Succesful Writing Advice and Help - How Best to Author a Horror Story

When writing a horror story it is important to consider several things as it is quite different to a standard novel. It is essential that you are able to draw the reader into another world and ensure that they are able to engross themselves fully into the story and stimulate their imagination.  

To that end, the writing should render itself invisible; the words you use should be carefully chosen in order to generate strong images so that the reader sees only the world you have created. Your proofreader or editor should tell you if there is any clumsy writing; sentences that need reading twice; phrases that take the reader in the wrong direction. These passages should be reconsidered and rewritten until they are perfect.

When writing a horror story suspense is vital. Think about all those horror films you have seen, it is the suspense that makes the film, the feeling of waiting for something to happen. You know that something is coming but are unsure as to when or how.  The reader needs to be able to sense this and therefore building up the tension for the reader is imperative to ensure that they will want to continue reading.


To build the suspense, you need to develop the crises and complications that affect the characters. You should also plant some more clues as to what might be coming later but that needs to be done really carefully in order to avoid giving away the whole plot. You could also add further threats or potential danger to the main or subsidiary characters, which will also help with this aspect of the story, novella or novel.


In addition, most horror stories will contain an element of shock, something that takes the readers breath away and is not at all expected. Again, think of all those horror films you have seen, something always happens that makes you jump up from your seat. The same needs to happen in your story, something that surprises the reader.


The ending is vital, it needs to be believable yet also leave the reader feeling satisfied. A twist is good to use, something that the reader is not expecting. A good ending will leave one question still to be answered to tease the reader's imagination.


Another vital ingredient is the characters in the novel; they need to be developed to be believable and someone that the reader can relate to. It is particularly important in a horror novel that the characters are real, as emotions in horror stories are particularly intense.


All these elements will make for a good read!