Write Your First Short Horror Story: The bare bones

1. Introduction: welcome. You can call me G on. This is in this class. You will learn everything you need to know to ride your first short or story from coming up with a DS all the way to delivering a such flying. And in that issue to shuck scare or late you're really wondering I will be there with you all the way while you learn to outline your story. Work around cliches, learn about perspective on much, much more. Other than wanting to write for there are no requirements for this class or we needed you under Decided to write good or see you in class on lock dreams. 2. A little more about this class and why I write horror: before we start, I want to talk about what this class will be about on how we work with it. My purpose here is to give you the very basics the bare bones of what you need to write your first or a short story. So if you don't know anything about writing, this will be a really good start for you. If you're a know your fair share about writing this class, will they introduce you to have some elements of writing? Are worked within the horror stories again. This will be very basic, but I hope you can use these elements to die. For the first time in the general incoming classes, I will keep more information about some of the elements. We will talk here, and if you want me to talk about anything in particular Atlante do let me know now why, Right or truth be told, there are many videos already other on why we like scary stories, anything from dealing with negative emotions to teach other people lessons to experience dangerous and exciting things in a straight environment. But for me, there is something else. No, I was very young. My mom used to tell me I should not fear because when we fear, we see things that are not really there rings any bells. So what I did next bus obvious. I became obsessed with Doran fear without realizing my mom told me Fear waas the door to magic to the impossible to the fascinating two things we can only dream off in the real world. Orel, to me, is magic on their right over because I want to share that magic, that excitement, that fear, that feeling off adventure I used to have when reading a horror no better watched a over movie or played a or a B The game Alon in my bedroom with the lights holding in a stormy school night. Welcome to horror Economy and See you in the next one. 3. Ideas and Cliches: there is a certain obsession with ideas that I don't really agree with. Most people believe that having a good idea is old you need, but I believe that on idea is just not enough. You can have the best possible idea, but if you're not a decent writer, you won't be able to do anything with it. And to become a decent writer, Jeers have toe right, which means that sometimes you have to write not the best ideas. But whatever idea you have, this also doesn't mean that any idea could turn into a great story. But I'm pretty sure that a good writer cook could grab any idea and turn it into a pretty decent story. So I believe that's the most important thing you have to understand about how to work with 80 years on idea can come actually from anywhere. Think about what you did today. Think about the last time you went upside. Andi, start writing a story that started the same way that your day started, but just put something off something strange. It can be anything, and he doesn't have to be a good idea for for it to work. It could be just a story. Whatever. On as long as you're writing, I really did. You can get the most interesting stories just by writing out like these just from your day to day life. Now were good ideas come from a good idea. It's a combination off many different things, eh? The right thought at the right time. On the best way to come up with the right thought a right time is to just pay attention outside, pay attention to your whole life and try to make everything in your life into a story. Everything that happens, everything you hear, you don't have to actually write all of these stories. But just thinking about them is like if they were stories is a good start. But even if you try to make everything of your life everybody of your life, I say story, it may not be enough. So the second thing I believe is to actually do more things in your life. And writer has to do a lot of things right as someone who experiences life in many different ways in no possible ways and just tries to learn more experience more if you pay attention to your life and you have an interesting life. Good good ideas for stories will come. What else can we do about it? And, well, here's where my opinion will be. Probably not the most accepted between all over the writers on days. Right? Old stories, right? Even Klay share stories, right? Just whatever you want to write. And don't worry if it's a good idea. If it's an original idea, just write. This will also help you with your storytelling skills. But there is another reason for me to tell you to just to ride a cliche story. And it is that a lot off, really good stories come out off to share ideas. Not everything has to be arena or unique. Like, for instance, you may have heard off Stephen King. It's a writer that you know doesn't want, but he has wrote a lot of books on a lot of really good books. But yet most of those works do not come from great ideas. He just comes from cliche, all ideas that have in new twists, or that their focuses on a different place than other stories that older writers have. Like for instance, take bet cemetery it's just a some be story sale. It's just a somebody story on Did. They are breathe different from any other, some historial there. But why they really do not change the formula too much. So why are they good story? Why are they