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SA T URDA Y , 2 5 OCT OBE R 2 0 1 4

HowtoWriteScaryScenesPart1

Itsanageoldquestion.Howdoyouscareyourreaderoutoftheirwits?

Whetheryouarewritingahorrorstoryoraghost/supernaturalstoryorindeedanystorythatyouwanttoillicitplentyofemotionsespeciallythescaryonestheabilitytoscarethereaderorinvokefear,helpstomakesthestoryallthemorerealistic.

Butscaringpeopleisnteasy.

TheartofscaringyourreaderisallaboutwhatyouDONTreveal,asopposedtowhatyoudoreveal.Andthatsbecausefearpsychologicallyspeakingisaprimitiveemotionthatmanifestswhenwedontunderstandwhatweareconfrontedwith.Itseasytofearsomethingwedontknowabout,andthatsbecausewefeellikewehavenocontroloverthesituation.Notbeingincontrolscaresmanypeople.

Infiction,itsaboutcreatingthatsenseofnocontrol,notknowing,notseeingthewholething,ofbeinghelpless.Itsaboutcreatingaheightenedsenseoftensionandatmosphere.Itsaboutmanipulatinghowandwhatthereaderfeels,makingthemimagineallsortsofthings.

Goodmonstermoviesdontalwaysshowthemonsterstraightaway.Insteadwereteasedwithglimpses,becausethatmakesourmindsimaginewhatthemonsterisandwhatitlookslike,untilthefinalreveal.Thesameprincipleofdanglingthecarrotalsoappliestostorywriting.

Theideaistoteaseandinfluenceyourreader,tomake

A LL WR IT E F I C T IONADVICE

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Soyou'veembarkedonyourfictionwritingjourney.

It'soneofthehardestthingstodocreateawhole,believableworldforotherpeopletoenjoy,especiallyifyou'renewtowriting.It'salsooneoftheloneliestjobs,especiallywhenthereisnohelporadviceorsupport...sorightheretherewillbehandyarticles,examplesandsimplestepbystepguidestohelpmakethecreativeprocessthatmucheasier.

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Thisnewdeliciouslydarkanthologyisoutnow,witharangeofstunningfemalewriterstoscareanddelightinequalmeasure.Iamprivilegedtohaveeightshortstories/poemspublishedinthisbook,soifyoulikeyourdamesalittledarkanddangerous,thisisthebookforyou.

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themimaginewhatevillurksindarkcornersandwhatliesinwaitforyourmaincharacterwhentheyleastexpect.

Scaryscenesdependonourcommonfearssuchasthefearofthedark,dearofratsorsnakes,fearofspidersandothercreepycrawlies,fearofthewater,fearofthunderorlightning,thefearofclowns,thefearoflosingsomethingorsomeone,thefearofbeingalone,orconversely,thefearofbeingincrowds,justtonameafew.

Foreveryfearthathumanityhas,awritercanexploitit.

Sowhatarethemainingredientsforagoodscarystoryorscenes?Therearenumberoffactorsbeingscaryreliesonexploitingourprimitivefears,havingtherightspookyorcreepysetting,agradualbuildupoftension,lotsofatmosphere,therightmoodandheightenedemotionsand/orconflict.

Itsaboutfeedingthereaderbitbybit,playingonthoseprimalfearsasthestoryprogresses,lettingthereaderimagineallsorts,thenfeedingthemalittlebitmore,butneverallowingthemtoconsumeeverythinginonego.Remember,peoplefeartheunknown,itmakesthemuneasy.

Andsomethingisntscaryifyouknowwhatiscoming.

Anotherthingtoconsideristhatthehigherthestakesforyourmaincharactertodealwith,themoretensionandatmosphereyoucreate.Thiskeepsthereaderontheedgeoftheirseat,sotospeak,wonderingwhattheherowilldotogetoutofthesituation.

Anddontstopatraisingthestakes.Increasethedanger.Withdangercomestheunexpectedwilltheheroescapetheevilhouse?Willheorsheescapetheclutchesofthemonsterorghostorwhateversupernaturalcreatureyouveconjured.

