Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 5: Coming up with the plot
• Part 2 of 5: Creating Characters
• Part 3 of 5: Writing a story
• Part 4 of 5: Writing a good ending
• Part 5 of 5: Editing History
• Tips
• Warnings

Do you like reading scary stories that give you goosebumps? Or are you afraid of stories that keep you in a state of anxiety? Writing a horror movie (like any other story) involves developing a plot, setting, and characters. But scary stories also keep the reader in a state of anxiety throughout the plot, right up to the chilling or horrible climax. Find real-life inspiration based on your own fears and write a story that easily scares you.

Steps

Part 1 of 5: Coming up with the plot

1. 1 Make a list of what you fear most. This is the best way to come up with the plot of a scary story. A plot is a series of main events in a work that determine the characters' characters, the setting and the development of the story. For example, you are afraid of losing family members, loneliness, violence, clowns, demons, or even squirrels. Put your fears on paper so they get passed on to your readers. Write a story that will be terrifying to you personally.
   • Fear of the unknown is the best foundation for any scary story. People are afraid of what they don't know.
   Specialist Answer Question

   User wikiHow asks: "What are the elements of a scary story?"

   
   

   

   Christopher Taylor, PhD

   English Teacher Christopher Taylor is an English teacher at Austin Community College, Texas. Received a PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   Christopher Taylor, English teacher answers: “Like most fictions, a scary story should include clearly defined circumstances of the action, protagonist, antagonist, escalation of the action, culmination, decay of the action and denouement... In addition, good horror films also have motivation, tension, uncertainty, foreboding, and a general atmosphere of fear and / or horror».

   
   
2. 2 Add the “what if” element to your fears. Think of different scenarios in which you might experience some of your biggest fears. Also think about how you would react if you were trapped or forced to confront your fears. Make a list of questions starting with “what if”.
   • For example, if you're afraid of being stuck in an elevator, ask yourself, "What if I'm stuck in an elevator with a dead person?" Or, "What if a stuck elevator is a door to the other world?"
3. 3 Create an atmosphere of fear. Limit the area of ​​movement of the main character so that he was forced to look his fears in the eyes and look for a way out. Think about which confined or confined spaces scare you the most, such as a cellar, a coffin, an abandoned city.
4. 4 Take an ordinary situation and turn it into something terrible. For example, think about taking a walk in the park, making dinner, or visiting friends. Then add a scary or weird element to these situations.For example, while walking you come across a severed human ear, while cutting fruits, they turn into human fingers or tentacles.
   • Or add an unexpected element, like a vampire who loves sweets rather than blood, or have the protagonist get stuck in a dumpster instead of a coffin.
5. 5 Look for the plot of the story in the news. To do this, read local newspapers or articles on the Internet. There may be a burglary in your area, very similar to burglaries in other areas of the city. Use newspaper articles to create your story.
   • Your notes may come in handy to create a plot. For example, when writing a scary story about staying in a strange hotel. Or about a party at which something happened, or about a friend of yours who began to behave in an unusual way towards you.