still in a way? Different? Pet Cemetery is just animal somebody's that's all that's That's the great twist off the idea from the same writer. Back of Bonds. It's just haunted house story. The Shining is just a hounded house story. Black houses, just a hunted house story. But all of them have twist here and there be it on the setting or onward. The story focuses his time. Now. There could be a really good creative or in a unique ideas, and if you want their more about them, please let me know. But for these class, we will just just one old cliche idea For this part of a project. You will write your own twist to this old cliche idea, which is that is a family most into a haunted house, that is. So tell us what is your twist? You will give it have fun coming up with Chris share with us in the project Because these will be the story that you're writing this class. I know that you may have wanted to write another story. Maybe you have an idea. But just for the sake of the exercise, I believe this is the best one to start. We'll see you in the next one. 4. What's an Outline?: his story outline is just a guide, something to help those get from one point to the next one. These can be as basic as writing how the story starts. What is a conflict? How complicated is sold on the ending? Very, very basic. However, these can also be a lot more detailed. It all depends on what do you want, and a lot of writers actually prefer when their outlines are detailed. Us possible. But why? Why do we do this? There is these myth that were cold writer's block, which most of the time it is. No blood had only is just a lack off focus. When we don't know where we're going on where we're coming from, there is no story to be told. The point often outline off a very basic outline, or even out Really tell one is to stop this from happening. If you give having stuff to your outline, be it in a detail way or using cars or just ragging background story that readers will not si, but it will help you know where or what they what is going on in the story off. These is considered part of the outline for if you wanted to be on all of these helps us, right, the whole story from beginning to an end. So if you ever started that story and just can't finish it maybe to have a now outline to know, to try to focus from the start where the story was going but you wanted to achieve what was the point off telling it, Then you could have finished that story. But I know people don't like to write outlines. I, for one, used to really hear them. But truth be told, they are a huge help on if you have to get stuck in lots of stories to understand this well , but if you want my advice, just a ride your outline from the start. However, one of the pros of writing free flow is that sometimes it's just most fun. However, this is really, really, really hard to do. If you're not used to writing, you may get stuck at any time, and there is just no easy way to get out from there because even if you have an idea probably just off the beginning and the ending, if you didn't actually write or if you didn't actually knew what was in the middle. Maybe you're beginning waas so far fetched from your ending that there is no way to put them together. And these can create really weak story lines. So, yes, while they can be very fun, I suggest you use this only when you are already really experience as writing and you have a row rowed. A lot of stories on you can actually mix what is to write with an online on to right what is called US free flow writing. If you create a basic outline, everything that happens between one point and the next it's just peripheral writing. You don't have to feel like you are dictating your story completely. You are just getting it. Focus. You can steal, have time for surprises. For interesting, too, is even if the outline doesn't turn out to be like your best guy through this particular story to know that you have a destination, Sometimes it's enough. So for this story that we're going to write, a family moves into a haunted house with a twist, I want you to write a very basic outline. Think about word your story begins. What is the conflict that your family goes through. I remember a conflict is just a way to call whatever struggled if I mean it goes true how the conflict is resolved on What is the ending of the story. It's a very basic outline on that wanted to share with those things your own project Andi See in the next one. 5. Perspective: 1st or 3rd?: a perspective is just from what point? A beauty you will attain. Your story can be just a first person perspective, and it would mean it just means that everything will be told from your main characters. Mind everything. Your character knows everything he thinks. Everything he say's everything he moves is what is going to be communicated to the reader. But from the subjective perspective off your main cocked third person means that there is on a raider, someone else's filling in the story. So it is in a way easier to write from generator perspective. Now that doesn't mean that you have to write. If you are writing first person from just one point of view, you could write in first person, but using multiple characters so each character will keep you their version of the story or at least a part off this story. This is hard to because you have to be able to write really unique, really interesting, really deep characters from the get go, because if all of your characters think talk on, do everything the same because after all there is only one writer, it will break the the readers in motion and That's not something we want now. If you're right in third person doesn't mean that you have to know it a little. You can ride from the third person, but still right just about the subjective