Writing Dark Stories: How to Write Horror and Other Disturbing Short Stories

Writer's Craft #6

by Rayne Hall

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 Clichés to Avoid. Motivation. Depth. Describing the Villain. 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 Sparkling Versus Traditional. Vampire Tropes. Fiction Ideas. Werewolf Tropes. Questions to Consider. 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 This book uses British English.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Horror, Crafts, Reference

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2013

About the author

Rayne Hall writes fantasy and horror fiction, some of it quirky, most of it dark. She is the author of over sixty books in different genres and under different pen names, published by twelve publishers in six countries, translated into several languages. Her short stories have been published in magazines, e-zines and anthologies.

After living in Germany, China, Mongolia and Nepal, she has settled in a small Victorian seaside town in southern England. Rayne holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Over three decades, she has worked in the publishing industry as a trainee, investigative journalist, feature writer, magazine editor, production editor, page designer, concept editor for non-fiction book series, anthology editor, editorial consultant and more. Outside publishing, she worked as a museum guide, apple
picker, tarot reader, adult education teacher, trade fair hostess, translator and belly dancer.

Currently, Rayne Hall writes fantasy and horror fiction and tries to regain the rights to her out-of-print books so she can republish them as e-books.

Her books on the writing craft (Writing Fight Scenes, Writing Scary Scenes, The Word-Loss Diet, Writing Dark Stories, Writing About Villains, Writing Short Stories to Promote Your Novel, Writing About Magic, Twitter for Writers) are bestsellers.


Rayne Hall is the editor of the Ten Tales anthologies:
"Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires"
"Scared: Ten Tales of Horror"
"Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts"
"Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates"
"Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft"
"Spells: Ten Tales of Magic"
"Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies"
"Seers: Ten Tales of Clairvoyance"
"Dragon: Ten Tales of Fiery Beasts"
"Cogwheels: Ten Tales of Steampunk"
with more titles coming soon.


The stories in her Six Scary Tales series and the Thirty Scary Tales collection are subtle horror: suspenseful, creepy atmospheric, unsettling. Although they contain little violence and gore, they may not be suitable for young readers. Many of these stories have been previously published in other books or magazines.

British English: All Rayne Hall's books use British words, spellings, grammar and punctuation. If you're allergic to British English, avoid them. ;-)

Mailing list:
http://eepurl.com/boqJzD

Website: http://sites.google.com/site/raynehal...

YouTube "Ten Random Facts about Rayne Hall" (2 minute video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXR4T...

Contact Rayne Hall on Twitter
@RayneHall follows back writers and readers. http://twitter.com/RayneHall

Reviews

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic resource for anyone who writes or is aspiring to write in the dark fiction and horror genres. The book explains brilliantly all the many different sub-genres of horror and dark fiction, through to thrillers and suspense. It's focus is on short stories and I gobbled up every word.

Rayne covers everything from writing from different POV's through to how to build tension and suspense and the difference between the two. She teaches how to use clever descriptive wording to create your environment, characters and mood. It's an awful lot of good stuff packed into one book.

We learn what not to do, mistakes to avoid like the fact that "too much gore becomes a bore" when it's not balanced out. As a writer working on my first book of dark fiction/horror short stories plus submitting to be considered for anthologies I found this book immensely helpful and will be referring to it over and over again.

Even authors who have written many books should never say never to learning something new and they may just do that from this well written book. I liked the exercises given to do at the end of each section and the many tips on note taking and drawing on real life fears, places and moments. Very inspiring!

A few of Rayne's own dark short stories feature at the end of the book. I particularly loved the one about the seagulls. A great tension builder that was creepy to the end.

I highly recommend this book to any of my horror/dark fiction (any genre) writing friends as well as those eager to begin writing in this exciting genre. I'll be applying Rayne's knowledge to my stories I'm currently writing. A 5 star read and well worth purchasing.

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And Twitter @promotethatbook
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[Carl Bluesy · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was very little lessons to be learned in this book, if any at all. The book was more both the points of general ideas about Horror and definitions of cliché horror tropes. Chapters been dedicated to stay in that horror stories up and sit in a haunted houses, or having discussions about vampire stories and zombie stories do little to help teach people to write horror themselves. Much of the continent here was stuff that was common knowledge, even by people who aren’t horror fans. And for people who are fans and want to wight horror are gonna know almost everything in this book just by knowing the genre.