Part 2 of 5: Creating Characters

1. 1 Create story characters. Make the reader identify with the main character. If the reader identifies with the main character, then he will empathize and worry about your character. You need at least one main character and (depending on your story) the following characters:
   • the villain;
   • minor characters (family member, best friend, loved one, and so on);
   • episodic characters (postal worker, gas station worker, and so on).
2. 2 Think about specific details for each character. When creating characters, define who they are, what they do, and what their motivation is. Give your characters specific personality traits. Create a list for each character that includes the following information (and refer to this list as you write the story):
   • name, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, and so on;
   • character traits;
   • likes and dislikes;
   • family history;
   • best friend and worst enemy;
   • five objects without which the characters never leave the house.
3. 3 Be clear about the risks to your character. This is what he can lose or lose when making a decision. If your readers do not know what the main character is at risk, they will not be afraid that he will lose something. And a good horror story is based on the fact that the fears of the protagonist are conveyed to the readers.
   • Outline what happens if the character does not achieve what he wants. Risks to the character or the consequences of dissatisfaction with desires are factors that support the development of the plot in a horror story. Character risks also keep the reader on their toes and keep them interested in the work.
4. 4 The villain should not be quite "standard". It must deviate from generally accepted norms. For example, think of Dracula. His teeth do not resemble those of an ordinary person, because Dracula's upper fangs are much larger and sharper than those of an ordinary person.
5. 5 Make life difficult for your character. All scary stories are based on fear and tragedy and on the character's ability to overcome their fears. Stories in which good things happen to good people won't be scary. In fact, a story in which bad things happen to good people is not only more realistic, but also keeps the reader on his toes. Let something bad or terrible happen to your character.
   • The discrepancy between what should happen to the character from the reader's point of view and what actually happens to the character will fuel the reader's interest in your story.
6. 6 Let your characters make mistakes or make the wrong decisions, while believing that they are doing everything right.
   • Don't overdo it with such mistakes or wrong decisions. They must have seemed justified, not just stupid or unbelievable. An attractive young nanny, seeing a killer in a mask, does not run to the phone to call the police, but out into the deep dark forest - this is an implausible and stupid act of the protagonist from the point of view of the reader.

Part 3 of 5: Writing a story

1. 1 Create a storyline after you have come up with the plot, setting and characters. For this you can use the Freytag pyramid. It includes the following key elements:
   • Introduction. Description of characters and location.
   • The tie. A character encounter with problems.
   • Development of the plot. The character tries to solve the problems that have arisen, but encounters obstacles.
   • The climax. Description of the most disturbing moment in history.
   • Plot fading. Description of events after the climax.
   • Interchange. The character is coping or not coping with the main problem.
   • Epilogue. Description of the further fate of the characters.
2. 2 Show, don't tell, the story. A good scary story includes detailed descriptions of the characters' feelings to make it easier for the reader to imagine being in the main character's shoes. If you describe the situation and the feelings of the characters briefly and superficially, the reader will be less intrigued.
   • For example, consider the following two ways to describe a single scene:
     • I was too scared to open my eyes when I heard footsteps approaching.
     • I wrapped myself in a blanket and began to whine softly. My breath caught in my throat, and my stomach clenched with fear. I didn't want to watch. No matter how close those shuffling steps were, I didn't want to look. I didn't want to, I ... didn't ... "
   • In the second example, the character's experiences are described in more detail so that the reader has a better sense of the situation.
3. 3 As the plot progresses, make the story more intense. Creating a good scary story requires the reader to empathize with the character, so you need to increase the level of danger and anxiety.
   • Hint the reader to the mystery of the story and a possible culmination by entering small clues or details, for example, labels on bottles, which will later be useful to the protagonist; a sound or voice in the room that would later indicate something supernatural.
   • Keep the reader on their toes by alternating between scary and calm moments. Let the main character calm down and feel safe. Then build up the tension by placing the hero in the most dire situation.
4. 4 When writing a story, use the "divination" technique. This technique consists in introducing clues into the story that allow the reader to “predict” the future development of the plot. But the reader should be able to "see" such clues. This technique also keeps the reader on their toes because they are worried that bad consequences will come before the hero gets out of the situation.
5. 5 Don't use certain words. Describe what is happening in words that will evoke emotions in the reader, and will not impose certain feelings on him. For example, it is best not to use the following words:
   • scared, fearful;
   • terrible, terrible;
   • fear, horror;
   • afraid;
   • funky.
6. 6 Avoid clichés. Like any genre, horror stories have their own set of cliches and clichés, so avoid them if you want to write a unique and interesting piece. Clichés include well-known characters, such as the deranged clown in the attic, or commonplace phrases such as "Run!" and "Don't look back!"
7. 7 Don't overdo it with the amount of gore and violence. Remember that excessive amounts of gore and violence are more likely to disgust the reader than scare them. If puddles of blood constantly appear in your story, the reader will get bored. Of course, a certain amount of blood is quite appropriate for describing a scene or character. Use gore or violence in your story wisely, that is, in a way that scares the reader rather than causing disgust or boredom.