Scaryscenesalsodependheavilyonemotionsandthefocusoftheactiononthemaincharacter.Readerswanttoseethepanic,thedread,thefearorworry.Theywanttofeeltheclaustrophobiaofthesituation,theywanttofeelthetautatmosphereandtheywanttofeelthetone.

FebruaryFemmesFatalesTheBook

WISE WORDS . . .

Writingislikebeingmarriedyouhavetoworkhardatmaintaininghappinessandequilibrium,butinvariablyonealwaysendsupinthedoghouse.

A BOUT ME

AJHUMPAGE

UNITEDKINGDOM

I'vebeenwritingforover25yearsandstartedoutinthe

publishingindustry.I'vepublishedarticles,studyguides,poems,flashfiction,shortstoriesandanovel.IalsoworkfulltimesoI'mALWAYSworking.

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Thatmeansdescriptionplaysahugepartinhowthestoryisdelivered.Therightwordchoices,therightamountofshowingratherthantellingandusingvisualimageryandthefivesensesandtoconveythemoodandatmosphere,toshowtheemotions,conflictandfears.

Thereisquitealottoconsider,butitsworthnotingthattherearealsodifferenttypesofscaresthatwritersuse:

a)ThepsychologicalscareThiswhereyouhintsatthingsthatmayormaynotbethere,youteasethereader,youpullattheiremotionsandplayontheirfears,creatingmoodandanuneasyatmosphere,yetrevealinglittle.

b)Visualscarethisiswhathorrorwriterslovetouse.Goryandvisceralimageryisusedtoshockandterrifythereader,withgruesomedescriptionsandabroodingatmospherethathelpscompletethescene.

c)Shockscaressomethingthatthereadersimplydoesntexpect,likejumpscaresinmoviesthesuddenrevelationoratwist.Thiscanalsoapplytotwistendings.

Thebestwaytoscarethereaderisnotbytellingthemeverythingtheyneedtoknow,butratherlettingtheirmindsandimaginationdotheworkforyou.Andbycoercingalloftheseingredientstogether,youcancreateaconvincingscaryscenetofillyourscarystory.Nextweekwelllookathowallthisisaccomplished.

Nextweek:HowtowritescaryscenesPart2.POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, OCTOBER25, 2014

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SA T URDA Y , 1 8 OCT OBE R 2 0 1 4

ShouldYouWriteAboutTaboosubjects?

Ioftengetaskedalotaboutthisbywriters,worriedthatsomesubjectsareofflimitsandshouldneverbebroachedattheriskofoffendingpeopleorupsetting

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theirownfamilies.

Also,thereisafearthatcontroversialsubjectsmightlimitreadershipor,worsestill,publication,however,thethingtoconsiderwithwritingisthatitisnotjustaformofexpressionoranartformitisthebasisofoursocialcommentonhumanity.Findinganswerstowhatmakespeopletick,whatmakesthemdothethingstheydo,iswhatwritingreallyisallabout.Tothatend,nosubjectistrulyofflimits.

Butlikeanymedium,itishowwehandlethesubjectthatreallymatters.

Justasartistsarefreetoexpresswhattheywantintheirwork,writingisnodifferent.Writersarefreetoexploretheforbiddenorusuallyunavoidablesubjects,howeverunsavourytheymaybe,particularlysoifthereisamoralbehindthestoryanditraisesthekindsofquestionsweassocietyshouldbeaskingandtryingtoanswer.Andthosequestionscomeaboutbecausetaboosfascinateusandrepelusinequalmeasure.

Shouldweallwalkaroundwithblinkerson,ignoringthedarkerelementsofourworld,orshouldweshowtherealityofwhatsoutthere?Afterall,lifeisntallfluffywhitecloudsandbrightblueskies.Writersliketotapintothosemurkierareas,todigbeneaththesocialandculturalvaluesthatveilthedarkunderbelly,torevealtruthsthatsometimessocietydoesntwanttohear.Butsometimesthegreatestfictioncomesfromhardtruth.