Despite the low page count the book was full of things that was unnecessary, and seem to be only there to take up space. Each chapter had a an intro, which is nice, but didn’t offer any lessons. And each chapter ended with practice suggestions. Which same as the intro, is nice, but doesn’t actually offer much to teach. So if those two things take it up some pizza, kind of each chapter and over 1/4 of the book just the authors, personal short stories. There’s may be about 75 pages worth of actual attempt at lessons. Which once again, it’s mostly just bought in point things about horror.

Now on a more positive side, there is nothing that was in his book that was wrong. It may have been some rights and not actually taught you how to do what you suggested you do. But if you were to take the statements that it makes and actually research them and find out how to actually accomplish things with other sources you will gang skills writer. But I have serious doubts that the skill you gain will be from this book directly.

[Shelley Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing Dark Stories is aimed at short story writers. However, I found all the tips easy to transfer to a full-length novel. Rayne covers what ‘dark’ stories mean, as well as including an outline about the different genres within this writing community. There is a wonderful breakdown of chapters concentrating on specific villains, from the human variety right through to vampires, monsters, and even ghosts.

As with all of Rayne’s how-to books, she includes assignments throughout to test your knowledge. She uses her own short stories as an example so you can see how to use these new found writing skills.

As a fantasy writer, I found this book to be incredibly helpful, not just for evolving my writing skills, but for the abundance of ideas, I got from reading it. My favourite chapter was about feeding your fiction with your fears, a practical way to use what frightens you and build your stories around this. Although I have read a few books on publication and sales, I found the marketing section in this book to be beneficial – it never hurts to remind yourself how to market your beloved book, or indeed, why you wrote it in the first place.

“Write only what excites you, or your fiction will lack power and sincerity” Rayne Hall.

As always, I made loads of notes, and brainstormed far too many ideas that I’m sure I’ll never have time to write! Another winning book from Rayne Hall.

[Brandy Marler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fast and easy read. The author is very to the point and doesn’t add a lot of fluff. It reads a lot like a textbook on writing scary stories, with very helpful assignments at the end of each chapter. She also adds a few of her own dark and scary short stories at the end to give the reader examples of her techniques. This book gave me some great ideas on how to make my own books and stories creepy and dark.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another helpful guide in the Writer's Craft series. This is the third one that I've read, I believe, and much like the others, it's very to the point and written clearly. Though the author insists this series is for more advanced writers, I really think that writers with less experience would get the most out of these books.

I still came away with a few, new-to-me pieces of advice and it was an enjoyable enough read to warrant a solid 4 stars.

[Debbie Christiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been fortunate to take many of Rayne Hall's classes on writing scary scenes, short stories, etc., but this book focuses on darker short fiction.

At the end of each chapter there is a quick assignment to help you put to use the information that was presented in that chapter. It's a great exercise.

I really enjoyed the chapters on ghosts, vampires, werewolves and religious horror. While the classes touched on making scenes suspenseful, these chapters had much more information the specifics of each supernatural and/or biblical creatures and settings.

There are chapters on POV, creating atmosphere, tension, how to scare your readers and so much more. At the end, Rayne shares three of her short dark fictions stories.

This is a great tool for writers with experience or just beginning in the dark fiction genre. If you can't be in one of Rayne's classes, this is the next best thing.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

While some of the book comes off as filler (there are lengthy passages on what a vampire/werewolf/zombie is, with lists of their traits), its strength lies in its ability to help generate stories of your own by exploring what sorts of things are scary to you. Great for the beginner, without being insulting. Any creative person reading this will likely have a slew of ideas by the time they come to the end. I cringed a little when I saw that the last chunk of the book is devoted to the writer's own stories, but the pieces really do a fine job of illustrating the concepts introduced in the book. (I was worried they were just there as self-promotion.)

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Designed for a beginner writer, this book has plenty of information to help you master the art of the dark story. It begins with definitions and continues throughout relevent topics pertinent to dark writing. There are also exercises at the end of each chapter to help you practice the guidelines and ideas talked about. There is a section in the back about what to do about publishing your stories through the traditional route and also self-publishing. As a bonus there are a few of the author's short stories thrown in to let you know they know what they are doing.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read

Not my favorite self help book, I didn't get a lot out of it and won't be rereading it, however it did present some interesting thought provoking things. I was wanting something to hone my writing. If you're a novice and just starting out, not sure where to go, you might get more from this than me.

