Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only €10,99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Writing Dark Stories: Writer's Craft, #6
    Writing Dark Stories: Writer's Craft, #6
    Writing Dark Stories: Writer's Craft, #6
    Ebook139 pages1 hour

    Writing Dark Stories: Writer's Craft, #6

    By Rayne Hall

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Learn to haunt your readers with powerful, chilling tales. Make their spines tingle with anticipation and their skins crawl with delicious fear. Disturb their world-view and invite them to look into the dark corners of their own souls.

    This book gives you a wealth of tools and techniques for writing great short stories. It is part of the acclaimed Writer's Craft series.

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Introduction
    1. FEED YOUR FICTION WITH YOUR FEARS
    Places. Weird Shudders. Phobias. Childhood Fears. Dreams. Human Attitudes. Ordinary Things.
    Assignment.
    2. WHY THE TITLE IS A STRONG START
    Gathering Ideas. Assignment.
    3. WRITING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS
    Now Write. Prompts. The Freewriting Experience. Assignment.
    4. FIFTEEN MASTER PLOTS
    Plot Ideas You Can Use. Assignment.
    5. DARK FICTION AND HORROR GENRES
    Horror. Splatterpunk. Extreme Horror. Psychological Horror. Dystopian. Lovecraftian. Thriller.
    Mystery. Dark Fiction. Supernatural. Paranormal. Paranormal Romance. Dark Fantasy. Urban
    Fantasy. Gothic. Erotic Horror. Horror Comedy. Romantic Suspense. Steampunk. Ghost Stories.
    Slipstream. Speculative Fiction. Weird Fiction. Flash Fiction. Slice-of-Life. Cross-Genre.
    Collection. Anthology. Assignment.
    6.  POINT OF VIEW
    Deep PoV Techniques. Serial Point of View. Omniscient Point of View. Other Point of View Styles.
    Assignment.
    7. MANAGING TENSION
    Goal. Raising the Stakes. Conflicts Among Characters. Peaks and Troughs. Assignment.
    8. BUILDING SUSPENSE
    Pose a Question. The Ticking Clock. Pacing. The Door Opens. Assignment.
    9. HOW TO SCARE YOUR READERS
    Darkness. Sounds. Chill. Isolation. Meet the Monster. Get Visceral. The Gory Bits. Assignment.
    10. CREEPY LOCATIONS
    Select the Setting. Inspiring Pictures. How to Describe the Setting. Practical Research. Setting
    Research Checklist. Assignment.
    11. MAKE THE MOST OF THE WEATHER
    Create Atmosphere. Deepen the PoV. Make it Difficult for the Characters. Strained Tempers. Mood
    and Foreboding. Beware the Pathetic Fallacy. Collecting Descriptions. Assignment.
    12. HOW TO OPEN YOUR STORY
    Opening with Setting Description. Opening with Dialogue. Opening While All Seems Well with the
    World. Assignment.
    13. HOW TO END YOUR STORY
    Endings to Avoid. Seven Possible Endings. Leave Questions in the Reader's Mind. Assignment.
    14. VILLAINS AND MONSTERS
    Human Villains: Clichés to Avoid. Motivation. Depth. Describing the Villain. Monsters: Reveal it
    Bit by Bit. Keep it Plausible. Assignment.
    15. GHOST STORIES
    Plot and Backstory. Setting and Mood. Characters and Point of View. Assignment.
    16. VAMPIRES, WEREWOLVES, ZOMBIES
    Vampires: Sparkling Versus Traditional. Vampire Tropes. Fiction Ideas. Werewolves: Werewolf
    Tropes. Questions to Consider. Zombies: How Zombies are Made. Zombie Tropes. Fiction Ideas.
    Beware the Bite-Hiders. Assignment.
    17. RELIGIOUS HORROR
    Horror in Holy Books. Faith Versus Fear. Religious Historical Horror. Unbelievers Meet Scary
    Gods. Stories Presenting Religion as Evil. Writing About Other Faiths. Controversy. Assignment.
    18. Why Do People Read Horror Fiction?
    Seven Psychological Reasons. Assignment.
    19. MARKETING AND PUBLICATION
    Traditional Publishing. Markets. Rights. Payment. Self-Publishing. Trends. Assignments.
    20. SAMPLE STORIES WITH COMMENTS
    Burning. Seagulls. Only A Fool.
    DEAR READER

     

    British English.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRayne Hall Ltd
    Release dateJan 8, 2014
    ISBN9781501443084
    Writing Dark Stories: Writer's Craft, #6

