This week: Horror / Scary Month Edited by: Legerdemain  
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
This newsletter aims to help the Writing.com short story author hone their craft and improve their skills. I would also like to inform, advocate, and create new, fresh ideas for the short story author. Write to me if you have an idea you would like presented.
|
Horror Scary Month
In October, there will be contests featuring the horror/scary genre. So, in preparation, make a list of things you find scary or horrible. Think about the details in the genre that help define it.
Scary is built on the psychological, using features like the unknown, eerie settings, and vivid sensory details. Build those details like describing stormy weather, creepy noises, and odd smells. Making things a little vague at times allows the readers to imagine what they see as horrible or scary. Psychological triggers like anxiety, dread, and disgust make your reader relate to the story.
Once you have a collection of horror scary details, work on characters. Create vignettes with your character and see what qualities define them as frightening. These are great tools in your pocket for writing stories for contests.
Write short sentences and control the pacing of the story. Draw out anticipation of a negative event to heighten tension and anxiety, then move it quickly to portray excitement or fear in the climax of the story.
In all, enjoy horror/scary month and challenge yourself to write some fascinating stories!
And as always, Write On.
This month's question: What are your favorite horror/scary features? Send in your answer below!  Editors love feedback!
|
Excerpt: Sometimes, it was difficult to believe that the face in the window was hers.
Excerpt: He was supposed to be dead by now, he reckoned, at least gauged by his previous experiences with his ‘gift’.
Excerpt: Julius walked over from the fire and watched his birds. He called them "his," but he knew they were wild. They were still all he really felt he had left. They were his only friends, and he was content with that.
Excerpt: Oreh, Captain of the Guards, stood upon a great root of an ancient tree. Tonight was the one in a moon that the beauty of Nevele, the bat witch, graced the Enclosure of Felicity. He was not the only one eager to win her attention.
Excerpt: “Pull up the nets, we’ve got to get out of here!” Captain Raymond Escobar shoved the nearest man into action. All the rest jumped to do as ordered.
Excerpt: Sarah's heart pounded as she whacked the innocent creature over and over again. She tossed the rain boot aside and it came to a crashing halt. Gazing upon the remnants of the flattened cricket, the black shell was pulverized with the insides strewn out like toothpaste.
"Sarah, what are you doing?" the concerned teacher asked.
"I'm killing this bug Jason decided to put in my boot."
Excerpt: If you’ve lived in Coldwater, Maine, long enough, you learn its two rules.
First: news travels faster than sound. Second: nothing much ever changes.
Excerpt: I took off my earrings. Holding them in my hand, I let the heat of my palm warm the wee metallic dragon bodies. I had gifted myself these when I had visited an old Mystic Shoppe. The intricate design had drawn my eye and as soon as I had picked them up I felt the spark of energy surge through me. I had to have them.
Excerpt: So claimed the boombox on the shoulder of a guy waiting outside a bus station as I walked past. No I don’t, I thought, but maybe I should have kept trying back in the sixties. Trapped in the mid-eighties on a rainy night in Pittsburgh was the right place to have such thoughts, at least. I turned the corner and found the diner I was looking for. Here was shelter from the rain and a place to collect my thoughts.
|
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
This month's question: What are your favorite horror/scary features? Send in your answer below! Editors love feedback!
Last month's "Short Stories Newsletter (September 10, 2025)" question: Have you used poetry to tell a short story?
TheBusmanPoet  : I may have. I really don't know but I've told three stories that could be considered poetry.
Amethyst SkellyBones Angel  : Most definitely  "The Gardener"
GrueSum1  : I agree with Amethyst SkellyBones Angel most definitely. A lot of my poems tell stories. "The Jester"
Jeffrey Meyer  : I think most poetry tells a short story, often in a very condensed and concentrated form. But words that rhyme without a plot are just...words. Whether it's self-reflection, romance, or even horror, I think every poem tells a story.
DS : All the time in lyrics - which are, after all, poetry set to music.
THANKFUL SONALI Party Hopping!  : Short answer - yes! 
Once upon a time
In a style so prime
(Devoid of any grime)
I told a tale sublime!
Now, stop your laughter
Coz it ends happily ever after!
Jayne Doe  : Yes, and just like my prose, some is more compelling than others lol
Jay O'Toole  : My joining of the Long-Poetry Contest was my attempt at this, but many of my shorter poems do tell a tale.
Gravedigger Dave  : I have. As an example: "A Touch of Evil"
👀intu the Darkness  : I've written quite a few! One of my favorites: "She'll Be Back"
Killer Quokka of County K🤦 : A 4k word rhyming poem about a were-being. Does that count?
DS : Killer Quokka of County K🤦 - I don't know, did the 'were-being' have the capacity and a reason for so doing? 
David : I love poetry with a story. Because it is more than just a poem.
Check out one of my stories: "You Are My Remedy"
thereBdragons : I have used it as part of a short story
W.D.Wilcox  : A storoem (as Harry put it) uses a poem to tell a story. Like "The Last Royal March" or my favorite, "The Sorcerer And The Head"
Thanks to everyone for your responses! L~ |
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.
|
Short Stories: October 08, 2025 Issue [#13384]
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