Fictionallowswriterstopushreaderstoquestionsuchtaboos,whytheyexist,whatmakesthemsoforbiddenandunacceptable,andtohelpthemunderstandwhattheyareincontexttothestorythewritercreates.

Butwhatsubjectswouldbeconsideredtaboo?

Therearesocialtaboosandculturaltaboos.Subjectsthatmightinvolvechildrenandyoungadultsthemesofpaedophiliaandsexualabuseortorturetendtomakemostpeoplefrown,butmanyhighprofilecasesinthenewsshouldmakeusrealisehowcommontheseare,soaswriters,weshouldwanttoexploreandunderstandthecomplexitiesandemotionsthatmakepeoplecommittheseacts.Thesearesocialtaboos.

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ShouldYouWriteAboutTaboosubjects?

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Thesamegoesforrapeorincest.Otherthemesmightcentreonthedead,sosubjectswithdeathandsexualfantasy/necrophiliaarealsoconsideredverytaboo.Themesinvolvingdrugsarealsoconsideredtaboo,simplybecauseoftheireffectsanddestructiveness.

Butthatsnottosayyoucantwriteaboutthem.

Subjectsthatinvolvetraditionalbeliefsystems,ethnicbeliefsorreligion(andassociatedradical)behavioursareconsideredculturaltaboos.IntheWest,werenotreallybotheredaboutflashingourfleshorusingprofanityorhavingwilddrinkingpartiesandsoon.ButinaMuslimcountry,modestyisimportantandprofanityandnudityisverytaboo,soifwewriteaboutthemweneedtobeconsideredandrespectfultodifferentwaysoflife.

Aswriters,weshouldnotbeafraidoftacklingthemoreunpleasantissues,whetheritsaboutviolentsex,sexualfantasies,death,children,torture,incest,terrorismetc,butsuchstoriesshouldbewrittenwithgreatrespectandcareandnotwrittenforgratification,titillationorcheapinsults,particularlytothosehavebeenvictimsofsuch.

Writershaveamoralresponsibilitytoshowtheimpactandemotionandrealityoftheissuewithoutmockingordemeaningthesubject.Soifyoudowriteaboutsomethingconsideredtaboo,youneedtoconsideritcarefullyandaskyourselfhowimportantitistoyourstory,thethemesthatareassociatedwithit,thereasonsbehinditandtheimpactithasonthecharacters,and,ultimately,howthemaincharacterreacheshisorhergoalbytheendofthestory.Lastly,thestorymustendinasatisfactory,responsibleandtruthfulmanner.

Whyshouldwewriteaboutthem?

Itsawayofexploringsuchdarkissues,toopenupaboutthemandtotrytofindthereasonsbehindit.Writingisallaboutfindingoutwhypeopledothethingstheydo,touncoveruniversaltruths.

Throughfiction,storiescanhelpothersthatmayhavebeenthroughsimilarordealsthatyourmaincharacterdoes,itshowsthatweshouldnthideawayfromsuch

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issues,butratherconfrontthem.

Sometimesfictioncanhighlightthethingsthatmustbehighlighted,ratherthanremainhiddenawayfromsociety.Sometimesignorancemeanswedonthavetoconfronttheterriblethingsthataretakingplaceintheworld.Ifwedontknowaboutit,wedonthavetocare.

Ihavecoveredmanytaboosubjectsinmywriting,suchaschildabuse,druguse,rape,genocide,terrorismandselfharm.IvedonesobecausetheyaresubjectsthatI,asawriter,feelshouldbeexploredandnotsweptunderthecarpet.

Themorewelearn,thebetterourunderstanding.

Remember,writingaboutcontroversialissuesshouldneverbeforareactionorshockvalue.Insteaditshouldbebecauseweneedtoknowthetruth.

Nextweek:Howtowritescaryscenes

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, OCTOBER18, 2014

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