[Ruby Tobor-vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not even sure where to begin with Writing Dark Stories by Rayne Hall… It was incredible! Hall dd an excellent job explaining all the different dark genres and sub-genres, as well as the different elements of a good dark story. She reveals how to hook your reader with a great opening and keep them interested by building suspense and tension. She discusses various methods of building tension between characters, and the best ways to write and describe a villain or monster. This book is so in-depth, with activities at the end of each chapter that make you think and get your creative juices flowing.

I have been working on a suspense thriller novel for a while, but I keep getting stuck. I know what I want my book to be about„ I know my characters, I know my ending— but developing the story, the dialog etc has not been my strong suit. I am so glad I read this book because now I have some starting point/ideas to build on. There’s actually a chapter in Writing Dark Stories called “Fifteen Master Plots” and I’m going to play around with a few of them, combining and altering until I find something that works.

Hall also was kind enough to include a chapter on marketing and publication which gives advice on how to submit your work to traditional publications and the responsibilities that come along with the decision to self-publish.

She even includes three of her short stories at the end of the book as examples.

I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to work on their writing skills or simply give dark writing a try. I’ll definitely be reading more of her Writer’s Craft series.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who enjoys writing fiction, as well as anyone who likes writing in general, will be able find something in this book that is helpful. Even for those who don’t usually write in the dark story genres, there are hints to help your story writing be sharper and more interesting. For a moment, think about what readers want. Readers like their feelings to be aroused. Touch the reader’s senses and keep in mind that suspense keeps them reading. Make a story that they cannot put down, one that will be read until the end, definitely not a story that the reader will get bored with and abandon.

The book contains simple advice and writing prompts for anyone wishing to write in the dark story genres. This book is especially helpful for someone starting out or someone who normally does other types of writing. The book is well organized with helpful master plot ideas, tips to build tension and suspense, and marketing tips. I found it useful, since I usually don’t write suspenseful stories or utilize the senses as much as I should.

I found a wealth of information and felt inspired by the time I was done reading this book.

[Myna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a beginner in writing dark fiction and horror stories (I used to write in other genres before), I was looking for a good book that helps me to improve my writing skills and introduces me to that genre.

With „Writing Dark Stories“ of Rayne Hall's „Writer's Craft“ series, I found that book I was looking for. It's perfect for people like me who are new to that genre and need some good tips and advice.

In her book Rayne Hall helps the reader to improve their writing skills, creating a dark atmosphere, tension and suspense. She shares several master plots, gives tips on how to open and end the story and how to find the right point of view.

My favourite chapters were Chapter 5 „Dark Fiction and Horror Genres“ (a great overview!), 16 „Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies“ and 19 „Marketing and Publication“.

In the end of the book, Rayne Hall shares several of her own scary stories, which I really enjoyed (especially „Seagulls“, as I could relate to the protagonist's fear).

All in all, I highly recommend the book to all people who recently started dark stories. It's really helpful and I am curious to read more of Rayne Hall's works and „Writer's Craft“ books.

[Cat Voleur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a promotional copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review - which worked, because I found it to be very helpful.

It offers great advice on the subject matter (writing dark stories) that can help aspiring writers of all experience levels. Even if you're familiar with the craft and well-versed in the genre, there are a lot of writing exercises that help give you new ideas and keep in practice.

There are even a couple sample short stories at the end that demonstrate what kind of stuff you can do with the techniques covered throughout the book.

I would recommend this to anyone who is hoping to improve their skills as a writer, learn more about the genre, or just get some new ideas.

[Shelley Stanaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, I read, not because I might write a dark story in the future but it was a Christmas gift from last year (2017). I did not study it as I have the other books I have read of Ms. Hall's and truthfully did not think I would take much away. I took away more about character development, especially that of the antagonist than I have from any other book I have read on the topic.

While this is an excellent book for those who write dark fiction, it is also one for any fiction writer who wishes to make their antagonist both stand out and be reviled yet not the over-the-top evil monster that sometimes plagues books.

Thank you, Ms. Hall.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my most extraordinary books on writing horror fiction I have ever read!

I mainly write comics but so many of the techniques/tips in this book can be applied to writing graphic novels and the like too. The book is a straightforward, to-the-point look at our fears and how to communicate them through eerie characters and plots.

Her stories "Only a Fool" and "The Devil You Know" were great examples of putting her tips into practice in a concrete way.

