Learn to haunt your readers with powerful, chilling tales. Make their spines tingle with anticipation and their skins crawl with delicious fear. Disturb their world-view and invite them to look into the dark corners of their own souls.

This book gives you a wealth of tools and techniques for writing great short stories. It is part of the acclaimed Writer's Craft series.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1. FEED YOUR FICTION WITH YOUR FEARS Places. Weird Shudders. Phobias. Childhood Fears. Dreams. Human Attitudes. Ordinary Things. Assignment. 2. WHY THE TITLE IS A STRONG START Gathering Ideas. Assignment. 3. WRITING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS Now Write. Prompts. The Freewriting Experience. Assignment. 4. FIFTEEN MASTER PLOTS Plot Ideas You Can Use. Assignment. 5. DARK FICTION AND HORROR GENRES Horror. Splatterpunk. Extreme Horror. Psychological Horror. Dystopian. Lovecraftian. Thriller. Mystery. Dark Fiction. Supernatural. Paranormal. Paranormal Romance. Dark Fantasy. Urban Fantasy. Gothic. Erotic Horror. Horror Comedy. Romantic Suspense. Steampunk. Ghost Stories. Slipstream. Speculative Fiction. Weird Fiction. Flash Fiction. Slice-of-Life. Cross-Genre. Collection. Anthology. Assignment. 6. POINT OF VIEW Deep PoV Techniques. Serial Point of View. Omniscient Point of View. Other Point of View Styles. Assignment. 7. MANAGING TENSION Goal. Raising the Stakes. Conflicts Among Characters. Peaks and Troughs. Assignment. 8. BUILDING SUSPENSE Pose a Question. The Ticking Clock. Pacing. The Door Opens. Assignment. 9. HOW TO SCARE YOUR READERS Darkness. Sounds. Chill. Isolation. Meet the Monster. Get Visceral. The Gory Bits. Assignment. 10. CREEPY LOCATIONS Select the Setting. Inspiring Pictures. How to Describe the Setting. Practical Research. Setting Research Checklist. Assignment. 11. MAKE THE MOST OF THE WEATHER Create Atmosphere. Deepen the PoV. Make it Difficult for the Characters. Strained Tempers. Mood and Foreboding. Beware the Pathetic Fallacy. Collecting Descriptions. Assignment. 12. HOW TO OPEN YOUR STORY Opening with Setting Description. Opening with Dialogue. Opening While All Seems Well with the World. Assignment. 13. HOW TO END YOUR STORY Endings to Avoid. Seven Possible Endings. Leave Questions in the Reader's Mind. Assignment. 14. VILLAINS AND MONSTERS Human Villains: Clichés to Avoid. Motivation. Depth. Describing the Villain. Monsters: Reveal it Bit by Bit. Keep it Plausible. Assignment. 15. GHOST STORIES Plot and Backstory. Setting and Mood. Characters and Point of View. Assignment. 16. VAMPIRES, WEREWOLVES, ZOMBIES Vampires: Sparkling Versus Traditional. Vampire Tropes. Fiction Ideas. Werewolves: Werewolf Tropes. Questions to Consider. Zombies: How Zombies are Made. Zombie Tropes. Fiction Ideas. Beware the Bite-Hiders. Assignment. 17. RELIGIOUS HORROR Horror in Holy Books. Faith Versus Fear. Religious Historical Horror. Unbelievers Meet Scary Gods. Stories Presenting Religion as Evil. Writing About Other Faiths. Controversy. Assignment. 18. Why Do People Read Horror Fiction? Seven Psychological Reasons. Assignment. 19. MARKETING AND PUBLICATION Traditional Publishing. Markets. Rights. Payment. Self-Publishing. Trends. Assignments. 20. SAMPLE STORIES WITH COMMENTS Burning. Seagulls. Only A Fool. DEAR READER

British English.