Unveiling the Horror Within

II. Some Tips for Writing a Horror Novel

Whether it's your first attempt at writing in the horror genre, or you're simply trying to improve your horror-writing skills, there are a few things you should keep in mind as you write:

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Pull Ideas From Real Life and Your Own Experiences.

🔪Reach back into your childhood memories and recall things that used to scare you or think of things you love and put a creepy spin on them. (This always works for Stephen King.)

Write The Book Title First.

🔪Most writers start with the idea for a story and figure out the title later. Try doing the opposite. Titles are great ways to quickly come up with a number of different ideas that can grow into an entire story.

Plant a False Lead or Throw In a Red Herring.

🔪Include details that purposefully mislead the reader and prevent them from predicting the outcome. Learn more about red herrings in our complete guide here.

Write The Ending First.

🔪It may not always be possible, but once you start writing it makes it easier to fool people from the very beginning of the story and skillfully direct their attention away from what they think the ending will be.

Hook The Reader Right Away.

🔪Start with a shocking first chapter to set the tone and quickly introduce the who, what, when, and where of the story. Putting the key elements into play early allows the rest of the plot to unfold.

Use Cliffhangers.

🔪Pique the reader's interest in events to come and compel them to keep reading to see what happens next. Learn more about cliffhangers in our complete guide here.

Add Plot Twists.

🔪Carrying the reader through the middle of a story is challenging, and there needs to be enough excitement to keep them reading to the end. An unexpected plot twist can help.

Plant a False Lead or Throw in a Red Herring.

Include details that purposefully mislead the reader and prevent them from predicting the outcome. Learn more about red herrings in our complete guide here.

Borrow From Your Influences.

🔪You can generate a lot of ideas by absorbing story concepts from other authors. Watch horror movies and read other horror books to improve the quality of your writing. Find a horror writer you admire and study their body of work. How do they tackle things like surprises, twists, and cliffhangers? How do they set the mood and create suspense?

Reference: MasterClass (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-horror-fiction#what-is-the-horror-genre)

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Did you know?

The horror genre was invented
by Horace Walpole, whose Castle of Otranto (1765) may be said to have founded the horror story as a legitimate literary form.