Part 4 of 5: Writing a good ending

1. 1 Increase the risks for the hero up to the climax. Place him in a situation that he is unlikely to cope with. Fill it up with a lot of minor problems.Buckle up all the way to the climax so that the reader is aware that the character is in grave danger.
2. 2 Let the protagonist figure out how to get out of this situation. This decision should be based on the details you bring in as the story progresses, and should not be spontaneous or seemingly random.
3. 3 Write a climax. The climax is a tipping point in the story. At the climax of the scary story, the main character is in danger (his physical, psychological, emotional or spiritual health).
   • In Edgar Poe's story, the climax takes place at the very end of the story. Poe describes how, with the arrival of the police, the inner struggle of the protagonist grows and grows, but outwardly the character remains absolutely calm. At the very end of the story, under the pressure of internal guilt, the hero confesses to the murder and shows the police the corpse of the old man.
4. 4 Create an unexpected denouement that can uplift or bury the entire piece. An unexpected denouement is something that the reader does not expect, for example, the transformation of the main character from a positive character to a villain.
5. 5 Decide how you want to end the story. In the final part of the story, all the secrets and secrets are revealed. But often this is not the case in scary stories - it is better that the reader does not leave the feeling of uncertainty. Has the killer been caught? Does a ghost really exist? But such uncertainty should not confuse the reader.
   • While the reader should be left somewhat in the dark, do not leave all the secrets unsolved - this way the reader may not understand the ending of the story at all.
   • Consider whether to make the ending of the story unexpected or predictable. In a good scary story, the denouement comes at the very end of the narrative. Poe's story keeps the reader in suspense until the very end, because the denouement is described in the last paragraph of the work.

Part 5 of 5: Editing History

1. 1 Reread the story. Read the draft of your story (silently or aloud) and focus on increasing the intrigue. Pay attention to those moments in the story that are not interesting or intriguing enough. Shorten long paragraphs or rewrite them to help maintain a tense atmosphere.
   • Sometimes a story is written in such a way that the reader knows the outcome in advance. But the reader is still ready to read the entire work, because the ending can be interesting and exciting. The reader empathizes with the hero, so he wants to follow the course of the development of the story.
2. 2 Check the story for spelling and grammatical errors. This way, your reader can focus on the story itself without being distracted by typos or inappropriate punctuation marks.
   • Better to print the story and check it carefully.
3. 3 Let other people read your story. This will tell you what they think of your story. Ask people to comment on the following questions:
   • Characters. Are the characters believable? Is the situation they find themselves in realistic?
   • Narration. Does the story make sense? Is the course of events in the correct order?
   • Language and grammar. Is the story easy to read? Are there unnecessary sentences, incorrect words, and so on?
   • Dialogues. Are the dialogues between the characters realistic? Too many or too few dialogs?
   • Pace. Is the story developing at a good pace? Do you get bored in some places? Or does the action unfold too quickly in some places?
   • Plot. Does the plot make sense? Do the characters' goals make sense?
4. 4 Make changes to the story. Remember, this is your story. It's full of your own ideas, so you don't have to include other people's ideas in it. Sometimes a person criticizing another person's work tries to bring their views into history. If other people's ideas are good, include them in the story. But if you think such ideas don't make sense for your story, then ditch them.

Tips

• Read several different horror stories, from classics of the genre to modern works. For example, read the following works:
  • William Wymark Jacobs, Monkey's Foot. An 18th century tale of three terrible desires fulfilled by the paw of a mystical monkey.
  • Edgar Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart. A psychological horror story of murder and persecution.
  • Any Stephen King's scary story. He has written over 200 scary stories and uses various techniques to scare his readers. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the following works of his: "The Finger" and "Children of the Corn".
  • Contemporary writer Joyce Carol Oates has written a famous psychological horror story called Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Warnings

• If you're doing research on your scary story (to make it more realistic), do it carefully and wisely.