• Write Better Fiction
    • Plot
    • Character
    • Settings
    • Dialogue
    • Short Story
    • Writing Techniques
    • Genre
    • Grammar
    • Revising & Editing
  • Write Better Nonfiction
    • Personal Writing
    • Historical Books
    • Travel Books
    • Business Books
    • Articles
    • Humor in Nonfiction
    • Creative Nonfiction
    • Grammar
    • Revising & Editing
  • Write Better Poetry
    • Poetry Prompts
    • Poetic Forms
    • Interviews With Poets
    • Why I Write Poetry
    • Poetry FAQs
  • Get Published
    • Build My Platform
    • Find a Fiction Agent
    • Find a Nonfiction Agent
    • Write My Query
    • Submissions & Proposals
    • Sell My Work
    • Self-Publishing
    • Business of Writing
    • Ghostwriting
    • Audiobooks
    • Breaking In
  • Be Inspired
    • Writing Prompts
    • Poetry Prompts
    • Interviews
    • The Writer's Life
    • Writing Quotes
    • Vintage WD
    • From the Magazine
  • WD Competitions
    • Annual Competition
    • Self-Published Book
    • Self-Published Ebook
    • Popular Fiction
    • Personal Essay
    • Poetry
    • Short Short Story
    • From the Winners
    • Your Story
  • Resources
    • Write For Us
    • WD Podcasts
    • Meet the WD Team
    • Free Downloads
  • About Us
  • Meet Us
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe
  • Renew a subscription
  • Customer Service
  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Competitions
  • Writer's Digest Annual Conference
  • Novel Writing Conference
  • Writer's Digest Shop
  • WD University
  • Tutorials
  • Webinars
  • 2nd Draft Critiques
  • Digital Editions
  • ScriptMag.com
  • Active Interest Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Settings
Logo
  • Write Better Fiction
  • Write Better Nonfiction
  • Write Better Poetry
  • Get Published
  • Be Inspired
  • WD Competitions
  • Resources
  • Script
  • Events
  • Competitions
  • Free Downloads
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
Logo
  • Write Better Fiction
  • Write Better Nonfiction
  • Write Better Poetry
  • Get Published
  • Be Inspired
  • WD Competitions
  • Resources
  • Home
  • Write Better Fiction
  • Genre
  • Horror
  • Character
  • Dialogue
  • Genre
  • Grammar
  • Plot
  • Revising & Editing
  • Settings
  • Short Story
  • Writing Scenes
  • Writing Techniques
  • Children's
  • Comics and Graphic Novels
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Humor Fiction
  • Literary
  • Mystery/Thriller
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction/Fantasy
  • Screenwriting (Film)
  • Spiritual Writing
  • Young Adult
Hoch_1:1
Writing Techniques

FightWrite™: Knife Fights, Part 1

In this article, author and trained fighter Carla Hoch explains the basics of various types of knives and the implications a knife fight may have on your characters and plot.

  • By Carla Hoch
    Jan 1, 2021
World Building 3
Writing Techniques

Making Magic, Part 1: Defining and Selecting Magic Systems

In the first of a two-part series, WD editor Moriah Richard explains how magic systems exist on a spectrum and gives you some tips on selecting a system that works for you.

  • By Moriah Richard
    Dec 29, 2020
Richard_11:24
Writing Techniques

Building Better Worlds: Five Tips to Guide Your Planning Process

Writer and WD editor Moriah Richard shares her top advice to help you fight world-building overwhelm and organize your story.

  • By Moriah Richard
    Nov 25, 2020
Green_10:26
Interviews

Evie Green: Imaginary Friends and Allowing Change

Author Evie Green explains why she was surprised to end writing a horror novel and how she learned to trust the editorial process.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Oct 26, 2020
5_tips_for_writing_scary_stories_simone_st_james_horror_novels_hauntings
Horror

5 Tips for Writing Scary Stories and Horror Novels

Bestselling and award-winning author Simone St. James shares five tips for writing scary stories and horror novels that readers will love to fear.

  • By Simone St. James
    Oct 20, 2020
on_writing_a_horror_novel_without_intending_to_write_horror_evie_green
Horror

On Writing a Horror Novel Without Intending to Write Horror

Novelist Evie Green shares how writing a story for fun without a genre eventually turned into her horror novel, We Hear Voices. This is her experience of writing a horror novel without intending to write horror.

  • By Evie Green
    Oct 18, 2020
Grinnell3
Writing Techniques

Plausible Scares: Blending the Real and the Unreal in Horror Fiction

Using examples from William Peter Blatty's iconic horror novel The Exorcist, Dustin Grinnell explains how to craft truly frightening horror fiction by blending the believable and the unsettlingly extraordinary.

  • By Dustin Grinnell
    Oct 16, 2020
WD Vintage_1889 Costello
Vintage WD

Vintage WD: Six Steps to Salable Horror

For fans of the terrifying and macabre, this article from 1989 features horror, Gothic, and science-fiction author Matthew J. Costello's advice on top-notch horror writing that sells.

  • By Writers Digest Staff
    Oct 15, 2020
Waggoner_Hurts So Good
Writing Techniques

Hurts So Good: How to Make Your Horror More Interesting

In this excerpt from his book Writing in the Dark, author Tim Waggoner discusses the three types of pain all horror writers should consider inflicting upon their characters.