    Read more from Rayne Hall

    Related to Writing Dark Stories

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Composition & Creative Writing For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Trope: My Favorite Dirty Word

      Oct 18, 2021

      Trope: My Favorite Dirty Word
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Building Block Of Character: Part ONE

      Jun 6, 2024

      So far, in our meandering through the Building Blocks of Creative Writing, we have taken a look at the Building Block of Structure and the Building Block of Setting. We will now examine another of the fundamental Building Blocks of Creative Writing:

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Building Block Of Character: Part Four

      Sep 5, 2024

      So far in this series we have mentioned the existence of four distinct character types: • Main Character• Antagonist / Nemesis• Secondary Character• Secondary Secondary Character We have also looked at how these character types reveal themselves to t

      6 min read

    • Article

      Subplots Aren’t Secondary

      Jun 19, 2019

      Subplots Aren’t Secondary
      6 min read

    • Article

      Scene-test Your Story

      Aug 31, 2020

      Scene-test Your Story
      6 min read

    • Article

      Setting Part Two

      May 2, 2024

      Setting Part Two
      6 min read

    • Article

      Beat Sheet Or Cheat Sheet?

      May 5, 2022

      If you’ve not yet encountered the Save the Cat! books you will, because the original book Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need (2005) proved so successful it led to a franchise which now includes at least seven volumes, inclu

      8 min read

    • Article

      What Agents Wish Writers Knew

      Dec 21, 2021

      What Agents Wish Writers Knew
      9 min read

    • Article

      Firing Up Fiction

      May 21, 2019

      Firing Up Fiction
      5 min read

    • Article

      Getting Creative With Reality

      Oct 1, 2020

      What do H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, Notes on a Small Island by Bill Bryson and Tall Stories and Wee Tales by Billy Connolly have in common? They all belong to the increasingly popular genre of creative non-fiction writing. When creative non-fic

      6 min read

    • Article

      Interstitial Writing: The Worthy In-Between

      Dec 12, 2022

      As I wrote the initial drafts of The Hollows, the second novel in my Kinship Historical Mystery series, I became stuck on how to reveal the backstory of the character who is the murder victim. Part of my challenge was that the victim, an elderly fema

      4 min read

    • Article

      STYLE: Dig Out Your Prose

      Apr 4, 2024

      STYLE: Dig Out Your Prose
      5 min read

    • Article

      12 Foolproof Ways To Fail As A Writer

      Dec 21, 2021

      Whether you’re just now launching into writing or you’re an old pro, here are 12 surefire ways to fail this year as you pursue your dreams within the writing world. You’ll be tempted to compare other authors’ sales figures, reviews, likes, comments,

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Building Block Of Character: Part Two

      Jul 4, 2024

      I can hear him outside my door. Grumbling. Moving around. Waiting. Even though it’s so early it is still dark outside. I always get up early on Sundays. I don’t want to waste a second. I pull my bed out enough to squeeze round the end, and I wee in t

      6 min read

    • Article

      The First Five Pages

      Jan 7, 2021

      The First Five Pages
      5 min read

    • Article

      Romance Writing Academy

      Dec 18, 2021

      Romance Writing Academy
      3 min read

    • Article

      Mastering Plot Twists

      Dec 12, 2022

      Mastering Plot Twists
      8 min read

    • Article

      How To Write A Bestseller

      Oct 5, 2018

      I have a friend—call him Tom—who, like me, is a writer. Tom has written many novels over a long and enviable publishing career, and his novel-writing philosophy, related to me over various drinks at various bars, can be summarized as follows: Write w

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Pocket Guide to Pantsing

      Jun 12, 2023

      The Pocket Guide to Pantsing
      7 min read

    • Article

      Speaking Of Horror

      Sep 12, 2020

      Speaking Of Horror
      14 min read

    • Article

      Writing Bite-size Horror

      Aug 8, 2022

      Writing Bite-size Horror
      7 min read

    • Article

      To Your Left Is Coding, to Your Right Is Safety: Programming Stories

      Oct 24, 2018

      1. The logic of novice programming goes something like this: Run function (x, y) If x is greater than y: Do this Else if y is greater than x: Do that Else: Something else happens. I quickly learned that computers don’t like choice, and they don’t lik