My only criticism is that I wish the Commentary after each story was more in depth.

Highly recommended to creative writing students, (novice and advanced) authors of horror fiction and comics creators.

5 stars

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming from the author's highly recommended "Writing fighting scenes" and "Writing vivid dialogue", this little manual introduces techniques from the horror genre, as well as advice and examples to help you develop a better grasp on the genre beyond simple tropes and conventions. If you've done your homework you might already know a lot of this material, but you can benefit from having the topic discussed in a condensed manner, like a manual, as this book does.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little inexpensive book gave me one of the best pieces of advice I ever got about writing. Believe me, the 99 cents I spent on this little ebook gave me more good ideas than books I've spent fifteen or twenty bucks on. If I gave away the best advice it wouldn't be fair to the author. But believe me, I've come up with a dozen ideas after reading her book.

[Leticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has lots of direct, goal oriented and practical tips on writing dark stories. I found it very helpful and would recommend it even if you don't directly write horror, since fear and suspense can add a thrill to most stories.

[FrancescoInari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good general overview of the basics of dark fiction. Great start for really novice writers or somebody interested in the genre, but nothing exceptional in particular.

Worth a read, since it's only 130 pages long

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been so long since I picked this up that I don't recall how I heard about it, but at any rate I'm glad that I did hear about it.

This book is pretty straight forward: it's a guide for writing and publishing horror fiction. The author uses samples of her writing to demonstrate her concepts and gives out assignments at the end of each chapter so that the reader can test what they learned. It's kind of all over the place in terms of the concepts, though. Some of them are genuinely good advice for both the technical and practical aspects of the craft, but some of them are so basic in regards to both horror concepts and the craft in general that it's almost comical.

All that being said, this is still worth picking up for anyone wanting to inject a bit of self-help into their attempts to educate themselves on the craft of writing. The exercises in particular are excellent. They're simple but actually putting a concept into practice does wonders for increasing one's understanding. It's inexpensive, easy to get your hands on, informative and short, so if you want to get into horror writing, this book is a solid place to start.

[Caitlin Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

I write a lot of dark stories, primarily dark science fiction stories. Being self-published, I try to put in a little extra effort to make sure the quality of my stories is up to par. While editing, I’ve developed the habit of reading books on writing. Rayne Hall’s have become some of my favorite. This past month I’ve had one in my purse any time I leave the house, just in case there’s an opportunity to study. Currently I’m editing the next book in my series, I’ve been concerned that some of the parts don’t hold as much tension or suspense as they should. Though going back and forth between Writing Dark Stories and editing my book, I’ve gained confidence in its telling.

This book comes with three short bonus stories at the end which were also chilling reads.

Having read hundreds of books on writing, this is no light recommendation: If you’re a writer looking to improve your craft, read Rayne Hall’s books. They explain what you should and shouldn’t do, and why.

Thank you for the lessons.

[roguereader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t provide the depth that I wanted but at least gave me foundational elements to think about. I realize this book and others in the series are more about giving basic ideas and fermenting further thought on the reader’s end, so I gave this book 3 stars because it gave just enough info to get the brain juices flowing.

If you know nothing about writing, this book is great. If you’ve read other writing books and have written, look elsewhere for more depth.

[No one · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. I skipped the part about POV cause I had just read a book about that.
The lists were a bit too much formulaic (never thought I'd be saying that word as a con) but the rest of the book was really good. It even gave me some inspiration and a few good tips for the story I'm writing.
Not recommended if it's the first book on writing you ever read, but the author already warns you about that.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ll be completely finished with this book, but for now I am. I’ve read a few Rayne Hall guides for writers and, as ever, her books are a resource I’ll return to for future reminders when I’m stuck.

[L.J. Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tips.

I got this through kindle unlimited, and glad I did. Great tips in this book. It'll help your outlining and brainstorming.

[Charles Chettiar · Rating 1 out of 5]

good for lists and for steps

[Peggy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Into the dark!

This a great book, full of on point information and tips to a writing all types of dark and horror stories. It is good to be knowledgeable about this type of novels.

[Matthew William · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I am getting into writing and this book has offered some really great tips and advice. I plan to use it to craft stories that are exciting and energetic.

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of useful information. The book didn't disappoint and I am glad I found it.

[Melissa Barbosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very concise and objective, which I really appreciated. Yet it has tons of information, ideas, and examples.