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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/4664-WAKE-UP.html
Horror/Scary: October 12, 2011 Issue [#4664]

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Horror/Scary


 This week: WAKE UP
  Edited by: Satuawany Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Part writing exercise, part inspiration, creepypastas keep me coming back for more.

I'm your guest editor this week, ready to introduce you to another kind of horror. (And hopefully I'm talking about the subject of my newsletter, and not my "Letter from the Editor." *Laugh*)


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

Writing flash fiction is a great challenge, but flash horror can be one of the biggest challenges of all. The difficulty lies in creating the appropriate atmosphere in such a short amount of time. And atmosphere is so vital in this genre. (If you haven't, I encourage you to read Jeff Author Icon's newsletter from a couple of months ago, "AtmosphereOpen in new Window..)

Halloween is the season where I get in the mood for some short punches of scare. I get addicted and want more of then the more I read. Always telling myself that if the next one really knocks me out, I can stop reading for a while. But when I hit a knockout one, I go on because I need another shot of awesome. The ones that stick in my mind, that I keep going back to, are the ones that make me scare myself.

For examples, I'm going to draw on "creepypastas." These are short little ramrods of atmosphere that don't qualify as actual stories half the time. It's that half I want to talk about because they imply the story so well that you don't need the story written out for you. In this day and age of bestsellers that spoon-feed readers, it's nice to be free to use my own imagination now and then.

The term "creepypasta" comes from "copypasta," which refers to vignettes that have been copy-pasted and passed around the internet so many times that no one really knows their origins. They're like campfire ghost stories in that regard. When the copypasta is "creepy," it's a creepypasta.

Here's the first one I ever came across:

Did you ever see one of those videos where you were asked to look for, or follow, a specific thing throughout the video? Then, at the end, they reveal that as you were watching, something large and intrusive moved around in plain sight and you never noticed it. It's frightening how often that happens, like how I just moved from the doorway into your room as you read this.

"Satuawany," you cry, "that is not a story!"

But now you know what I'm talking about. Maybe you're like me when I first started going through these vignettes. I thought, Aw, I can do something like that. Easy.

It's not easy. Writing one that is short and convincing is difficult for one who is so used to writing stories, exploring characters. It's hard for anyone, really, as illustrated by the large amounts of bad creepypastas out there. And the people who make fun of the bad creepypastas, like whoever wrote this:

So ur with ur honey and yur making out wen the phone rigns. U anser it n the vioce is "wut r u doing wit my daughter?" U tell ur girl n she say "my dad is ded". THEN WHO WAS PHONE?

There are not even any "real" characters in my favorite creepypastas---just the speaker and the reader. Instead of trying to draw the reader into the characters and the story, you're telling readers they are the story. And that's a lot harder to do convincingly.

Take a look at this one:

Every family in every town in every country on every continent has one. It's a cabinet, not particularly odd, not out of place. The paint was peeling a bit on the corner and the knob was loose. The inside smelled like dust and the paint wasn't the same as the kitchen walls.

You hid in there once during a game of hide 'n' seek. No one told you it doesn't open back into your reality.

Don't worry; you can't tell the difference. But everyone misses you.

There's not even anything threatening in that one and it gives me the heebie jeebies. I didn't even have a cabinet like that...did I? Did I?

There are longer ones, more like flash fiction, more like the ghost stories we told on Halloween nights back when we were kids. You can certainly assign all the regular rules of storytelling to those.

When you can only imply the story, and you're addressing it to the reader, it has to be more universal. If you can even get the beginning of one down, you start to see the layouts of various potential stories. I've never finished one, but every time I try, I find myself sitting on a treasure trove of potential stories---stories I know I can finish, because they're stories. That takes me back into my element, where I can weave spells of characterization and plot progression.

It has been reported that some victims of trauma, during the event, would retreat into a fantasy world from which they could not WAKE UP. In this catatonic state, the victim lived in a world just like their normal one, except they weren't being victimized. The only way that they realized they needed to WAKE UP was a note they found in their fantasy world. It would tell about their condition and tell them to WAKE UP. Even then, it would often take months until they were ready to discard their fantasy world and PLEASE WAKE UP.

{e:shivers} That one still gives me chills.

No, these creepy little things aren't literature. Almost none are well written, and you just read one of the very few places where all-caps doesn't make me clench my jaw and make a low grumbling noise.

It's about the hook, drawing a little blood as quickly as possible. Another kind of atmosphere. The challenge inspires me, so I pass it on in the hopes it does the same for you.


Editor's Picks

Here are a couple of Writing.com items that fit the kind of creepypasta I like most:

 Improbable Open in new Window. (ASR)
An experiment in a one sentence short story. Give me yours.
#1348508 by Nathan Faudree Author IconMail Icon

 Downstairs Open in new Window. (E)
Halloween style Haiku / Senryu....BOO!
#1157008 by CHarris Author IconMail Icon

 Voice And Shadow - 25 Word Hint Fiction Open in new Window. (E)
My entry to the 25 word hint contest.
#1709509 by Leo Author IconMail Icon

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1709129 by Not Available.



There's a little bit more to these, but still great on the "creepy" factor:

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1507719 by Not Available.

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#998129 by Not Available.



She doesn't have it labeled as "horror/scary," but it's got that "creepy" factor, and it's one of my favorite flash ficiton stories on the site:

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#1692283 by Not Available.


 
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Ask & Answer

The last time I had a guest spot on this newsletter, I talked about the evilry my friends and I got up to in college, and how it pertained to "Building Up the HorrorOpen in new Window..

*Pumpkin* Lauriemariepea Author Icon writes:
Hi, Satuawany Author Icon--
I attended SHSU in the late 80's and I wish to holy puppies I had known about Demon's Road when I was there. It would've scared the bejeebus out of me, but the idea is irresistible. I do remember as a kid going to summer camp near those woods and hearing the classic stories of devil worshipers who snatched children in the night to use for their nefarious purposes. I always thought they were joking ... Thanks for the nostalgia for those woods and for reminding me of how it felt to be there.
(Thanks for featuring my story--! *Delight*)

Any time! I love recounting those stories. And it made me grin big and wide to have a fellow SHSUian read it!

*Pumpkin* Joy Author Icon writes:
Thanks for a wonderful newsletter, Satuawany. *Smile*
Your Demon Road incident was hilarious and it explained your point very well. Come to think of it, maybe most writings need a tint of fright regardless of the genre.

You could be perfectly correct on that. Fright comes in all different shapes, so yes; totally.

*Pumpkin* NickiD89 Author Icon writes:
Really enjoyed this newsletter! Imagining the antics out on fake Demon's Road had me grinning...and a little envious. *Laugh*

Thank you! No reason to be envious. I'm sure there's a dark little road around you somewhere you can create scary stories about. {e:evil grin}

*Pumpkin* LJPC - the tortoise Author Icon writes:
Hi Satuawany!
Thanks for the great Horror NL! *Delight* You did an ecellent job of showing how suspense works in a horror story/novel through your own experiences. It was inspirational to me - sometimes I'm too action-oriented and reveal the monster too quickly. This serves as a reminder of the intrisic fear in letting the reader wait for the scare. Great NL!
-- Laura

I do love it when I'm able to inspire! It's my goal here, so I thank you greatly for letting me know that. Good luck!

*Pumpkin* Amanda Author Icon writes:
Love your stories of woodland hyjinx.

Glad to hear it! *Delight*

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