To write effectively in the horror genre is difficult but highly rewarding. The point of a good horror story is to give the reader the creeps and make them lose sleep over it. There are several methods and approaches you can take to do this. Kindle Book Writers go through some of the best practises for creating horror here.
To Induce a Feeling of Dread
Creating dread is a tried and true method of frightening readers. To do this, one must plant the seed of doubt in one’s mind that something horrible is about to occur. This can be accomplished by the use of darkly descriptive language, the forecasting of events, or the suggestion of impending danger.
A character could be going along a dark alley when they hear footsteps behind them or have the impression that something is observing them. These specifics set the reader on edge as they wait for something to happen and aid in the development of tension and suspense in the story.
Use Evocative Metaphors
Creating terrible mental imagery is essential to writing effective horror. This can be attained by use vivid, expressive language to describe the unfolding horrors. Make the monsters, ghosts, or whatever other supernatural things are troubling your characters real by using vivid language.
You could go into detail about the monster’s gnarled claws, glowing eyes, and writhing slimy tentacles instead of just saying it’s hiding in the shadows. The horror components of your novel will have far more impact on the reader if you provide such specifics.
Use Tension
Suspense is another essential part of any good horror story. The reader should always be wondering what’s going to happen next in your story. You can accomplish this by keeping the reader guessing about what will happen next in the story and by building suspense skillfully to terrifying climaxes.
You may, for instance, drop indications here and there that something awful is about to occur, but save the big surprise for the very end. This is a great method to keep your audience interested and involved in your story.
Make Use Of Psychic Shock
The goal of psychological horror is to tap into the reader’s subconscious worries and anxieties to evoke a genuine feeling of unease or terror. For this, you should delve into your characters’ motivations and feelings, and set them up in predicaments that play on common anxieties like separation, abandonment, and the unknown.
You may, for instance, invent a protagonist who has trouble moving past a horrific experience or dealing with their own dark past. By delving into these ideas, you might make your audience uncomfortable and leave with a lasting impression of terror.
Bring the Fear Home
Making the terror feel personal is a great method to shock the reader. Making the reader care about the protagonist involves putting them through hell. Making the reader care about the protagonist and the antagonist can increase the horror’s intensity and effect on the reader.
You may, for instance, present a character who is fighting an internal evil like addiction or mental illness and then have them face supernatural terrors that threaten to destroy them. It’s a potent combination of empathy and anxiety that may be evoked by establishing this sort of intimate connection. In conclusion, if you want to write horror, you need to master the art of building suspense and keeping your readers on the edge of their seats. Create a really horrifying and unforgettable narrative that will haunt readers long after they finish it by employing strong imagery, building suspense, exploring psychological terror, and making the horror personal.
