Tips for writing horror

It’s spooky season, so I thought I’d share some of my top tips for writing horror. Horror is one of my favorite genres to work in, and with work, you can find effective ways to keep your audience on the edge of their seats.

Write what really scares you.

This tip probably seems blatantly obvious, but I want to dig a little deeper. Horror is so rarely about the things it appears to be about on the surface. Let’s think about a zombie movie for a minute. What is it that makes zombies so scary? You can say being eaten, I guess, but then wouldn’t a movie about lions be equally frightening? While I’m sure a creative person could make a terrifying movie about big cats, there’s a reason zombies are so popular in the horror genre. Zombies can represent so much. They can represent loss of consciousness, control, or free will. They can represent the collapse of society. They can represent dehumanization. I’m not going to sit here and list out all of the things that zombies can represent, but you get the point.

Think about your favorite horror movie, and then think about what it’s really about. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not just zombies, or a chainsaw murderer, or a seance gone wrong.

Think about what you’re really afraid of. If you’re afraid of the dark, dig deeper; what’s lurking in the dark that frightens you? Why is that thing scary? That is what you want to capture when writing horror: the essence of fear. Jump scares are fine and good, but they’re cheap. If you really want to make your audience experience fear on a deeper level, if you want their terror to stick with them long after they’re finished with your work, you need to write what really scares you. 

A note: sometimes scary movies or books truly are just scary stories, and there’s no deeper metaphor. Not only is that okay, but some horror fans crave that. You just need to make sure that the fear you’re exploring in those works are really, truly scary as well.

Know your tropes

When you’re writing any genre fiction, it’s helpful to know what’s been done before. Think of tropes like guideposts for horror writing. When you’re aware of tropes, you can utilize them, or you can choose to subvert them. Being aware of people’s expectations allows you to play with feelings of dread, anticipation, surprise, shock, and more. These emotions are key when you’re writing horror, and knowing your tropes allows you to take advantage of them.

At the same time, knowing your tropes can also allow you to make sure you’re not relying on tired, offensive stereotypes for a quick scare, which makes your work so much more powerful.

Here’s a list of 21 horror tropes from Writer’s Digest. This is by no means all encompassing–there are SO many tropes out there–but it’s a great start if you’re not super familiar!

Experience the genre

Regardless of if you’re writing a horror screenplay, novel, or short story, you should be familiar with the genre. This goes hand in hand with the “know your tropes” tip. If you don’t know what good horror looks like, how can you expect to write good horror? No matter your entry point into the genre, you need to read or watch widely in order to get a handle on what you’re trying to do. I love Stephen King as much as the next guy, but if you’ve only read IT you’re not going to write horror as well as if you’re also reading Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Trembley, Victor LaVelle, and Gretchen Felker-Martin. If you’re a reader, you can take it a step further and dive into what small presses are doing or what indie authors are publishing. Likewise, if you’re writing a screenplay, you can’t just watch The Babadook and Hereditary and call it a day (even though those are two of my favorite movies!) Check out the indie horror scene, look for low-budget films, and watch the classics to know where the genre came from.

Have a strong sense of character motivation

There is nothing more frustrating than watching a horror movie and not understanding why the characters keep making such dumb decisions. Everyone knows that you don’t split up, you don’t go into the spooky basement, and you don’t play with the ouija board. 

The difference between a boring story and a compelling story, in my opinion, comes down to character motivation. If you don’t have a strong sense of what makes your characters tick, your audience won’t either, and they might find it difficult to root for them. This is true across genres, but it’s especially important in horror, in my opinion. Your characters are going to be put in extreme, life or death situations, and they’re going to have to make difficult, often split-second decisions. Horror is about pushing people to their limits and seeing what happens. The story will make more sense–and the audience will care more–if we feel that the characters are complicated, messy, and consistent. A man who feels he has to prove himself because of his history with his father is way more likely to go into the spooky basement alone than a different character. Someone who wants to protect their children is going to make riskier decisions than someone who is just looking out for themselves. Speaking of just looking out for themselves, some characters would happily sacrifice the whole group if it means getting out alive. Get to know your characters and their motivations and you’ll suddenly have a way more compelling story on your hands.

Do you have tips for writing horror that you want to share? Comment below with your top tips for writing horror!