This week: Do Your Stories Haunt? Edited by: Joy's busy haunting  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
“‘It watches,’ he added suddenly. ‘The house. It watches every move you make.’ And then, ‘My own imagination, of course.‘”
Shirley Jackson
“Still, the image haunted his dreams throughout the night: a lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back.”
Sarah J. Maas
“Perhaps this is our strange and haunting paradox here in America—that we are fixed and certain only when we are in movement.”
Thomas Wolfe
“When, suddenly, on an ordinary Wednesday, it seemed to Barney that the world tilted and ran downhill in all directions, he knew he was about to be haunted again.”
Margaret Mahy
Hello, I am Joy's busy haunting , this week's drama editor. This issue is about dramatic, haunting writing.
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
|
Welcome to the Drama newsletter
What is "haunting" to you?
To me, "haunting" is a word with multiple meanings, although it generally refers to something that lingers unpleasantly in the mind, often invoking feelings of sorrow or fear, or a supernatural phenomenon involving ghosts. Yet, haunting also means poignant and evocative.
When used as a verb, "to haunt" means to visit or happen persistently in a troubling way. As an adjective, "haunting" describes something, like a melody or memory, that is difficult to forget because of its disturbing or deeply emotional quality.
There is an unshakeable hint of drama in haunting. In the supernatural of paranormal context, such as a ghostly presence or a place being inhabited by ghosts, a haunting can mean dread or sadness. When approached from a psychological and emotional angle, something haunting may point to an idea, a memory, a thought, or an emotion. These can be described as haunting memories, for example.
More often, though, in agreement with this Halloween season, anything haunting can mean a ghostly presence within one's own mind, when the drama of a personal story takes hold.
Then, the question in a story is: What can be haunting? Let me count the ways: odd sounds, like footsteps, bangs, scratching, moans, screams, music, whispering; odd sights like flashes of light, shadows, floating lights, things seen from the 'corner' of the eye; odd smells that are often unpleasant; odd feelings like headaches, static build-up, cold areas, being touched by unseen things; objects moving on their own such as doors, taps and light switches, objects lost and rarely recovered and objects like ornaments and pictures on the walls falling on their own; pets' reactions to unseen things, or an apparition that may or may not be seen by a story character.
For all that, with or without the above possibilities, an unforgettable, haunting story is one that stays with the reader long after it is finished. This is because the story has touched something deep inside, stirring strong emotions and offering a truth. Therefore, I believe, when writing a dramatic story, whether it has ghosts or not, we may choose to begin with a strong idea or theme.
For such a theme, the question to ask is: What do I want this story to say? In other words, what will this story be about: Will it be about love, loss, courage, betrayal, redemption, belonging, or what? This is because once the story has a core truth, readers will carry it with them. In other words, we need to anchor our stories in universal truths.
Then, we can work on the other aspects of the story such as characters with distinct voices and personalities who can or may change by the end of the plot, with conflict that challenges the characters' deepest fears, values, and desires.
The question is: What if the character fails? What will he or she can lose? I'd say, let it loose. Let your character lose and suffer! The higher the stakes, the more unforgettable (haunting) the story will be.
In short, a haunting or rather memorable story is the one that is anchored in universal truths, with flawed, vivid characters, with conflict and sensory detail, and with a satisfying or haunting ending.
And most importantly, we must write with honesty, by filling the story with real feelings, questions, and memories. This is because authenticity is what makes our writing strong, unforgettable, and haunting.
Until next time! 
|
 Enjoy!
|
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Drama: October 08, 2025 Issue [#13374]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
This Issue's Tip: Give your readers “aha” moments—where they see something familiar in a brand-new light, possibly with the help of using fresh metaphors, unexpected turns, or unconventional structure.