  • By Tim Waggoner
    Oct 14, 2020
Richard_10ContempHorror
Book Recommendations

10 Newer and Terrifying Horror Books for October

Get in the Halloween spirit by reading these contemporary horror novels recommended by WD editor and horror fan, Moriah Richard.

  • By Moriah Richard
    Oct 10, 2020
Grinnell_Villains
Character

Inside the Mind of a Villain: 8 Journeys and Motives Behind Evildoers, Antiheroes, & Antagonists

Using fictional and human examples, Dustin Grinnell takes a deep dive into how and why evil develops in story and in real life and how you can apply these concepts when writing villains.

  • By Dustin Grinnell
    Oct 4, 2020
mick_garris_the_horror_stories_that_reside_within_us
Interviews

Mick Garris: The Horror Stories That Reside Within Us

Award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter Mick Garris shares the writing process for his collection (These Evil Things We Do), what surprising thing happened during the publishing process, how writing a story is different than a script, and more!

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Oct 3, 2020
plot_twist_story_prompts_release_the_monster_robert_lee_brewer
Writing Prompts

Plot Twist Story Prompts: Release the Monster

Every good story needs a nice (or not so nice) turn or two to keep it interesting. This week, writers get to release monsters in whatever forms they may take.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Oct 1, 2020
Waggoner_Done to Death
Writing Techniques

Done to Death: How to Avoid Horror Genre Clichés

Author Tim Waggoner explains how to avoid clichés and create an inventive horror plot in this excerpt from his book Writing in the Dark.

  • By Tim Waggoner
    Sep 30, 2020
tips_for_writing_cosmic_horror_that_goes_beyond_scott_kenemore
Horror

3 Tips for Writing Cosmic Horror That "Goes Beyond"

Cosmic horror is unlike any other fiction genre, even in terms of horror. Author Scott Kenemore shares 3 tips for writing cosmic horror that goes beyond the norms of writing fiction.

  • By Scott Kenemore
    May 20, 2020
scott_kenemore_quotes_finding_horror_in_historical_fiction
Horror

Scott Kenemore: Finding Horror in Historical Fiction

In this author spotlight, Scott Kenemore, author of Zombie Ohio and The Grand Hotel, shares his experience of writing Lake of Darkness, how he uses historical research to write horror in historical fiction, and more.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    May 7, 2020
Image placeholder title
Children's

Deconstructing Five Spooky Children's Picture Books (Spoiler Alert)

For this post, we're deconstructing five spooky children's picture books to see how they're put together to find success. Warning: Spoilers are included in these deconstructions.

  • By Robert Lee Brewer
    Oct 7, 2019
Image placeholder title
Horror

Scare Tactics: 7 Tricks for Writing Terrifying Horror Fiction & Monster Stories

Jessica Page Morrell gets down to brass tacks on how to successfully achieve fear and believability when crafting horror fiction and stories with monstrous antagonists.

  • By Jessica Page Morrell
    Oct 30, 2018
Image placeholder title
Horror

Reading, Breathing and the Long Sentence: How to Write Horror That Frightens Readers

Learn how to write horror that will chill your readers to the bone using these techniques from Phil Athans' all-new Advanced Horror Workshop.

  • By Philip Athans
    Oct 5, 2018
playing_with_common_horror_tropes_for_comedic_effect_jonathan_rosen
Horror

Playing with Common Horror Tropes for Comedic Effect

The horror tropes you often see in movies can be fun, but they can also be totally ludicrous. If you're looking to add a comedic edge to your horror fiction, try bending these common tropes.

  • By Jonathan Rosen
    Sep 4, 2018
Image placeholder title
Horror

3 Tips for Writing Horror Comedy

Horror and humor can create an indelible impression on audiences when they are combined well. Here are three tips for writing horror comedy.

  • By Guest Column
    Nov 29, 2017
Image placeholder title
Horror

Writing Monsters: What Makes a Monster Scary?

What makes a monster scary? Learn about five qualities that will make your readers' skin crawl when you're crafting monstrous creatures.

  • By Philip Athans
    Oct 27, 2017
Phil-Athans
Horror

Write Like Stephen King: How to Create Scary Monsters

Monsters are more than just things that bite. Let’s begin with a few basic assumptions about monsters, with examples from the classic Stephen King novella “The Mist.”

  • By Brian A. Klems
    Oct 26, 2016
7_tips_on_how_to_write_middle_grade_horror_ty_drago
What's New

7 Tips on How to Write Middle Grade Horror

Novelist Ty Drago, author of The Undertakers series of MG horror, shares his seven tips on how to write middle grade horror that will excite and enthrall young readers from the first scare to the last.

  • By Ty Drago
    Apr 23, 2014
  • About Us
  • Meet Us
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe
  • Renew a subscription
  • Customer Service
  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Competitions
  • Writer's Digest Annual Conference
  • Novel Writing Conference
  • Writer's Digest Shop
  • WD University
  • Tutorials
  • Webinars
  • 2nd Draft Critiques
  • Digital Editions
  • ScriptMag.com
  • Active Interest Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
© 2021 Active Interest Media All Rights Reserved.