50
votes
How can I portray body horror and still be sensitive to people with disabilities?
Disabled people fear losing functionality as much as anyone else. Perhaps even more so, because they need to rely on existing functional parts more strongly than others do.
What you want to avoid is ...
- 32.4k
37
votes
Mixing humour with horror in fiction
Horror works on building tension. Humour breaks it. On the face of it, you've got two cardinally opposed directions here. How do you mix the two?
First, there's gallows humour. Gallows humour doesn't ...
30
votes
How do I introduce dark themes?
Foreshadowing is your friend.
Your example of Harry Potter isn't quite right. Chapter One is titled The Boy Who Lived. Now that's a bit ominous. Magic is hinted at on page 1* and is outright on ...
- 32.4k
28
votes
Horror. Where to start?
It got closer and closer, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
If you don't want gory horror, then fundamentally horror is about losing control and a sense of violation. For intellectual ...
- 13.7k
22
votes
How do you make a story as scary as possible?
Might be counter intuitive, but make it hopeful. Maybe I am a bit of a sadist, but when I watch a movie where I know the good guys will get slaughtered like lambs it desensitizes me and makes me laugh/...
- 2,413
19
votes
How can I Avoid Being Frightened by the Horror Story I am Writing?
Seeing an axe murderer at the end of a hallway is scary, but not seeing them and knowing they're somewhere nearby, maybe round the corner, or maybe behind you, is much scarier. This is because, as you ...
- 5,300
18
votes
How do I go about writing a tragic ending in a story while making it overall satisfying to the reader?
Theme (and Tone)
Theme is a creative tool during the creation process, plotting and first draft.
Tone is a creative tool in the refining process, second and final drafts.
Horror and Comedy are about ...
- 27.4k
17
votes
Can disgust be a key component of horror?
TL;DR:
* Fear (or equivalent shock) followed by disgust -> horror
* disgust alone -> disgust
A significant effort in analyzing the concepts of horror, terror and sublime times back to the XIX ...
- 10.6k
16
votes
How do I introduce dark themes?
Four chapters in, your readers should have an idea what they're in for. Not everything that's going to happen, but certainly a hint. Once you've hinted that there is darkness, you can skirt it, turn ...
14
votes
Accepted
Can disgust be a key component of horror?
As a component of "horror" it has a role to play - and it can be quite effective. On it's own? No.
Seeing internal organs up close can as you say invoke a disgust/repulsion response. But context will ...
- 7,293
13
votes
Mixing humour with horror in fiction
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with mixing genres. But like many things in writing, the issue is, do you do it well or poorly.
Of course I haven't read the story you wrote for your creative ...
- 25.7k
13
votes
Accepted
Monsters of psychological horror
how can one ensure, when writing a psychological horror, that any supernatural/paranormal or just very unlikely element is not taken face-value?
Keep it ambiguous
Roald Dahl used to say that “The ...
- 27.4k
13
votes
How do you make a story as scary as possible?
Realism
One thing I've noted from reading horror (e.g. Stephen King) - the evil human characters are far scarier than any of the supernatural monsters presented. You fear for Rose Madder's life not ...
- 1,319
12
votes
Mixing humour with horror in fiction
There's a difference between what might be acceptable in an academic program, to the specific requirements of the teacher, and what might do well on the open market. The plain fact is that the comedy-...
- 56.5k
12
votes
How can I portray body horror and still be sensitive to people with disabilities?
Having a villain lop off an arm or leg ought not offend someone who either was born without them or lost them due to accident or combat. Losing limbs is not desirable.
I have some disabled friends. ...
- 12.3k
12
votes
How to write painful torture scenes without being over-the-top
All scenes have more than one thing going on. Scenes are never just a series of sequential facts, there are negotiations and compromises, misdirections and sacrifices – yes it's all scaled down to the ...
- 27.4k
11
votes
Accepted
How can I Avoid Being Frightened by the Horror Story I am Writing?
Also draw on that fear. I read in Jeff VanderMeer's "Wonderbook" about a concept called "writing from your scar," which could also be applicable to your situation also. Basically, it means drawing on ...
- 136
11
votes
Mixing humour with horror in fiction
The Novel is the author's world and only the author's
Personally I don't see a problem in mixing genres like that. I think, that most genres could handle a bit of mixing with other genres. What is so ...
- 2,621
11
votes
Can I write a story revolving around a video game (Without it taking place in game and making many changes)?
In this case your issue is Trademark, not Copyright. The contents of the game are used in a way that is thoroughly transformative, and in ways sufficiently different from the original this is deeply ...
- 15.4k
10
votes
Accepted
Am I describing a zombie?
Not a traditional zombie
There are many ways to label this kind of creatures. Zombie doesn't quite fit, as they normally only regenerate once in the sense that they are coming back to life. But their ...
- 5,686
10
votes
How can I portray body horror and still be sensitive to people with disabilities?
If you want to be PC, stick to symptoms of infectious diseases, where the sense of body horror would reinforce prevention and be justified as a mean towards avoiding contagion.
As the OP suggests, ...
- 10.6k
9
votes
How can I Avoid Being Frightened by the Horror Story I am Writing?
There are a couple of ways that might help.
Do not be alone when you write. You don't have to sit in a room full of people. Just sit somewhere (preferably in the park) where there are many people ...
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9
votes
How to write painful torture scenes without being over-the-top
You might find it helpful to look at the Torture Porn trope, to have a clearer idea of what to avoid. A work would be called "torture porn" when it appears to seek to disgust the reader/viewer while ...
8
votes
Mixing humour with horror in fiction
I would start with the same premise that Galastel mentions in a previous answer - that horror and humor are both about tension. However, I don't think they are opposed. In fact, both horror and ...
- 251
8
votes
Mixing humour with horror in fiction
There should be no problem with mixing genres. Genres are merely a publishing convention. That being said, some readers will dislike it, especially horror and humor.
However, one of my favorite ...
- 1,559
8
votes
How can I portray body horror and still be sensitive to people with disabilities?
To the best of my understanding, the main problem with the zombie genre is that it positions decay-disease-disability as non-human evil to be eradicated, and as a threat to humankind. (I don't ...
8
votes
Accepted
I found a story I wrote as a little kid. Should I finish it?
Found Gold:
Of COURSE you should finish it! Is the young version of you going to do it? Is the young version of you going to come along and complain that you aren't getting it right? NO.
You wrote it, ...
- 13.7k
8
votes
How do you make a story as scary as possible?
Spiders
Not necessarily spiders; also snakes, skeletons, etc. If you want to make a story frightening, then evolved human instincts, as well as conditioned cultural fears, are your friends. What ...
- 8,697
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