      7 min read

    • Article

      Jenni Spangler: Bringing Bad Dreams To Life

      Dec 2, 2021

      ‘When I was age ten or eleven, I adored spooky and mysterious books. I think if you read enough of something it seeps into your brain and becomes part of your own thought process. Maybe on a subconscious level I’m working out all my childhood fears a

      2 min read

    • Article

      An Embodied Experience: The Millions Interviews Brian Evenson

      Sep 30, 2021

      There’s something so strange about living in a family. Everyone’s experience is very different. And then one day you realize there are all these things you didn’t know: good and bad. And these secrets can be really unsettling and intense. The post An

      10 min read

    • Article

      Feeding The Beast

      Apr 2, 2020

      Feeding The Beast
      6 min read

    • Article

      Scary Shorts And Super Creeps

      Mar 3, 2022

      Scary Shorts And Super Creeps
      6 min read

    • Article

      Writing horror that LINGERS

      Aug 14, 2021

      Writing horror that LINGERS
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Writing Dark Stories

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Writing Dark Stories - Rayne Hall

      CHAPTER 1: FEED YOUR FICTION WITH YOUR FEARS

      Cowards make the best horror writers, because we know what fear feels like, and we never run out of ideas.

      What frightens you? Fire, spiders, dentists’ drills? Use these fears in your fiction and build your stories around them. Here are some ideas.

      PLACES

      Do you know any creepy places? Does the thought of certain dangerous locations make you queasy? Is there an abandoned building that gives you shudders each time you pass? Does a house in your neighbourhood ooze malevolence? Do you have to brace yourself each time you climb into your attic? Are you terrified of walking a certain path? Creepy places make atmospheric fiction settings. Many of my short stories started from descriptions of such locations. You can also use those places in your novels, especially for suspense-rich scenes or the book’s climax.

      ‘The Bridge Chamber’ - probably the scariest of my stories – started with the uneasy memory of a railway bridge where I used to play as a child. The masonry was pierced with tunnels, just big enough for a child to squeeze through, and we dared one another to explore those dark dank spaces.

      WEIRD SHUDDERS

      Are you frightened of something that other people consider harmless? One of my friends can’t bear the sight of long fingernails, and the sound of nails scraping on a surface sends her into a panic. Another fears moths and butterflies, especially when they get near her face. I also know a man who is terrified of clothing zips. He always wears buttoned garments, because he can’t breathe when encased in zippered clothes. I also know people who get the creeps when they see a balloon, a clown’s face or a peach.

      If you have such a fear – whether it’s a full-blown terror or just a shuddery feeling – write a short story about it. Since many things give me the creeps – garden slugs, crowded rooms, telephones, the whine of a dentist’s drill – I’ve been able to write many stories about them. Stories inspired by weird fears often get published in anthologies.

      PHOBIAS

      Many people have phobias – fears about specific situations, so intense that they have a paralysing, crippling effect. Claustrophobia, the fear of enclosed spaces, is a common example. Often, these fears are based on a sensible, instinctive response to a genuine danger such as heights, caves, fire or snakes, and are irrational only in their strength. Others are less easy to explain. Some people get paralysed when crossing a bridge, others freak out when they hear the hissing noise of a not-quite-closed thermos flask.

      If you have a phobia, I encourage you to write a story about it. Your story will have a level of authenticity that other writers can’t achieve. However, writing about your phobia can be scary, and if it causes you more distress than you can bear, set it aside for a while until you feel strong enough to continue.

      ‘Burning’ - probably my best-known short story – started when I gathered my courage to address my fear of fire, a phobia that had tormented me all my life. Thinking about what fire meant to me and plotting the story was a frightening ordeal, but once I started putting my thoughts on paper and shaping them into fiction, I gained control over my fear. When the piece was complete, two amazing things happened: My phobia all but vanished, and the story won awards.

      CHILDHOOD FEARS

      What terrified you when you were a child? Whether the danger was real or imagined, your emotions were probably intense. What if there really was a cannibal living in your wardrobe or a dragon waiting behind the cellar door? Childhood fears can inspire awesome paranormal horror stories.

      As a kid, I lived in a railway station where my father was station master, and I was terrified of the giant black steam engines that stopped outside our home to puff dark smoke and emit shrill whistles. When I had an idea for a ghost story and needed to up the creepiness, I placed the characters in an old railway tunnel with a thundering steam train.

      DREAMS

      Have you ever had a dream that left you disturbed? Do you have a recurring nightmare? If you dream about the same horror night after night, consider adapting it as a fiction plot.

