Q&A for How to Start a Horror Story

Think of anything that makes you/your readers feel secure, and take it away. Make the sweetest or kindest character turn out to be evil, or just straight-up kill them off. If it feels cliche, figure out why it feels that way and take away the part that seems too obvious or predictable.

You can base your characters off of real people you know! You can literally mix and match real people. To make your characters consistent and more relatable, you can even write an entire paragraph about your character, everything about them! That way you feel like you know your characters, and it's much easier to write with them that way.

Of course. It's your story, it's your choice how to end it.

There are many strategies to accomplish this, but for a horror story it is usually best to use deceptive techniques. Build up anticipation on who the antagonist is or what their true motives are (if the identity is already known), then create a twist. You can add to this by utilizing foreshadowing techniques.

'The right place' is not the tip of a needle, it's more of a broader time frame, as in within a chapter or two. Let's say you have set up the story and created expectations in the reader over the first 3 chapters. Then you develop the story, giving depth, over 3 more chapters. The reader is yearning to know how the issue is resolved, if you keep them waiting for another 55 chapters, the resolution's satisfaction will never be enough to cover all that waiting. A twist renews their perspective on what has previously been set up; it follows the setup, but comes ahead of the resolution.

Whichever one suits your story better. If you want something more horrific (for a horror story), then try first person. If that doesn't work for you, try third person.

Of course, you can do whatever you like. JRR Tolkien once said about his Lord of the Rings trilogy that "It's too short"! Now, even though the length of, say, a paragraph is not strictly defined, we can all sense the difference between a book and a paragraph. So if each of your parts is only 5 pages long, they're not really long enough to qualify as parts. But if your books/stories are linked, then each can indeed become a part.

If you plan to write a spooky story, you need to include some scary parts, but along with that you could add romance, comedy or fantasy. A spooky story does not need to be very scary, it could just be mysterious or eerie instead.

Sure, it often is a part of it. But don't change the book's genre. You want the entire story to be in the genre of horror, not for it's genre to change to sex during the sex scenes. I.e. if the sex is not pivotal to the plot, then omit it. Don't write a sex scene just because you want a sex scene in your story. It's a great moment to kill off a character, for example. (Or to get readers to exclaim, "Who in their right mind has sex at such a moment?!")

I recommend reading other horror stories for inspiration. Identify which backstories or tropes you like the most.

Of course! Horror stories are often very unconventional, so there are no limits to the stories can they tell.

Sure! That means you're writing a good, scary, story! However, if your book terrifies you so much you find it hard to write, consider toning it down.

Do what you want! You can edit it all you want, just don't make it too over the top.

Consider starting with a mysterious or unsettling event, such as "Once upon a horrifying time," "It all started when...," "Now, those were the worst weeks of my life," or "One night, after a century!"

There are several ways to begin a horror story, and the choice is yours. You could start with something straightforward and simple, then gradually build suspense. Alternatively, you could jump straight into the horror to immediately hook your reader. A combination approach might start with a detailed, mysterious paragraph followed by more mundane matters. That might intrigue your reader. Ultimately, it's up to you as the writer.

To create original characters, consider their desires and flaws. What do they want most, and how do their attempts to achieve it influence the story? Use these traits to shape the plot. For your opening line, think of it as a two-sentence horror story. If you're stuck, don't worry about starting at the beginning—write what you know, and your first line will come to you.

Chapters can be any length, but a common suggestion is to aim for a total word count between 40,000 to 80,000 words for the entire book.

Yes, from my experience writing horror books, it's okay to include demons as antagonists; just don't make it romantic.

There are many ways to create a captivating start. For example, you could begin with an onomatopoeia to engage your audience.

You can publish a story based on a video game online as fanfiction, as long as you are clear that it is fanfiction and you claim no ownership of the original. It is illegal to make money off of it, however.

Your characters' traits significantly impact the suspense in your story. Focus on what happens to them and how you narrate these events to create suspense.

To create immediate paranoia, start with a 'two-sentence horror story': the first line is unassuming to provide clarity and detail, while the second line introduces the real fear. For a strong ending, either wrap up the plot neatly or add an unexpected detail that leaves the reader pondering.

You can use your favourite celebrity but it would have to be in a horror setting. Try to write a creepy unusual description about the surroundings and you can use your mind to think of what she is like.

It is a horror story, so it’s perfectly normal for a character to die, especially such a sweet one.

Yes. You're the author, and you can write anything you want. Do you think that most of your readers would enjoy that ending? Authors usually like to attract and be recommended by readers.

In addition, an effective horror story also includes motivation, suspense, ambiguity, foreshadowing, and a general mood of fear and/or dread." Add a “what if” element to your greatest fear. Think about different scenarios in which you might experience some of your greatest fears.

Write down a brief summary of each of your ideas so you don't forget them. Most people have just the opposite problem.

Think of RL Stine. His work isn’t too graphic and focuses more on monsters, aliens and other supernatural creatures.

You can add the comedy part before the scares and after the scares. For example, a joke can be said by one of the main characters after the antagonist is beaten or a joke can be said while the family is still moving in. But don't put the jokes during the scares which is mostly in the falling acting, climax and the rising action.

Don't rush. Since you could do the big and little scenes, then you could also do the in-between ones too. Just do your drafts first, then you can think of something.