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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/7265-Fear-or-shock.html
Horror/Scary: October 14, 2015 Issue [#7265]

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Horror/Scary


 This week: Fear or shock?
  Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Quote for the week:
"Dot, dot, line, line,
Spider crawling up your spine.
Cool breeze, tight squeeze,
Now you've got the shiveries!"
~Children's Rhyme


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Letter from the editor

You may think you are scaring your readers, when you may actually be shocking them.

According to the Cambridge English dictionary, shock is "a ​sudden, ​unexpected, and often ​unpleasant or ​offensive ​event, or the ​emotional or ​physical ​reaction to such an ​event."

Fear is "an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat."

Both are important ingredients of horror stories, but it is important to know the difference.

*Shock*Shock gets up in your face. Fear is all in your mind.

*Spider* When a spider the size of a dinner plate drops down on your face, you feel shock. When you feel the brush of bristly legs on the back of your neck, you feel fear.

*DropR*Shock comes when you see blood and guts everywhere. Fear comes when you see one drop of blood dripping down from the ceiling.

*BurstR* Shock is a killer crashing through your living room window and rushing toward you, brandishing a knife. Fear is the creak of footsteps on the stairs when you think you are alone in the house.

Creating fear in the mind of your reader is the basis of horror stories. Many of the scariest stories start with a seemingly innocent situation. Lull your reader into a false sense of security, and then instill a tiny bit of fear, with something that isn't quite right. Ratchet up the fear a little at a time, and then, WHAM! hit your reader with a shock!

Some very good stories use only fear, but be careful about overdoing shock. If the reader is hit with one shock after the other, they will become desensitized to it, and you will lose the "shock value". And remember, shocks do not have to be gross. Too much grossness will send your readers beyond shock to revulsion and disgust. *Sick*

Something to try: Write a horror story that includes a well-placed shock.



Editor's Picks

Walking On Thin Ice Open in new Window. (13+)
A vision becomes reality--or does it?
#1213063 by Lynn McKenzie Author IconMail Icon


 
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Longevity  Open in new Window. (13+)
Youth is wasted on the young... (Quill award winner)
#1953051 by Bilal Latif Author IconMail Icon


 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#2055128 by Not Available.


Disembodied Open in new Window. (18+)
An entity with no physical form seeks a new host.
#2029693 by ZombeeLuv Author IconMail Icon


The Nøkkensong Open in new Window. (18+)
A talented young girl begins catching more than fish.
#2052591 by As Luck Would Have It Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

Question for next time: What scares you the most in horror stories or movies?

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