by Elton Gahr

Created on: May 14, 2009

At its most basic horror is the same as all other types of storytelling, but there are difficulties that are faced by the horror writer and knowing those particular pitfalls and advantages can make your horror writing work far better.

The first thing you must understand is what horror is. Horror isn't about monsters or serial killers, horror writing is about emotions. The reader of horror may expect that monster, but what he really wants is an emotional outlet. A way to feel fear without the actual risk.

That desire to feel fear is your best ally as a horror writer. Remember as you write that the reader is working with you to create the experience. This is not an excuse for sloppy writing instead it is a reminder to use the reader against himself.

Perhaps the best example of this is not in a book but a movie. If you have not heard the story of Jaws it is interesting to understand that the original plan for Jaws was to see the shark more clearly and more often, but the mechanical shark didn't work correctly. As a result they were forced to shoot the movie without letting you see the shark much. Anyone who has watched the movie can tell you, not seeing the shark is scarier than seeing it.

What this means for the horror writer is that the less information you give your reader about the horror that is being faced in the story the more of it they will fill in themselves. It also means in reverse that the more they see the monster the less scary it will be. This is because you know what scares you, but the reader knows what scares him.

This lack of information is most useful when other parts of the story are as real as possible. This is where the writer of the horror story is able to use his descriptive muscles. The more real the setting is, even in a fictional or supernatural universe, the more scary it will be. It is the juxtaposition of a real work and a monster that makes the story truly scary.

One thing that is very useful as a writer of horror is to give your readers a break from time to time. People can only be scared for so long at a time before it begins to wear off. This is where a subplot with a different tone can be useful. This also gives you a second opportunity. Creating a safe place in the story for the reader gives you the opportunity to take it away. Not every story should do this but on occasion that moment of relaxation between horror moments can give you the chance to surprise the reader.

Writing horror fiction can be great fun. More than any other type of writing it gives you the chance to play with the readers emotional state, but that manipulation of the reader must be done carefully and be well considered. Once your story stops being scary it is difficult to regain that momentum so make the story move carefully and think everything through, and most importantly find what scares you and create it on the page in such a way that it will become what most frightens the reader as well.

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