 Horror/Scary: May 27, 2015 Issue [#7012] |
  Horror/Scary
This week: Chiaroscuro Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
~Walt Whitman
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Chiaroscuro is an artist's term for a strong contrast between light and darkness in a painting or drawing. Light and darkness are much more dramatic in the presence of their opposites. A painting or photograph of total darkness is boring, while a picture with no shadow is washed out and pale.
Writing, especially horror writing, also needs contrasts between light and dark. Even traditional horror stories with dark, gloomy settings need some light. For example, a dark rainy night is much more creepy when an occasional flash of lightning illuminates the sky. Maybe you could set your story in a place that is beautiful and bright during the day, but frightening at night. Examples might include a desert, a forest, or your own home  .
Characters also come to life when you introduce some contrast between light and darkness. Try creating a character with startling combinations of physical characteristics, such as platinum blonde hair and dark skin, or pale skin with dark brown eyes.
Stark contrasts between characters' personalities are interesting too, but try to avoid making the villain pure evil and the hero pure good. The contrasts and conflicts within each of these characters will make them seem more real. For example, the villain may be a serial killer who only kills rapists and pedophiles. The hero may be a police officer who hates to admit that he admires the serial killer for getting rid of those evil characters.
Some people look at the world and see only darkness, while others see only light. It might be fun to tell the same story from the perspectives of both of these people. For one, it could be a horror story, and for the other, a great adventure.
Something to try: Write a horror story that deals with extreme contrasts, between people, places, or events.
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|  | Annie May (13+)
Tell them I was real brave and real strong and real kind just like they taught me to be.
#2022448 by Rakkit  |
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