      Some of my most successful short stories stemmed from dreams, including ‘The Painted Staircase’.

      You may want to keep a notebook on your bedside table so you can write down your dreams immediately after waking, because dreams tend to fade from memory fast.

      HUMAN ATTITUDES

      What human behaviours and attitudes disturb or distress you? Lies? Cruelty? Wife-beating? Greed? Abuse of authority? Bullying? Unbending bureaucracy? People who shut their eyes and ears to the suffering of others? Use dark fiction to explore those issues. The resulting stories will have the disturbing depth and the power to make your readers think.

      In many of my stories, you will find racism, religious fanaticism, prejudice, injustice and hypocrisy, either in the main plot or in the subtext.

      ORDINARY THINGS

      What’s right before your eyes? Look at the ordinary objects on your desk, the landscape outside your window, the pets in your home. What if one of them is not as harmless as it seems, but is really an instrument of an evil power, or takes on a destructive entity? What could the printer, the coffee cup, the rag rug or the kitten develop into?

      ‘Seagulls’ - my most reprinted story – started with the seagulls that pecked at my window every morning. Such pretty animals, white-feathered, silver-tipped, with eyes like yellow haloes around death-dark cores. Surely they were harmless... but what if they were not?

      ASSIGNMENT

      Using these suggestion, make a list of everything that frightens you, used to frighten you, or might frighten you. Try to come up with at least twenty. My list has over two hundred items. Can you top that?

      CHAPTER 2: WHY THE TITLE IS A STRONG START

      As soon as you have a title that thrills you, the ideas will come. But it needs to be a title that resonates with you, not something that pleases only other people. It should make your stomach clench or your throat constrict, something that makes you nervous or eager to discover what the story is about.

      GATHERING IDEAS

      Where do you find such a title for your story? I recommend you pick a title before you even start writing. Create a whole list of titles, save it, and whenever you want to write the story, you select a title from your list.

      I learnt this method from Ray Bradbury and it works a treat for me, especially for dark and scary yarns. Try it and see for yourself.

      Look at the list you’ve created in the assignment for Chapter 1 – all the things that frighten or disturb you. Write each of them as a title, then tweak it to create variations.

      The creative part of your psyche – otherwise known as ‘The Inner Muse’ or ‘Artist Brain’ loves this approach. Once it’s in title-creating mode, it will come up with idea after idea.

      Let’s say you have a fear of dentists, and you find lies disturbing. Then your list might look like this:

      The Dentist

      Dentists

      Dental Check-up

      The Dentist’s Revenge

      The Dentist’s Promise

      A Tale of Two Dentists

      The Third Dentist

      Dental Treatment

      In the Dentist’s Chair

      You Know The Drill

      Death and the Dentist

      The Tooth Must Come Out

      Dental Dangers

      Trust Me I’m A Dentist

      Liar

      The Liars

      Lies

      Three Lies

      Four Liars

      The Second Lie

      Lie To Me

      She Lied

      No Lies

      What Lie

      The Lying Dentist

      The Dentist’s Lie

      The Dentist Who Lied

      and so on.

      You can come up with dozens of great titles, and each of them will be perfect for your writing.

      Once your Artist Brain is in title-creating mode, it may not want to stop. Evocative titles will flash through your mind while you peel the potatoes or drive down the motorway. Keep a notebook at hand and jot them down as soon as it is safe.

      ASSIGNMENT

      Make a list of titles, inspired by your answers in the Lesson 1 assignment. Make it as long as you can, perhaps coming back to it after a break. Keep this list on your computer or in a notebook where you can access it easily, because you will use it often.

      CHAPTER 3: WRITING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS

      Pick one of the titles from the list you’ve created – the one that thrills you and makes your fingers itch to dance across the keyboard.

      NOW WRITE

      Write whatever comes to your mind. Don’t pause, just keep going. You can do this on the computer or by hand. I like doing it with coloured gel pens in lined hardback notebooks.

      Jot down all the thoughts that come to your mind without pausing. Call up your memories of the dreams and events, evoke the emotions. This process is called freewriting.

      The creative part of your psyche - Artist Brain – enjoys this approach. Don’t revise, edit, or censor your writing. Just let it flow. When you’re stuck, consider the title once more, and explore the topic from a new angle.

      PROMPTS

      Writing prompts help when the creative stream dries up. Pick one of these questions and write about it:

      What feelings does this title rouse in me? Where in the body do I feel them? How?

      Where do these feelings come from?

      Have I experienced something

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1