 Horror/Scary: January 02, 2019 Issue [#9307] |
This week: A New Year's Wants Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Words have no power to impress the mind
without the exquisite horror of their reality.
Edgar Allan Poe
Welcome to this week's WDC Horror/Scary Newsletter, where we journey into the 'dark' side of writing ~ prosaic and poetic ~ What makes us seek horror; what makes us want to be frightened, mortified; what makes us want to embrace the darkness within ~ and without? Is it a modern-day phenomenon, or older than graveyard dirt? Come join the exploration. |
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Greetings!
With the new year upon us, most of us are thinking of resolutions, what we will do to get something we want the coming year - either to have or to get rid of. For example, to diet and lose weight to look good in leggings, or exercise to be fit for a survival hike in by summertime. We resolve to do something in order to get something we wish for. But, what if we get what we wish for only to find it's not what we thought it would be. For example, that hike; what if it turns out to result, the first day, getting lost in a labyrinthine cave systemlit only by the ambient glow of stalactites on an assortment of bones bleached to a phosphorescence by water with silver sparkles that snap, crackle and pop. (hmm, idea for a story here, perchance  ).
So, with this in mind, do we stop making resolutions, even though most are broken before a fortnight has gone by? Nope. Do we stop wishing for stuff? Nope. What if we do get what we wish for, either through effort or happenstance? Is it always for the best? Nope. Do we (or our characters) find terror, or even horror, in what we thought would be something splendid? Perhaps. Let's make it happen!
Let's make the wish happen, and, like we explored in the opening, the horror may scare the lead out of your pencil or fade the letters off your keyboard. But, before it does, you will write it and take your readers along with you on your journey.
 Begin with the horror you (in character) encounter. No matter what form, human, animal, alien, natural, unnatural, make it seem invincible. Design a convincing way to defeat it, a believable flaw in the 'creature.'
 Open with action. Encounter the 'beast' or the results of its action. The vacant house with bats and tattered clothing and a finger, bloodied, pointing towards the locked(?) basement door, for example. Make your reader want to discover where the bloodied finger belongs (and maybe put his/her hands safely in pockets while doing so).
 Isolate your main character (protagonist), either physically or as the only one with the knowledge of the evil's existence. A kid nobody believes really saw a detached bloodied finger (by the way, is it a human finger, that's for you and the kid to know) may not be physically alone, but alone in his knowledge and in figuring out how to prove, then best, the evil thing.
 Torture your readers with tension. Hmmm, torture  - raise and lower the stress level, offer anticipation with dialogue, action, and then moments of relief when your protagonist thinks he/she has found a solution, or perhaps wins a battle with the evil - but not yet the war. The stress rises after each breath of relief until the climax, at which point your reader has now clenched fists in pockets or perhaps is counting his/her own fingers (if it's a missing finger that started it all, that is).
 Take your character into that cave, open the basement door, tiptoe down the rotty steps, until you find (and here is where you get creative - what do you find? - not the cliche slamming door, but ...) The tension in the investigation can really bring your readers to maybe sit on their hands to protect their own fingers.
 Face off with the evil beast, mortal, animal, alien, nature, super-nature. The climax that your reader is now near panting over pages to read. The battle, the confrontation, visual, active, and conclusive.
 Your protagonist wins, finds the break he/she needed to best the beast (in whatever form it ultimately manifests), and is a stronger, better person for it. Everybody is now safe. However, the 'good' ending can be a ruse.
 What if, there's something that intimates the bad thing may return, or still lurks in the shadows - do we have a fingernail still poking into a doorjamb, perhaps, as the protagonist passes through, closing the door on this journey?
Give it a shot - what if - one day, past, present or future, you happened to find in that cave/ room/ closet/ cabin/ alleyway/ .... a bloodied ..... and smelled .... now you take it from there - and try the above pointers to battle and best what you encounter when you get what you wish for ?
While you're thinking just where you'd like to travel, check out some of the journeys woven by members of our Community ~ with hands in pockets, and fingers counted 
Write On 
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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See what happens when desire overtakes common sense ~ share your thoughts (and desires) with the writers ~ a review or comment, perhaps, then maybe share one of yours 
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Thank you for this brief respite in the relative safety of your virtual home ~ and for exploring that which we want, and think we must absolutely have. May you attain that which you truly desire, your vision in verse and prose put to pen and paper.
Until we next meet, counting fingers and toes,
Best Wishes for a fun, creative, safe, 2019  .
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
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