I hate horror movies. But I love horror fiction, such as work by Stephen King and others. Why do I live this schizophrenic life? I really can't say, but through reading and analyzing King's work and then practicing a lot, I have discovered that there are a few keys to writing good, effective horror fiction. Some of these keys are important to any fiction writing, while the last ones we will discuss are specific to horror fiction.

Key 1: Characters
Any good story is powered by well-developed characters. Think of a book you have read for which you wish there was a sequel. Do you want a sequel because you feel the plot was not fully resolved, or is it because you want to see this character have more adventures? More than likely, it is because you fell in love with or developed a connection to the character. Why such a strong connection? Because the character is full, rounded and dynamic.

How do you build good characters? You have to have a strong concept for these characters before you even begin writing your story. I like to have character notes down before I begin to write. In these notes I include why this character is the right person for the story; or in other words, what it is about this character that will help him or her get through the tension of the story. It is also useful to include certain phrases that this character likes to say, and mannerisms.

The writer must have a vivid image of this character before he or she begins writing the character's story. The writer must also make sure that this character feels real enough that readers will want to sympathize with the character and follow the character's story.

Then there are the minor characters. All of these need to be realistically and vividly painted as well. Fiction with stock or unrealistic characters falls flat, and this is especially true of horror. If readers have no reason to care about a character, or don't really see the character well, they won't care about the awful, terrifying things that are about to happen to the character.

Key 2: Setting
Although you do not want to bog down your story with lengthy descriptions of wallpaper and the process gone through to make the pergo floor shine the way it does, you do need to paint strong images of setting. A well done setting grounds any good fiction story and allows readers to imagine themselves in the same place as the action.

Setting is particularly key with horror fiction. Horror fiction settings are most effective

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