I’ve had sleep paralysis since I was a child. Some of my earliest memories are of hallucinations of my room from impossible angles, of bridging the divide between dreams and reality like a swimmer holding their eyes open at the seam between water and air. Of watching a nightmare unfold and knowing that all I have to do is open my eyes to stop it. If only I could move a muscle.
So it’s not such a surprise that my first published story follows a sleep paralysis demon around a hapless port town.
Any author wanting to approach writing horror might find the endless tropes, cliches, subgenres, and topics exhausting to wade through. How do you weed out the excess and find the subject matter you want to write, and the way you want to write it? Are you more of a slasher writer or do you want to write Poe-esque short stories? Are you going to tackle a ghost story? Would you prefer body horror?
As good as all these questions are, they don’t get to the crux of the issue. What will your horror be about? How does it become something uniquely yours? Good news: there are many ways to dig into making horror both purposeful and personal. Here’s one:
- What do I like?
As an initial guide post, separate types of horror into camps. Define what you like, what you hate, what works for you, and what falls flat (or annoys you). Do you hate exploitation? Are you titillated by a disturbing character portrait? Would you prefer to watch camp or dive straight into slow, esoteric, intellectual pieces? This is essentially understanding what subgenres you want to write in and will help you know what tools and advice will serve you best.
I like character-driven horror. I like slow to moderate pacing. I like paranormal and psychological horror. I don’t like camp.
- What are my goals?
It’s important to know what you want to do with a piece of horror fiction. Some horror is political, some is an irreverent gore fest. Some stories use scares to explore strange concepts, and others illustrate aspects of the human condition. If you’re interested in bestsellers and mass appeal, you will approach your topics differently than if you want to sedately explore a trauma. Some horror writers place the scare above all, while others will dial back their horror into a subtle atmosphere supporting a wider story. What do you want your audience to feel when they see your work? Who do you want your audience to be?
I want to pull people into immersive stories. I want to express my personal experiences and provide catharsis.
- What were my darkest moments?
When I say darkest moments, I mean things that made the biggest impressions. While it can be serious topics such as trauma, death, or phobias, it doesn’t have to be. Horror has a beautiful way of exploring universal life experiences, big and small, from the formation of identity to the harrowing experience of missing a deadline. One of my favorite horror short stories is about the great and terrible fear of yellow wallpaper (and isolation, female disempowerment, madness…).
As you identify these sticking points for you, big and small, certain themes will become apparent. You’ll get an idea of the sort of experiences you want to craft and the questions you want to answer with your work. And don’t be fooled–this is useful even if you answered in question one that you’re going for pure, campy fun.
One of my darkest moments was getting sick. Having a disability is like fighting a battle you can never win or run from. How do you learn to live with something inescapable?
- Bonus: What lessons did I learn/what would have happened if I hadn’t learned them?
Unlike most genres, Horror can happily live with tragic endings. Thus, once you have some material to work with, you can form your story about whether your characters survive it…or not. Are they going to face these challenges and learn (and thus survive), or are they going to fail and fall victim to it?
I had to adapt to an upended world, accepting both flaws and pain. I had to make myself and health most important, and have grace in the face of the monster that never leaves. If I hadn’t, it would have eaten me alive.
Of all genres, horror might best reward honest introspection. When we aim to excite the primal impulses, we have no better resources than ourselves. But it’s more than a matter of just asking ‘what are my favorite horror stories’ and ‘what scares me’ (though those are good points to start). It’s a matter of accessing the experiences in your life that left an imprint on you, the things your mind returns to again and again, and dissecting the what and how and why. And then letting your readers feel it all too.
A lifelong writer of fantasy and horror, Re Gwaltney (she/they) loves to dig into the darker things in life and pull out both the painful and beautiful in their inescapable Venn diagram. They seek to fill the world with nuanced and powerful representations of LBGT+ and disabled experiences one story at a time. When not writing, Re can be found snuggling their dog, practicing witchcraft, and gaming way too much.
Instagram: @regwaltney
Re’s short story, “Tracks in the Dust”, will appear in Soul on October 18th. You can preorder your copy today!