 Horror/Scary: January 16, 2008 Issue [#2171] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Edited by: W.D.Wilcox  
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Starting to write is like casting a hook into a river. The opening line is probably the single most important sentence you are going to write in your piece. Over the years writers have spent large chunks of their creative time getting the "right" start, the one that will draw readers in and make them move on to the second sentence, then the third, until they are hooked. Then the writer can relax a bit and reel the readers in at a more leisurely pace. |
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The Opening: Setting the Scene and Tone
There are times when you sit down to write and you have absolutely nothing in mind. So you ask yourself: How will I start? What will I write?
I normally just start writing. Even if the words make no sense or hold little meaning, at least I have started the process.
No matter what I write, I know I’ve got to hook my reader at the very beginning, so I concentrate on openings. In horror writing this is particularly important. Setting the scene and flavor of your story becomes essential to the thrills and chills yet to come, even if you have no idea at this point what they might be.
So, I want to focus this letter on OPENINGS.
For starters when writing horror, you definitely don’t want your reader thinking they have stumbled upon a story about a happy little bunny. You want to come out of the box swinging. No…I take that back, actually you want to stay inside the box where it is dark, with no possible way out, your character captured within a liquid gloom—a moonless midnight of the mind.
So, let’s give it a try….
His wife lay within an opaque vinyl body bag, unzipped and split like a ripe pod with her body nestled inside. (Now, this has potential as a good opening line. You know there’s a corpse in the room and it just happens to be the man’s wife. Gripping! Now let’s set the stage….)
A lit candle in the corner causes a ghostly glow to dance across her pale features. (That’s pretty spooky…but what else?)
She has been dead for three days, the stench so ripe that the air seems to be flavored with it. Nausea ripples through his gut like a fat slippery slug, slides up his throat and surges into his mouth. (Well that covers what the man smells and tastes, but what about how he feels?)
He feels stunned, unable to blink, his heart hanging like an iron plumb bob in his chest. Through the death scented air, he imagines her sitting up and speaking, the wound still bubbling in her throat. (This fella definitely feels some guilt about his wife’s death. What does he imagine she says? This is very important in hooking your reader. Ask questions! But let’s continue, shall we? )
"If you had been here, this would have been you…should have been you...this was meant for you. Why aren’t you dead?” (These are some very interesting questions that I’m sure the reader would like answered. Let's move on.)
Suddenly he feels as though spiders are twitching through the hollows of his spine. His mouth fills with a metallic taste, as if he has been sucking on a penny, his stomach cramps around something as cold as arctic rock, and his heart becomes sheathed in ice. He turns away from the horrible vision and staggers to the window.
My God, this was my wife! Who would be sick enough to disfigure her body like this sheerly for the deep, dirty thrill of it—as if they were carving her flesh in the carefree manner of a country gentleman lazily whittling on a piece of wood? (More interesting questions…I believe that by now my reader is sufficiently hooked as to what will happen next. And although I didn’t really have an idea as how to start, I too am hooked and want to know more.)
He looks out upon the thick, still night, the darkness distilled into a liquid gloom. He watches as a long narrow cloud winds away from the chin of the moon and reveals the small cemetery across the street, the gravestones like rows of books bearing the names of those that have been blotted from the pages of life. And then…there…just barely visible within the inky blackness, he sees someone standing amongst the graves of the dead staring back at him.
There! Wasn’t that easy? I now have the start of a scary story that not only interests me, but also my readers. Just remember: Set the Tone! Set the Scene! And create questions the reader has just got to get answered!
There are many different types of openings that you can use to catch your reader. The key here is to inspire yourself as well. Ask burning questions. Once you’ve done that, then you’ll know you've capture your audience.
Until next time,
billwilcox
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EMAIL!!!!
IdaLin 
Submitted Comment:
Great newsletter. Tis the season for malcontents and folly... Oh, wait, that's supposed to be mistletoe and holly, right?
A thinker never sleeps
Submitted Comment:
There have been theories about santa being a slave labourer and using cheap immigrant labour. lol.
larryp
Submitted Comment:
Bill
Entertaining newsletter. When I saw the picture of Santa, I knew something was amiss. 'In reality, Santa Claus is a prejudice pedophile, bent on world domination. There, I've said it. Now kids everywhere will hate me. But the truth has got to be revealed....'
Good stuff. Certainly not a typical Christmasy newsletter!
kansaspoet
-Larry
drifter46
Submitted Comment:
An interesting observation.
I've often wondered about Snow White myself. I mean really, a grown woman with seven little men all sleeping together. Who really knows what goes on there. I'll bet her reputation with those miners isn't pure as snow.
Blanknow
Submitted Comment:
I knew it... sad to think about, but I knew it! Good thing I don't eat candy canes...
Great job, I never thought of it that way!
⭐Princette♥PengthuluWrites 
Submitted Comment:
Gee, you're not paranoid at ALL, are you, Bill...Well, just think of this. Penguins don't live at the North Pole...yet. Sleep well...
the last cicada 
Submitted Comment:
Excellent, funny, creepy newsletter! Great Santa picture. And the arguments? Well, as disturbing as they were, I can't say I know Santa personally. So without Ms. Claus, I guess we'll never know the truth about the man in the red suit. Cheers!
I Cook and I Know Things
Submitted Comment:
Absolutely hilarious, Bill. I always love the stories that take familiar themes and twist them into something totally alien, warping our minds and damaging our comfort zones. After all, what's more frightening to face: a drifter with red stains on his shirt trying to hitch a ride, or a beloved friend we invite into our homes to watch our children?
dmack
Submitted Comment:
W.D., I do believe you've just put yourself on the naughty list. You better watch out.
Have a very Merry Christmas.
-Dmack
cindiloohoo
Submitted Comment:
Excellent newsletter. What a great, different way to look at Christmas. Good job.
Waltz Invictus 
Submitted Comment:
Bill, thank you for finally revealing the truth about Jolly Old Saint Nick!
alicengoreland
Submitted Comment:
Thank you for honoring one of my stories in your newsletter.
Interesting thoughts about Old Saint Nick. Hey isn't Nick a name for Satan too? Hmm, I think there could be a connection.
Congratulations on placing in Gemini's Horror contest!
Anne Light
Submitted Comment:
Great Newsletter, very enlightening, indeed. And I guess now we all know why Santa gives this eerie wink when he asks, "Have you been naughty *wink*, or nice *saucy grin*? I believe in the "Christmas Conspiracy"!
jgianforti
Submitted Comment:
W.D.,
Thanks for posting my story "I Still Believe in Santa Claus" in your newsletter!
-James
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