comes in his mind, but he feels like it is, and that makes it all the more devastating. He’s not a villain, it’s just his unfortunate curse.

I definitely do have a “favorite way” of telling stories (most of them are with supernatural circuses and tragedy) but sometimes I do something different. I do new monsters, sometimes no monsters, and maybe a lot of blood. If you have so many ideas jumbled together, then try to think of how you could make it horrifying. Trust me, just one thing changes it to amp up the scare. No idea is “not scary enough” if you put your mind to it. The fantastic thing about horror is that there is not ONE way to write it. Movies will say otherwise, and other people will say otherwise, but at the end of the day, it’s your story and you decide the fate of the characters. You’re their God, after all.

My tip for writing horror would be to familiarize yourself with the horror community, by reading novels and short stories by a variety of authors. This is how I found my favorite author, Stephen King. I have been able to explore his unique writing style and learn a lot from him just be enjoying his stories and writing my own. If horror is something you like, don't hold back and worry that people will think your story is 'too weird' or 'too much' because someone else probably loves that genre too! Writing horror is a great way to find community. Watching horror films is wonderful too because it can help you think of ideas for your next story!

One of the biggest pieces of advice I could ever give about writing horror is remember there doesn't always need to be a big bad monster. You don't need big claws and sharp teeth for it to be horror. I've always seen writing horror as a way to evoke strong emotions like fear, dread, disgust, panic, shock, etc. While a monster is an effective way of doing this, you can also achieve this effect with subtle hints like perhaps you have a character walking down a dark alleyway and they feel as if they're being watched. You don't have to actively say "they feel like they're being watched", you could add hints to it. Maybe the hairs on their arms or the back of their neck raise, maybe they get goose bumps, or maybe they have a strong feeling of dread/nausea.

There are so many types of horror and so many different ways to write them. For body horror, really dig into the fact your MC does not want these changes. They are something new and frightening. A quote I found about writing body horror is this; “[Body horror] finds its roots in our primal fear of the uncanny and from an internal, not external threat. This leads to an alienation of our own physical self, ensuing in tension and paranoia pitted against our own biological makeup." (I specifically love body horror, it's probably what I write most of and will have the most advice on.)

Horror shouldn't just scare you. It should be uncomfortable. It should poke and prod at parts of the reader, it should make them uneasy and disgusted and grossed out.

Just like getting better at writing, you should read! Read horror to get better at writing it. Be descriptive, flesh out your characters, dig into what's unsettling to YOU (as the writer) and add elements of that. Spiders freak you out? Take that feeling and apply it to the story, or the poem, whatever it is that you're writing. Adding happy moments throughout increases tension.

Horror is just like writing anything else. Research, plot, and plan. Your character has a fear of snakes? Research into snakes and snake phobias. Take those symptoms, apply them to the character. Take your own personal experiences and slap them onto the character. It can be messy. Odds are, it will be messy at first if you don't write horror often. Refine and edit it until it makes you feel the way you want your readers to feel.

1. Click "Custom size", then enter your desired dimensions. You can select the dropdown menu to switch between pixels and inches.
   
   
2. Create your design and customize it all you want! Feel free to refer to the previous graphic design article for tips. Make sure to download your graphic when you're done.
3. Now, it's time to add your cover art to your lit work! You can do this by either going to your Publishing Center or directly to your piece.
   
   • Publishing Center - click on the Publishing Center, then click the right folder on the left.
     
     You should see a list of your works and an "Edit cover art" button.
     
     Clicking that will bring you to the following menu, where you can upload your cover art from your device or use a link, if you've uploaded it to a different site like imgur.
     
   • Directly to your piece - on the right side, there'll be some author tools!
     
     The third button, "Edit cover art," will bring you to the same menu from the Publishing Center route.
     
4. Admire your snazzy new cover art It'll show up at the top right of your work, like this: