Tag Archives: Writing

How to Write Short Horror #6: The Descent into Hell

In this entry, #6, we’re going to go over what happens when someone dies and goes to Hell, like the literal Hell, like the place of fire, brimstone, and devils with pitchforks. I am sticking this entry in here as “inspiration” for anyone who would like to write horror fiction about it (yes, there is horror nonfiction, if you were wondering, but that’s not the point of this entry). I put “inspiration” in quotations, because not only does this make good writing material, but if Hell does exist, this should serve as a warning to never, ever, ever go there…

Writing Rant #2: The Rise of “Elevated” Horror

Okay, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of “elevated” horror, horror that tries to bring the horror genre to a “higher standard.” Yeah, don’t fall for it. Here’s why, and it all boils down to a very old fight, a fight that’s been going on long before I was born, and that fight is:

Writing Rant #1: Expressive Dialogue Tags

Now, I’m not going to get into the fight over literary dialogue (he said, she said) versus descriptive dialogue (he breathed, she sighed), because that argument is stupid. Write it however you want; I don’t care. No, this is about one specific dialogue tag and about what one particular professional editor said on YouTube, and that is…

How to Write Short Horror #5: The Four Pillars of Horror

There are four pillars (or four categories, however you wish to see it) to writing within the field that is horror, and those pillars should not be misconstrued as just subgenres of horror. There are countless subgenres of horror, too many for me to list off the top of my head, mainly because horror goesContinue reading “How to Write Short Horror #5: The Four Pillars of Horror”

How to Write Short Horror #4: Choosing Your Ending

So, what kind of ending do you want your short horror story to have? In this post, we’ll discuss the main types of endings you want, or in other words, the Disturbing Ending, the Unsettling Ending, or the Resolved Ending. Finally, we’ll go over the subtypes of endings you want, otherwise known as the Twist Ending, the Orthodox Ending, or the Unorthodox Ending…