experience of a single car that through a whole novel. Now, what are some pros and cons of using one perspective over the other? It really depends on the way you want to write on. What is the story you want to tell? It's perhaps a bit obvious, but first person is usually best if you want to ride a very personal story or a story that Haas to remain a mystery for the main character, Did you choose or the main characters? It is hard, and that's one of the cons because, as I said, you have to be really good at becoming the character. You have to know how this character talks things ads, but not only that, also, how he's lives, why he talked the way he talks on a lot of other things we have making them explicit, just have to become really good at this particular character or set of characters to write good story for the first person for instance, We know Lovecraft aunt. He writes a lot, if not really most of these stories in First Person, which means all of his characters, other wars, talking or writing or telling the story that he is telling. But Lovecraft this by a sign that he was able to create beautiful, amazing awards here was not a really good right, so off his characters are similar. Other fees. Characters are extensions, extensions of himself, so it really hard, even when you do it often now, one of bro's of writing in third person one when to use their present is that you can actually know it. Oh, you can tell the reader things that the characters don't know, or you can keep from the real thing that they the characters do know. You can jump from one character to the next without having to worry about a switch off writing style. Because after all the boys that is telling the story, so with the same it's George incinerators disease, usually best years. Most of the cases It's also, I believe, a little bit easier just because you can write with your own boys or with the boys that the story needs in particular. If you're writing a personal, sad romantic story, you can do it into a person. But if Charles writing really in person, I really fantastic, whimsical stories. You can also write it best into person. Of course, this is just a guide, not a study in stone rule. But this is my suggestion as how to use them, I highly suggest, but it's up to you and that you write this story. The hunter. That family moves into a haunted house in third person so you can jump around. But the decision is yours and your salon, depending on what type of story you want to know. 6. Show, don't tell: if you've been doing some research on writing, I'm pretty sure you've heard this advice before. Show don't tell, but what does this mean? It means that instead of telling us that your character is afraid, describe him running away in panic. It's trap. Use cold hands that's red running in his face, his heart beating like a drum where his mind is going, where he's running for his life. Don't tell us he or she is afraid. Show it to us if you're steles, he's scared. You have failed. You have to get yourself on your reader into your character's feelings and flows into the situation. He's leaving, but do it smartly is The scene is really quick. Don't ascribe. Laying the way his pants mobile in his running, not pointing that, I mean, we just break the base on your hand sometimes telling if it still somehow important to the scene. All the story it might be best either, really needs to know something, but there's no time nor pointing making into personal better to just tell it these again with care. Don't give us over, exposition out text walls or dialogue. But remember that if this scene is meant to connect the real with the story with the characters to emotion. Always show it to us. This will let the reader also know how to feel and at what times to feel it. So for this part of the brake, please remember the last time you felt a very strong emotion and do your best at showing us that emotion in jail. Break station. Don't tell us why a felony if you don't want it. But the show us how it felt in the best way you can. That's no for these one and see you the next one. 7. What type of story you want to write?: There are many types of stories you can tell, especially on aural. Many sub generous seems moods you can write, but what you right in the end depends on your own personal reasons to write that particular story. So your story can be anything from melancholic. A whimsical, shocking strange on all of this can be also different. Depending on hold, your riddle will be ho. Are you writing for Children? Teenagers was, is an other or readers first time or readers think about their age. They relieves their tastes. One of these choices will tell you and help you a lot to know story you're writing and worries best to go with the story on its blood and outlet. A very simple story, like a monster, is afraid of the kid that sleeps over his bed can be a funny and whimsical Children's or a story, but it can also be a restoring, mind shattering tail. Like Junji Ito style can tell you, there is nothing to fear on the dark or that the worst monsters are humans, even when they are Children. Also commit mindless of generated shoes can say a lot on yourself. A position story is primed to tell a released point of your story just like the conjuring movies or The Exorcist book. But this is not always the case in position life stories. We also have the Tommy knockers, which some people would not call a position story. But it really is, in a way, which is also Saif fiish on Mostly, just more fun. Think about what you want to write or why you want to write this story you have in mind on Always Start from There, which also means something else. I personally I'm with Stephen King when he says that story is first. Always first on theme is