Writing about fear (or scary things)

[StarDragon77]

I think that this issue needs to be brought up for those of us who are new writers and are trying to break into the field.

It's the issue about writing horror, scary things, and fear - basically the things that Stephen has written about so well over the years. Even he himself had mentioned that our culture in America has become desensitized as far as violence goes so really people can't be scared through pure gore but when trying to write about it in a different direction the readers can see it coming a mile away.

So then it comes to a very hard question: how does one write horror in a time when there's hardly anything that scares or frightens people?

[aptpupil]

Hi StarDragon

Frankly, I think that you're on a loser if you try to scare people purely through "gore" anyway, because only the finest of writers can suitably convey it through the written word. It's far easier to put on the big screen! Such shock tactics will never replace the actual quality of the writing anyway as far as discerning readers are concerned.

Fear is psychological, and must be approached in this way. It's the things that you DON'T properly mention, the little gaps that you leave that are merely hinted at, that cause the most profound fear in the reader. The human mind abhors a blank canvas. Leaving the reader to fill in the spaces by himself/herself will create a climate of terror, because the reader's imagination will do a very effective job on your behalf. Regarding my own writing, I invest far more time and effort in the lead-up and the aftermath, rather than the actual "event" itself.

It's important to provide enough information to create the optimum atmosphere for the reader's imagination to flourish, but beyond that, less can be more. And, since we quite often "live" novels through the eyes of the main characters, it's always useful to convey the fear in their minds as the situations unfold. So, spend a little less time and effort on the actual gore, and a lot more on the build-up, and on the effect that it creates on the people who are directly involved, and your writing will have more of a psychological impact on the reader.

And good luck with the writing.

[Balrog21]

What a great thread StarDragon!,
I too am just starting out in the writing, well trying to break into the field myself. I will offer my suggestion here on your topic...
For myself, I am more of a thing person or a person of the unknown type writer, as you can tell by my short story I dedicated to Mr. King in the chattery teeth thread here on the boards. Although, I do know that the true evil resides in our everyday person we may pass on the street, and more people here on the board relate to that type of horror or evil.
The slasher films really didn't scare me all that much, because they are usually human, i.e. Scream, but then you have Jason, and Michael Meyers which they gave some supernatural powers, which turned out to me to be nothing but silly. There is one film though that rather disturbed me to no end and it hasn't been out that long, and that film is called The Strangers. I highly suggest you watch it.
It is true that we are desensitized, a lot, but I think it all boils down to the story and how you tell it. Even if it does deal with the person next door or some creepy thing that has snuck into your house and made a home in your wall and that thing keeps you up at night. It is here that, that thing in your wall just has the possibility of being some twelve legged thing distorted by our negligence and nature has gone a little off kilter. But then, I think, that with a bunch of Stephen's novels and short stories, they have just enough believability 'that they just could happen' that it hits real close to home and that is what actually sparks the true fear in us. So I would suggest your story or stories have that element in them to some degree.
Now, as we move ahead with our technology and more things are being discovered it is becoming harder IMO to do the unknown or deal with that subject matter, but like I said earlier if you have a great story, it should take care of itself. I mean there is still plenty that is unexplainable and eludes our understanding, and that still leaves the door wide open for us, horror writers, thank goodness.
You can tell by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft that whole world had not been truly explored(i.e. the unknown story topic) at the time of his writing and he jumped on that idea with both feet like a kid with his first pogo stick, and he used those oh so loved pressure points to make us squirm.
Now for a last little note...there are still people with phobias and fears. I don't think we will ever truly be that desensitized to not have them. So use some of these and I don't think you can go wrong. For example, I have a 42 year old friend who is DEATHLY afraid of spiders and when I say deathly I mean it to the core. He read the short story I have dedicated to Stepen King and he wouldn't talk to me for two weeks because of it. So I know I hit home and did my job correctly with that story, maybe if only for people who have a fear of spiders, and you will have to realize that you won't be able to please and scare everyone, but hehe...if you get a couple I think you will more than satisfied with yourself. With our fears Mr. King called them the 'bears', I highly suggest you get the book On Writing and Secret Windows by him. There is some excellent advice in them for us trying to break into the field.
But to sum all this up, it all boils down to story and how you tell it, IMO and I would hope that many would agree with me on this. If your story is solid and your characters believable I think the rest should fall into place.
All the best in your writings and good luck!
Best,
Bal

[PatInTheHat]

I think that this issue needs to be brought up for those of us who are new writers and are trying to break into the field.

It's the issue about writing horror, scary things, and fear - basically the things that Stephen has written about so well over the years. Even he himself had mentioned that our culture in America has become desensitized as far as violence goes so really people can't be scared through pure gore but when trying to write about it in a different direction the readers can see it coming a mile away.

So then it comes to a very hard question: how does one write horror in a time when there's hardly anything that scares or frightens people?

Yes there is definitely a mass of media desensitization happening....it's been happening since the invention of movable type, and the holy grail of it's time, yes I speak of the Rabbit Ear antenna.
Simply from the sheer volume of information and images we receive on a second to second basis globally and in real time, but to say "in a time when hardly anything that scares or frightens people" isn't really all that true.
I think most informed and connected societies as a whole, are even more frightened, and thus the people that makes up those societies, mucho frightenable:oo: more than ever.

