Horror

From maintaining subtlety to visiting haunted places, author J. Fremont shares everything to consider when writing about ghosts and the supernatural in fiction.

Award-winning novelist Richard Thomas shares how to breathe fresh life into your horror stories without relying on well-worn tropes.

Here are 21 examples of horror tropes for writers to consider and subvert when writing their spooky stories to send chills down the spines of their readers.

To add more suspense and a feeling of unease to your work in progress, a close read of Ian McEwan's The Comfort of Strangers offers plenty to learn from.

Author Andy Marino offers insight on how to breathe fresh life into horror stories with 3 tips on writing possession scenes.

Trained fighter and author Carla Hoch walks us through how best to tackle fight scenes when our opponent isn't human—or, at least, isn't anymore.

Author Andy Marino discusses how witnessing the cycle of addiction was woven into his horror novel, The Seven Visitations Of Sydney Burgess.

New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones discusses how his new horror novel, My Heart is a Chainsaw, is his love letter to the slasher films of his youth.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake writers make is trying to shock without value.

You should never copy anyone else's work ... right? Trained fighter and author Carla Hoch explains why that's not necessarily the case when writing a fight scene.

In this article, WD editor Moriah Richard tackles 3 important do’s and don’ts for writers as they tackle the world-building in their works-in-progress.

When it comes to writing fight scenes with multiple opponents, a writer can become overwhelmed quickly. Author and trained fighter Carla Hoch is ready to help you.

World-building can be a complicated and extensive task for a writer, especially when you’re on your second or third draft and your story is fully fleshed out. Here are some quick tricks for keeping yourself organized.

If your character isn't a trained fighter but the scene calls for a fight, how can you make the scene realistic? Author and trained fighter Carla Hoch has the answers for writers here.

You might have heard the term before or are even an expert at it without realizing. WD editor Moriah Richard is here to lay out exactly what world-building is for writers of all genres.

Whether your work-in-progress features a witch's familiar, a talking animal sidekick, or a companion pet, WD editor Moriah Richard gives you the basics on how to create an animal character.

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.

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.