always lost. So if you want to write this story because it's fun because deploy idea scares you and you want to share it, do it. No need to want to say something ordered and the story yourself and when do you have a theme or deeper meaning in mind? Keep in mind that this story also always comes first. If it doesn't, nobody will want to read it, and you might as well write nonfiction to communicate saved message and please remember, if you want me to talk more about the or some generous or hotel Better ride a certain orders of general yours, Teibel or story. Let me know in the comments and I get under it for the next class. Care to share more about you? Let us know in your presentation why you want to write Orel. Well, you want to write a oral story? Does it have to be the warm from the product? But any right? Why are you interested in this? And that's all for today. See in the next one. 8. Opening line and paragraphs: your opening is perhaps the most important part of your story. You could have a crappy ending. A midi occurred blood on inability to rival the characters. And still you can burn in your readers minds. A good opening sitting Kings say that whenever he thought of her new story, who would spend a while trying to ride a really good first paragraph? Not too long, of course, but not too little. If he could do it, he'd write the whole thing. If he could not. He will not write this story at all. Your opening lines on your first paragraphs are what will grab your reader's on hook. The mean this story so it's important. Can't be overstated. But how do you come up with a good opening? Well, it really depends on the story you are telling. And most importantly, how are you telling it? A small trick you can use is to start in the middle of a situation as turned by the reader to discover what the situation waas about. This doesn't have to be extremely important, but it does have to be interesting readers like discovered stories they like to be pulled into an already formed world, and they loved escorted by themselves, starting a story with once. When the time is usually really difficult to do. You can, of course, do it, but I can really recommend it. Sleeping Kings The dog towers start something like the man in black fled across the desert on the guns, linger followed. This is a beautiful opening line. It starts in the middle of something that's been going on for quite some time. You don't know how long and you don't know how or when will it end it? Tell us who the protagonists is. It tell us what the saying is on. Tells us who the antagonist is or the goal, which in this case is the same in just the opening line on In the paragraphs that continue , Stephen King managed to trap us in ah already established conflict that you will spend the whole time breathing wondering how it will end. So how do you do this? How do you actually start your story with the rightful? It'll depends on what type of story you want to tell. Like I say in the previous video, these will pretty much define everything like what is your main character if you have one. Or if you have multiple, what is the story you are telling? Are you tell him, from which perspective did it already happened? Is it happening it? Will it happen All of this, really? I think you would. You have to choose. You have to decide on on whether the story some a melancholic a warning says last year. One. It's a the action bad one. These will also define exactly where you should best start. So, First of all, decide all of this in all of the story you have imagine and outlined so far where it will start and why you can go back to your outline and change it at this point, if you want all you can use it to see what you wrote when you wanted to start and see. Try to guess why you wanted to start the Remember. You can write many types of oral stories that can be really sad. It can be at the really terrifying, scary You can be a mind screw one. It can be for Children. 14 8 years for young adults, for for adults, for new readers of or for experienced readers of four. It can be for you along on wherever you are in your or life that couldn't find it. So when once you are ready to start, just put visiting, Um, start writing on it. I tried to write something that sounds right. You can really you can really Teoh a friend or family member. You can read it out loud and actually always read out loud your stories and tried to make it sound right. Figure out how much you are telling and how much do you want to tell in those opening lines and see if it does connect with the rest of your outline on how well it much is the pace on the type of story you want to tell Clinton. Rated with the boys of a person that will really with a ride month for your particular story. If it's a scared one, tried to really with a scared boys like if you were truly scared. If it has a message you want to tell, what will the reader off that mention will be on how it will read the beginning. Do it over and over again. Try to write different opening alliance, and you can be not just one single lying. It can be a whole first paragraph fun and tried to do it over and over again. And I'm pretty sure you will come up with something that it's just right after that. Your story. It's really just opening, which means we are not done yet, trying to help the reader that the first lines is usually really good. But the first few paragraphs are what will steal the whole deal. You show you the opening paragraphs are the ones where you will introduce. You're setting your characters, the story, the goal and so on. The risk here is being too exposition. All is telling too much. Instead of showing to us, you don't have to do it like all at once. You can still be introducing some things on the rest of your