Elizabeth
Senior Writer
DANCE MONKEY!!!
Posts: 176
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Post by Elizabeth on Jun 28, 2006 5:17:38 GMT -5
... Alright, so I read 1 little story. It was really, really, really simple. And it scared the shorts offa me *I don't think I was wearing any to begin with...* That's beside the point. What are the key aspects of a horror story... aside from the horror... I haven't learned how to bring that out. I can bring out this eerie feeling... but nothing that'd make you want to scream... *Thanks a lot Fontroy Guess how much sleep I got last night.* So, yeah, nothing too general, perhaps: If you write horror, what's the best techniques to use? Simple, descriptive, slow, quick, but use that when? What do you as a reader like to read? Something gorey, something just a bit insane, something you expcet and you know it's going to happen AND IT DOES BUT there is a twist? Also, I need a sweet name for a girl, about 6 years old, something sweet, just sweet. *could go to babynames.com*
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Imp
Speaker of the Forums
Impishly Inclined
Posts: 557
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Post by Imp on Jun 28, 2006 12:12:13 GMT -5
Though I don't write anything horror per se - at least not often - when I do the whole is the little that I don't say. It's the grotesque, seen in a dim mirror - you've only enough sight to imagine everything else.
For names. Alice? Emily? Elsie? Nadia, Bella, Anne, Ophelia, Kylie...?
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Post by Queen Nerd on Jun 28, 2006 12:29:05 GMT -5
The thing that really scares me to hell and back is not knowing what I'm afraid of. It's being alone and thinking there's something behind you. It's not wanting to turn the light on in a dark room incase there's someone in there with you. It's hearing one little noise and not being able to sleep for the rest of the night. As for description, I think it should go on for a while, or at least until a point where the reader isn't expecting something to happen- and then it does. Shock is one of the best aspects of horror, and experiencing the unexpected is one of the key elements. Hmmm... My horror experience is limited, but I like to be shocked, then given a gruesome account of what is being witnessed/experienced. Woop!
Aslo- Louisa, May, Rosie, Lizzy?
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Sureal
Writer
Do not fear; I shall protect you from pwnage.
Posts: 77
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Post by Sureal on Jun 28, 2006 12:48:56 GMT -5
Try relating the story to the reader. Say, for example, start the story by warning the reader ('I have to warn you - this story is not a normal story. This is real. And trust me, nothing good will come of you reading this. Everyone - EVERYONE - who has ever heard this story, died in their sleep that night. You may not want to carry on - and I wouldn't blame you. But you're going to carry on anyway, just as everyone always does. I just wanted you to know. Tell your friends and family that you love them; you won't see them again once you've finished reading this.')
Or perhaps by even threatening them ('I'm a little girl. Only seven. But I'm different - you see, my daddy killed me. He cut off my nose, stabbed my eyes and let me bleed to death. Now... you know the story. My story. And tonight, I'm going to appear in your room, and do to you what dear Daddy did to me.')
Try to build up lots of suspence in the story. Let your character hear the danger before they see it (eg. 'He could hear something... A sickening, crunching noise over-laying a quiet whimpering. After a few seconds, the whimpering stopped. The cruching did too. And then: a scream, sounding like a mix between human and panther. In-human and gutteral; the sound of pain and fear and death incarnate.')
Maybe try to have a 'catch-phrase' noise (if you've seen The Grudge, think of the noise the girl makes) that can be related to the bad person/monster/whatever. Maybe an actual catch-phrase or something the bad thing always makes before killing (or whatever) its victim (eg. 'I'm at your front door... I'm inside your house... I'm at the foot of the stairs... can you hear me, little boy? I'm at your bedroom door... now I'm inside. I'm standing next to your bed, watching me. You can't see me, can you, little boy? No, you can't... but guess what I'm going to do to you. Go on - guess.'). If you pull it off well then hopefully the reader will lay in bed and try to hear the noise/phrase, expecting to hear it.
Try catching your reader off-guard. Have the first death (if there are any at all) happen really fast so that it takes the reader by supprise. You don't need much lead up with this (probably best if you try to limit that actually) and just have them suddenly killed (violence here will always help to shock the reader).
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fishr
Writer
Bennington Monument - Col. Seth Warner - Fought with Green Mountain Boys; captured Fort Ticonderoga
Posts: 69
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Post by fishr on Jul 12, 2006 10:33:05 GMT -5
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Post by MH Mijolnir on Jul 15, 2006 20:12:55 GMT -5
I like to just hint at things, i.e. The newspaper the man is reading talks about an escaped convict, and the pants the man's wearing are faded orange.
Well, not that obvious but you know, hints and spookiness are better than gore. I like what Queen Nerd said.
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