Top 5 Ways to Make Stories Scary

[@rami_ungar_writer]

The Girl Next Door is terrifying! I still haven't read another Jack Ketchum book because that one shook me so much (though if you have any suggestions on another of his to read, I'm open). And The Hunger is just excellent! A great reimagining of one of America's most macabre tragedies. Here's a video idea, Tim: how to balance writing/editing/publishing/marketing with work, life and everything else? I'm sure plenty of people would love to hear some advice on that.

[@thrillingsun3001]

I recently found your work through the power of the internet and KZbin, and I'm loving your tips for writing horror. As a young boy my parents took me to the movies very frequently and we would often watch 2 or 3 movies at the theater in one day, needless to say we watched some scary movies from time to time, perhaps some of them weren't even in the horror category but as a kid a lot of the imagery and feelings of dread really stuck with me, I'll never forget The Village which as far as I'm concerned is more of a suspense/drama than a horror story, but as a kid it made me feel horrified. Fast forward to today at 25 years old, I never really discovered the passion and drive for writing the stories myself until recently, throughout my teenage years I thought of myself as a consumer of the media rather than a creator, I think it wasn't until I recreated some simple musical pieces that I liked on the piano that I thought ''hey I can do things, I'm not limited to being the audience''. I am missing a lot of writing technique and experience due to that late realization, however the storyteller that was born in me is growing by the day and I believe I have a lot of refreshing and thought provoking stories to tell in the horror genre, and am kind of obsessively consuming advice from lovely people like you that have so many valuable things to say on the subject. I must say I don't regret not starting to write at a younger age for the simple fact that it gave me the opportunity to fill myself with experiences that I strongly believe are the drivers of all the stories that bubble up in my head today, and it also gave me the opportunity to learn English properly since it's not my first language. At the moment I am solely focused on practicing and improving my writing skills, who would've thought that language is such a complex beast! Almost as scary as the monstrosities in our favorite horror stories... but jokes aside I'm absolutely enjoying the learning process. Fun fact, I was just washing dishes while listening to The Creative Penn podcast #513 featuring you! Apparently you consumed scary stories at a young age as well so I guess that's one thing we have in common, I thought that was cool. Perhaps that deep rooted feeling from childhood is what drives a lot of writers to end up making these stories themselves as adults.

[@mOsThaGod]

Thanks Tim, All of your ideas go into my book of how-to-write. I appreciate your guidance.

[@deathabillypete570]

Awesome video, thanks for making it. I'm trying my hand at horror and its such an art to keep the tension going. An art i'm yet to develop.

[@NettieThomson1andonly]

Thank you 🙏

[@MattGleason1]

Loved Halloween Kills, you did a great job. Thanks for posting these videos too. Just starting to seriously pursue writing. Hope I’m not too old to start!

[@TimWaggonersWritingintheDark]

It's never too late to start!

[@TimWaggonersWritingintheDark]

Enjoy my videos? Then check out my books on writing horror! WRITING IN THE DARK Winner of the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction Rawdog Screaming Press: • Hardcover and Paperback: rawdogscreaming.com/books/writing-in-the-dark/ Amazon • Hardcover: www.amazon.com/Writing-Dark-Tim-Waggoner/dp/1947879235/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682202429&sr=1-1 • Paperback: www.amazon.com/Writing-Dark-Tim-Waggoner/dp/1947879197/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682202429&sr=1-1 • eBook: www.amazon.com/Writing-Dark-Tim-Waggoner-ebook/dp/B08GCZ6GK9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UD4AZYXT34FA&keywords=tim+waggoner+writing+in+the+dark&qid=1682202429&s=books&sprefix=tim+waggoner+writing+in+the+dark%2Cstripbooks%2C121&sr=1-1 Barnes and Noble • Hardcover: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-in-the-dark-tim-waggoner/1137057460?ean=9781947879232 • Paperback: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-in-the-dark-tim-waggoner/1137057460?ean=9781947879195 WRITING IN THE DARK: THE WORKBOOK Rawdog Screaming Press • Hardcover and Paperback: rawdogscreaming.com/books/writing-in-the-dark-workbook/ Amazon • Hardcover: www.amazon.com/Writing-Dark-Workbook-Tim-Waggoner/dp/1947879456/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682203395&sr=1-2 • Paperback: www.amazon.com/Writing-Dark-Workbook-Tim-Waggoner/dp/1947879464/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1682203395&sr=1-2 • eBook: www.amazon.com/Writing-Dark-Workbook-Tim-Waggoner-ebook/dp/B0B341685F/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2Y29AGNBYE5WR&keywords=tim+waggoner&qid=1682203395&s=books&sprefix=tim+waggoner%2Cstripbooks%2C119&sr=1-2 Barnes and Noble • Hardcover: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-in-the-dark-tim-waggoner/1141240781?ean=9781947879454 • Paperback: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-in-the-dark-tim-waggoner/1141240781?ean=9781947879461

[@DiemJudilla]

Thank you for sharing these great techniques for horror, and I think these can be applied to other genres to produce great fiction! I'd like to ask how you would advise your students, or emerging writers, to finish writing a story? I have a problem with starting projects, rather than completing projects😅. Could you please share in a future video what you keep you writing until The End, and what pitfalls to avoid? Much respect and best wishes to you, Mr. Waggoner!

[@TimWaggonersWritingintheDark]

I'll make sure to cover that topic next time! Thanks for the suggestion!