It seems
appropriate that I’m writing a post about how to write horror stories on
Halloween. Of course, you, dear readers, won’t see this until the first day of
NaNoWriMo. But it’s still appropriate, because if you’re stumped for an
idea for a novel (or approximation thereof) to write this month, consider a
tale of horror. And consider some tips from veteran North Texas horror writer
Russell C. Connor, a member of the DFW Writers Workshop, who
shared his “Make ‘em scream, make ‘em cry, make ‘em -- laugh” tips with members
of the Writers Guild of Texas.
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| Russell C. Connor |
Make readers of a
horror story laugh? Is that even allowable? Yes, Connor said, and went on to
well, horrify, listeners with some other rule-breaking tips for writing
screamfests. And just maybe, adding extra spice to a host of other genres.
“Every time
someone at my day job reads one of my books,” he said, “the come up to me and
say, ‘but you look so normal.’ For some reason, horror writers have this
reputation for being demented psychopaths. (But) the whole point of horror is
to make us face our fears.”
And there’s nothing more terrifying to fear than being
laughed at.
So when agents and
publishers told him “horror is a dying genre” in literature, he laughed. Well,
technically, what he did was look into the possibility of publishing his
stories through small presses. When he did, he decided he could do that
himself. So he did. And along the way he came up with his own rules for writing
great horror. The results first horrified his WGT listeners. Then we laughed.
“Motivation for
the villain in any genre is absolutely critical. All the most memorable
villains have relatable motivation.”
He watched, with a
trace of amusement, as we dutifully wrote this down.
Then: “But we
don’t want horror villains to be relatable.” (At least he didn’t laugh when at
the sight of our crestfallen faces when he said this.) “We want their minds to
be alien and utterly unknowable.”
Rule #1: Motivation
is the enemy of horror!
Well, at least any
motivation that a normal human mind can understand.
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| wikimedia commons |
What’s wrong with
motivation? For one thing, revealing motivation requires revealing the source
of the horror itself. And the revelation of this source, he assured us, should
be delayed as long as possible. Because as bad as the reveal is, it’s never as
bad as the reader imagines. (If we reveal that the horror is a 50-foot long
cockroach, Connor said, the reader will be a trifle disappointed. She was
imagining a 100-foot long cockroach!)
You say as a
writer you must have some motivation? Well, if you must, consider either an
extremely simple motivation or an extremely complex one that’s withheld as long
as possible. Connor, as you can imagine, is not a fan of prequels in which the
“origin” stories of famous villains are revealed. “They destroy the legacy of
so many talented film makers,” he grumbled.
But doesn’t any
story worth its salt needs heroes as well as villains?
Of course, but
those heroes need flaws – “that’s what makes them entertaining.” The villain’s
strength must be to attack the hero’s greatest weakness. And the best flaw for
a hero in horror (and sometimes in life) is fear. What should the hero fear?
Think about what we as writers fear most. (This must be the source of so many
horror stories about spiders – preferably gigantic ones – and a horde of other
creepy crawlies. If in doubt, throw in giant spiders. Or snakes. Or sharks or.
. . well, you get the picture.)
Rule #2: Make your hero’s flaws personal.
At this point in
his presentation, Connor was stricken by one of my worst fears – forgetting
what I wanted to say. However, instead of screaming and running from the room,
he joked about his memory glitch, fielding questions from the audience until he
recalled the point he wanted to make. Which was:
Rule #3: Humor!
“There can’t be
really effective horror without humor,” he said. “There’s a shortcut in horror
– and in any genre that uses suspense – and it’s humor.” It’s a trick as old as
Shakespeare, using a comic graveyard scene before the horrifying revelation of
an innocent girl’s madness and suicide. But the oldest tricks got old because
they worked.
“Humor really
covers up a lot of shortcomings in horror,” Connor said. “It breaks up the
tension – and then you smash them across the face!”
And if your worst
fears include writing contests, note that details of the “Cowboy Up” Western
writing contest are now available at Moonlight Mesa. The annual manuscript contest by the Writer's League of Texas is now open also
. Consider preparing for it by kickstarting a novel during NaNoWriMo. Deadline is January 15, 2017.
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