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 Horror/Scary: September 12, 2018 Issue [#9115] |
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 This week: Crafting vivid horror with words Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading   More Newsletters By This Editor    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 
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Set the scene with words that describe, that bring to life, the where and why of the horror that is ongoing or to come. Yes, adjectives and adverbs have their use, to set the stage and show/touch/taste, make the horror visceral. See, the adjective works here as it sets the scene, evokes an emotional response, or perhaps a gut -wrenching sight 
Choose words that set the mood; create an eerie atmosphere, show the reader the story to come will be depressing, scary, or gloomy, somber, forbidding, eerie, chilling (but not all of these in one sentence). You can also assign human characteristics to inanimate objects: the tree rubbing gnarled limbs against the wall. A building can be intimidating, an abandoned hospital menacing.
Choose words that engage the senses; make your readers see, hear, taste, touch, smell things in the story. The place with an acrid, or cloying aroma. A character hears scraping sounds following him in the dark alley. The roller coaster operator welcomed the passengers with a steely hello, or a sibilant whisper. The path through the forest was pitch black or ebony. The pasta was rancid or fetid. The trowel was slimy or the towel was gritty.
Choose words that increase suspense. Allude to the nature of the 'beast' or the sense of a place to incite fear in your reader. Don't 'show' it all, but let the reader imagine with you the encounter. Allow the reader to fill in the blanks based on his/her experiences. Consider introducing an amorphous, being, or opaque air or unintelligible shout. These images create a disturbing, unfamiliar atmosphere for our readers.
Choose words that show fear; the character scared out of his wits, one who is horrified, petrified, aghast. Maybe he is sshuddering, quaking, transfixed in place, riveted to the scene impressed upon his eyes. Droplets of sweat on his forehead, lips quivering. 
; and while you're at it, write one of your own 