Even as great heapin' globs of humanity, we're absolutely terrified of our own shadows, and as far as I can tell, we're the only critter that goes waaaayyy out if it's way, just to scare itself.
Kinda kool karma if you think about it...'kay maybe a little too much:blush:.

While this information age assures us that we can get all the gory rubber necking we can ever ask for, to satisfy our sick twisted shock cravings, I think it can be more a mangled mental fertilizer:eek: than ho hum yawn food:sleepy:...that is if a writer really has a clue what's goin' on in the world, and maybe even just up the street (you know, those people..:eek2:..yeah, I know!)!

[marew1]

I think the approach should be like the movie Psycho, expect the unexpected. Be subtle and leave the gore out.

[StarDragon77]

Yes there is definitely a mass of media desensitization happening....it's been happening since the invention of movable type, and the holy grail of it's time, yes I speak of the Rabbit Ear antenna.
Simply from the sheer volume of information and images we receive on a second to second basis globally and in real time, but to say "in a time when hardly anything that scares or frightens people" isn't really all that true.
I think most informed and connected societies as a whole, are even more frightened, and thus the people that makes up those societies, mucho frightenable:oo: more than ever.

Even as great heapin' globs of humanity, we're absolutely terrified of our own shadows, and as far as I can tell, we're the only critter that goes waaaayyy out if it's way, just to scare itself.
Kinda kool karma if you think about it...'kay maybe a little too much:blush:.

While this information age assures us that we can get all the gory rubber necking we can ever ask for, to satisfy our sick twisted shock cravings, I think it can be more a mangled mental fertilizer:eek: than ho hum yawn food:sleepy:...that is if a writer really has a clue what's goin' on in the world, and maybe even just up the street (you know, those people..:eek2:..yeah, I know!)!

You do have quite the point there.

I still remember when the media ran the story about Bird Flu and people panicked as if it was one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. The same can be said now of "Swine Flu" - treating it as if it were Captain Tripps.

[rose key]

I think the approach should be like the movie Psycho, expect the unexpected. Be subtle and leave the gore out.

I was thinking of Alfred Hitchcock too, how he didn't need blood and guts to scare people. It's the subtlety that always scares me the most. The gore just makes me turn my head.

[AmandaRose]

How funny, that movie you mention bal, the Strangers, is one I recommeneded anyone to not see, LOL, shocking and disturbing and just, killed by the ending I thought... that one just left me ... ugghhh. Loving Liv Tyler I couldnt believe she participated in this but, Im sure the money was good, :laught:

[Balrog21]

oh well, it creeped me out to NO end after I watched that movie. Because this could actually happen and in today's age and time..the possibility of it actually happening weighs more than it not. But I do understand your view..it was depressing..and yeah, I am sure Liv got paid handsomely for the role.
This goes to show you why they make 30 other wonderful flavors of ice cream, because we all probably wouldn't like the same kind. :smile2:
Best,
Bal

[staropeace]

Don't write for the reading public. Write for yourself. What makes you scared? Tell that story. That is all that is required of you.

[Bryan James]

Writing About Fear

Start with what you know, or at least what you think you know. Is that a fear of spiders or snakes? Is it constant dread that you will be left alone? Is it something in the news media that particularly disturbs you?

Maybe it's a smell you remember from early childhood, like the first time you smelled a pie crust burning and then saw your great-grandfather beating your Me-Ma with a leather strap until she lay on the kitchen floor, peeing and puking up the morning's biscuits. He turns to you in the baby's high chair he handmade just for you, sweating from the exertion, and says, "Well, she earned that one didn't she, my boy?"

And maybe it's you, fearing yourself, knowing that you would kill him right then if you had the ability to do so.

Maybe it's that first arpeggiated chord from The Eagles' "Hotel California' that makes the crowd go wild but makes you hide in shame.

But writing "fear," well, that's different. You have to get at least one reader involved with a character, get interested in that character, and make them be scared about that character's circumstances.

"It was a dark and stormy night and Fred Mermalschmidtz got pulped by a train." Mother Theresa would not have cringed at that, even if I had vividly described said pulping.

I don't think you can popularly sell a Pop-Horror novel anymore for a world that would rather watch "Saw XII." I'll probably watch it and enjoy it for what it is, but I hope you understand my opinion. My simple opinion is just that, simple. Most people who still read don't just want the ooey and gooey. They want a getaway, and they want characters as friends or arch-enemies...or a fast story they can zip through in regular chunks while they make their own morning chunks.

LONG LIVE THE WRITERS (Sorry Mr. Herbert, had to do it!)
BJS

[Matt44au]

Violence and horror are not inextricably linked. Horror is better achieved through tension, the unknown - Poe still unsettles people for that exact reason. And King is still the same in a lot of ways. It's more about the psychological reaction than blood and guts.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Sai King had things to say on this very subject in Danse Macabre, but my copy's gone walkabout so I can't find the quote, but the book is highly recommended.

Long days and pleasant nights