How to Write a Great Horror Story

Prepare For the Journey

Before we start writing a story together, we're going to need to lay solid foundations on which you can build. It is here where you will take your first blood-soaked steps towards becoming an effective horror writer. If this is your first time writing a short horror story, then I cannot promise that it will be good, but what I can promise is that you will learn all the skills you need to create better, more engaging stories in the future. Hopefully, your story will be of a high quality, but as a writer I want you to focus on this story being a template for how to approach writing, how to construct something which will engage, frighten, and move your readers. These are skills which you will develop over time with each subsequent story you create, so your story doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it is a learning process through which you will become a far better writer.

Prepare Yourself For the Journey

You're going on an adventure into darkened territory, and like any dangerous journey, you'll need to be prepared, as well as stock up on essential supplies. I want you to sit at your writing spot. It could be a desk, in a library, on a kitchen worktop, in a shed, or in your bedroom. You could be using a laptop, desktop, tablet, a voice recorder, or a good old fashioned pen and paper—whatever suits, use what's most convenient for you and feels right. Make sure you have all the illumination you need, though not too much that light becomes a distraction. If you're worried about the sounds from the world around you affecting your writing, try plugging in some earphones and listening to instrumental music; I find using mp3 soundtracks of thunderstorms, rain, and waves really puts me in the mood. Be comfortable, while stories of Ernest Hemingway and Lewis Caroll standing while they wrote speak to the committed writer in each of us, for me, being comfortable is essential. You need to filter out the world around you.

Wherever you are writing, this is your sanctuary, the place where dark things grow forth from your mind, you have to be able to nurture those thoughts without distraction. As for supplies, some find caffeine is a great boost for their creative juices; however, for me at least, caffeine overstimulates me and affects my ability to write in a measured way. I always have a glass or bottle of water to keep me hydrated, which has been shown through various studies to improve alertness and concentration. Fruit or anything else which can give you a boost of energy and is easy to eat as you write, is good to have at hand. Even though I write primarily on a computer, a pad and pen are always welcome to jot down ideas, and even write out entire passages or chapters on occasionally when staring at the computer screen becomes a chore.

Some Ground Rules Before You Begin

Now that you're comfortable and in the right frame of mind to write, let's go over a few ground rules you will need to keep in mind as you create your first story:

1) Length: How long should your story be? We'll discuss this in-depth in a later chapter, but for your first story we're going to try to keep it between 1,000 and 4,500 words. Why? Because I believe that under 1,000 words is straying into microfiction territory which requires slighty different skills to create a compelling tale compared to a full length short story, and 4,500 words is the benchmark set by the magazine industry when usually publishing a short story; long enough to create a compelling tale, but short enough to be read easily in one sitting. It's also going to keep you mindful of pacing, which is an essential part of horror writing, perhaps more than any other. We will touch on stories of shorter and longer lengths in later chapters, but for your first story it is a good idea to keep within this limit to maintain your focus.

2) Completion is Everything: The biggest hurdle you will encounter as a writer is finishing anything. Most people who claim to be writers are always working on something, always in the process of writing, but what is the point if the work is never done, if the story is never completed? As we've discussed in previous chapters, writing is a habit like anything else, and one of the most important habits you will need to develop is to complete your work. Plot, characters, settings—they can all grow stale at times, making our feet itch, wanting to move on to something fresh and exciting. Sometimes, if the story really isn't happening, then it is appropriate to move on to something else, but you must be honest with yourself, don't abandon a story unless absolutely necessary. Most stories will have bumps in the road, but try not to slam on the brakes. Keep going, something exciting and compelling is sure to leap out from the side of the road along the way. With this in mind, you must complete this first story. Do not be distracted, keep going, even if you only write 100 words each time you sit down, you are still moving in the right direction. I have a writing affirmation I use, in fact I try to use it throughout my life no matter what is thrown at me: Keep Moving Forward. I say this to myself each and every day, especially when I feel dispondent that I haven't done all that I wanted to do. Baby steps, one word at a time, each movement takes you closer to your goal, and as long as you move forward by even the smallest fraction, you will achieve what you want to in the end.

3) Guidelines Are Made to Be Broken: Always remember, most guides and rules have their exceptions. Everything contained in this book, for example, can be bent and broken to create effective horror fiction. So, what is the point of having guidelines in the first place? They are there to help you get to the right place, to help facilitate your creative mind, to shine a light so that you don't spend unneeded time stumbling around the dark before falling down into the cellar where something awaits. Once you have learned those guidelines and started your journey towards being an effective horror writer, you will make your own way, you'll see what works for you and what doesn't. Always expand your knowledge of writing while on your creative adventure. This book simply opens a door, once you walk through it, wherever you end up after that is entirely up to you.

4) Tiredness Kills Creativity: More than any one stumbling block, tiredeness will kill the creative process stone dead. Again, this is about being honest with yourself, you have to try and push yourself to reach your word goals, but if you are genuinely shattered then you will be better served by getting some rest. My advice is to set a sit down goal of at least 100 words, once you finish those words you will know if you are too tired or not to continue. Don't use tiredness as an excuse, if you can write, then do, but remember that you will be much more productive in the days to come if you can be well rested, so don't push yourself too hard if you are genuinely exhausted.

With these ground rules in place, we're going to discuss in the next chapter how to develop a central idea for your story and begin your horror masterpiece.