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Sunday, October 25, 2009

By Trina Boice

I've never liked scary movies and I have never read a single Steven King novel, although I hear he is an excellent writer.  I just don't like being scared.  I started reading those popular "Goosebumps" books with my kids, but quickly convinced them to switch to Calvin and Hobbs comics.  Give me a good ole musical comedy any day! 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Halloween and all of the free chocolate, but when it comes to costumed trick or treaters, I'd rather give my precious Snickers bar to a cute Tinkerbell toddler than a prepubescent goul with blood and guts rolling down his cape.  My boys think I'm a dork because instead of decorating our front yard with cool, creepy tombstones and vampires, I display happy pumpkins and harvest designs.  I'm just not going to spend my hard-earned money on yucky plastic decor that gushes with fake blood.  EESH.

For you folks who aren't chickens like me and who would like to try a Freddy Kruger whack at writing scary stories, here are a few tips from the pros (well, at least according to what I read on the Internet...so it must be true, right?) 

The hallmark of horror writing is fear -- the ability of the writer to create it and the ability of the reader to feel it.  Of course, poor grammar and bad editing can horrify a reader too!  Include these elements in your spooky writ and you're sure to scare your readers, just in time for Halloween:

*  Prey on their emotions and fears
*  Present a believable plot
*  Understand shock value
*  Learn how to withold and create suspense
*  Throw in a twist to leave them gasping

By the way, the above list is also effective parenting advice...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

John Stalvern waited. The lights above him blinked and sparked out of the air. There were demons in the base. He didn't see them, but had expected them now for years. His warnings to Cernel Joson were not listened to and now it was too late. Far too late for now, anyway.
John was a space marine for fourteen years. When he was young he watched the spaceships and he said to dad "I want to be on the spaceships daddy."
Dad said "No! You will BE KILL BY DEMONS"
There was a time when he believed him. Then as he got oldered he stopped. But now in the space station base of the UAC he knew there were demons.
"This is Joson" the radio crackered. "You must fight the demons!"
So John gotted his plasma rifle and blew up the wall.
"HE GOING TO KILL US" said the demons
"I will shoot at them" said the cyberdemon and he fired the rocket missiles. John plasmaed at him and tried to blew him up. But the ceiling fell and they were trapped and not able to kill.
"No! I must kill the demons" he shouted
The radio said "No, John. You are the demons"
And then John was a zombie.

Movie Review Mom said...

It's those inner demons that are the scariest...

Kersten said...

Great tips!