Guest Speakers: Derek Austin Johnson, Tonia Ransom, Adam Stemple, Jeff Strand
What is your process when it comes to writing a short story in the horror genre? There’s as many processes as there are writers, and sometimes the process is different for each story. Following your instincts can at least get you started in the right direction. Think about the beginning of your story, and what sorts of twists you’ll want along the way–especially near the climax. What red herrings will you plant to misguide or distract the audience from the reality of the situation? Focus on the plot, character arcs, mood, and setting.
What helps with brainstorming? Sometimes, an image will pop into your mind out of nowhere, and you’ll be able to construct a story around it. Tap into your personal fears – what scares you? You may find yourself in the company of other writers and editors, and while discussing a variety of ideas, one will grip you with excitement or a cold chill. Another option is to create challenges for yourself, such as writing stories strictly in dialogue form or in 2nd Person POV. Try experimenting with new ideas you haven’t done before. Look at open market calls online or from traditional publishers. Find ideas and build your own from there.
Plan for plot, write for character. As a writer, you want to be fluid like water. Short stories are often journeys of discovery. Let the story lead where it wants to go instead of trying to force it a certain way. Short stories are far less of a time investment than novels, but you can still pack a lot in. In some cases, they allow you to deconstruct aspects which turn into ideas for other stories. The goal is to strip down the story to what is absolutely necessary. It’s easier to be brutal in cutting off chunks for short stories, and you are less likely to get stuck with writer’s block. However, be careful – once your story is over 10k words, the market shrinks to almost nothing. Try to keep your story between 3-4k words.
In what way is short fiction easier or more difficult to write than novels? It’s imperative to learn how to recognize and sort ideas, whether they fit into the short fiction or novel categories. Novels are usually more complex (which can be positive and negative.) It’s easier to be cruel to your characters in a short story (since you’ve spent less time with them, and have less emotional attachment.) This allows you to experiment with more freedom and can be quite fun. Novels tend to require a base-line of believability, whereas you can be more experimental with structure in short stories. Short fiction can be written in a weekend, but novels can take anywhere from a month (NaNoWriMo) up to so many years. Novels require enormous patience for re-reads and edits. However, it’s easier to show character development with longer works (which often results in greater fulfillment for the reader.) Short stories require less research than novels. Although, novels do pay more, they can take two (or more) years to publish via traditional means. Short stories only take a few months to be published.
Audiobooks are not limited to novels, they can work with short fiction too. You’ll want to start with a very strong hook to reel the audience in. Read your work out loud. Record and listen back to it (you can use an app on your phone to do this, if you don’t have an audio device.) This helps you catch word repetition, typos, rhythm and cadence of the words. It takes longer to read out loud than it does to read silently in your mind. Every word must therefore have an impact. Incorporating the use of audiobooks will make you a stronger writer in general, for these very reasons. Listen to other short-fiction or anthology audio works as examples.
Once you’ve established your story, you’ll want to move towards the editing phase. There are multiple layers involved in editing, not just proof-reading for grammar and spelling mistakes. Editors may request changes regarding specific ideas related to the plot, inconsistencies with the story/characters, or perhaps enhancing one of your major twists to make it even better. Resist the urge to automatically dismiss whatever your Editor mentions, as it is their intention to help make your story the best it can be. Revision isn’t a bad thing. “Re-Vision” can simply be a way of seeing your work in a new light.
Now is the best time for short fiction. All you need is a cover letter and your work. Look for magazines and anthologies online, such as Submission Grinder, The Dark Magazine, Ralan, and Duotrope (this option costs money). A generally good rule is to have five works circulating in submission at all times. If you get rejected, don’t worry – simply repost it elsewhere. This takes the sting out of rejection and also keeps you writing. There is submission tracking software to help with this – writersdb.com.
Read Submission Guidelines! Read the publication you are submitting to beforehand, in order to get an idea of their style and themes. Editors will often get 400-500 submissions when they only have 12-25 slots available. They’re looking for easy reasons to reject submissions. If they say 12-point Times New Roman font, then do not submit Calibri. If you do get rejected, even after following all the guidelines, then don’t lose heart. Look at them as a form of free critiques (the ones that come with notes attached.) What this means is that they actually read your work, saw your potential, and cared enough to spend the time and effort to give you a response. If you get such a reply, don’t be an ass. While every criticism may not be set into writing law that you must abide by, be humble and do your best to learn and improve. If many of your rejections circle around the same subjects, and you notice a pattern, then study more in that category.
Good writers write, great writers steal – learn from what you love. (Of course, we’re not talking about actually stealing, such as copyright issues.) Get inspired by your favorite authors and study what they do. Offer to become a “First Reader” or “Slush Reader” to Editors of publications. It’s unpaid, but it shows you what you’re up against and what mistakes to avoid. You can also get involved in Critique Groups – find one that works for you, where there is a high level of compatibility between you and the other members. Stay away from highly negative groups. The goal is to help each other, be positive, and offer real constructive criticism for the purpose of making each other better – not tearing each other down. Look for people who are at a similar skill level as yourself, or higher. However, becoming a mentor or teacher can also help improve your skillset as well.
What are your favorite examples of plot twists in horror short fiction? What red herrings had you convinced you knew the answer… and were wrong? Was it deliciously terrifying to discover the truth or reality of the situation? Did any of these short horror stories come back to visit you in nightmares? Please let me know in the comments section below!
**FREE** giveaways are coming soon, so don’t miss out! Subscribe via email, and CONFIRM in your inbox for a chance to win and be the first to see new posts! ♥♥♥
By clicking “Subscribe” you consent to receive blog updates in the future. We treat your information with confidentiality and respect. 🙂 You may unsubscribe at any time.
Featured Image Source: https://pixabay.com/images/search/scary/