story, So the difficulty here is to actually tell the reader all of these things while actually telling a story. There should be some balance between exposition on storytelling on. You should write the straightening part in a way that it actually explained some things, just like in the showed, until it's not only about emotions What do you tell us? It is in a setting or why something is important for sitting character should let us know more about the world and the story on the character itself. On Does Your Simon today is twofold. Well, we finally starting the story. So first of all, create a killer opening line. You can actually great treat for fire as many as you want and Sherry widows and your product. Remember to read it out loud. Ask friends and family experiment over and over again. Tried to make it sound right, but don't overdo it. At some point, you have to say, this is the beginning of the story on Like Stephen King. We will write this story when if we can find the best start but try to do your best. All right, for the second part. Just tried to write the next paragraph or two burgers. He depends on how longer story will be. Remember, you have to introduce at least part of your character's part of your sitting on your goals , and so maybe even so far us toe introduce him part of the conflict. So that's it for today and see you the next one 9. The conflict: Well, it's time for us to talk about conflict, which some might say it is the most border on part of the story, mostly because it's where the reader will spend the most time. Some people believe that conflict. It's all about Byler. So are about having an internist, and then it means something or someone to the fit. But that's not necessarily the case. Complete can be pretty much anything and me obstacle that presents itself to the characters . This can be the same characters. This can be a situation. This can be any circumstances that they have to overcome. Now, of course, you know it is usually a monster, a supernatural force. But well, as we have talked already, it really depends on the story you want to tell on the subject for an so on. And so the government can simply be a character, not believing what he's seeing or having to coming to terms with what he's seeing or experiencing. If it is a supernatural or otherwise unbelievable situation, it doesn't have to be like, ah, mother of life and death, but it certainly can be. The comfort can be so Bible survival for the night old over the week, or with the monster attack or whatever it is contracting or can be really bright, just like in any other general. So don't feel like Teoh forced your characters into a situation in which they have to survive. Only that that's the most common. And it's fine if you want to do that, if that's the story you're writing. But the government can be many, many different things. Just keep in mind that conflict usually means or usually ease. The center point of the whole story is the reason why we are there in. Instead, we're going to ride the family moves into a hunted house. The conflict is the haunted house, or it usually ease. I thought it. This is not, of course, necessarily they the story can be. Or rather, these haunted house situation can be just in the background in case you want to tell a different story. But it's usually ease just like that. It's if you want to take the approach stating the D as media, you can do it. You don't have to actually win when the well you don't have to be coding code or enough to be good do your conflict as what you think is best. Some things to keep in mind, however, is that the conflict most follow the opening. This sounds like to overuse, perhaps, but a lot of people don't really all right or can. They are not really able to do it properly because they right a opening with a certain conflict in mind. However, they did not connect properly. The opening had was never intended to connect with the conflict they had in mind. So that's why the implosions off the outline cannot be understated. This is the point in which all the characters will reintroduce the same you're really introduce in. The opening is coming to something. It's It's, it's going. It's way too rich where you want them to be. In the situation in which your characters are the central point in the story. This is a point in which they have toe able. They have to be started to turn into something else into whatever they are going to be at the end. So it's the same for the setting or the whole central story. Whatever it is, this is the golden point. I don't forget to go back to that island over and over again to see that this conflict, that this middle point in the story is not actually turning away from what you already only wanted to be. The end. Now, sometimes it can be fun toe to explore different ideas toe where it's going, but it's not really suggested, or I can't really recommended that lives forward. The few first or you right stick to it. Stick to your outline and you will be You will do better if you do it this way. Now for this part of assignment, just tell us what is a conflict in your story. You don't have to actually share with us at this point if you don't want to that part of your story of your radiant story. But do tell us what is the conflict I didn't actually have to to share with us that part of the story, if you have already would have reading it. But please do tell us what is the conflict. What is a comfort conflict that you are planning to work on on your 100 health story on that, so for this one and see you in the next one 10. The Climax: this Is it usually the most exciting part of a story? There's a point most of us wanted to reach when starting a whole story. It is. The order will sell when we close the rise. The monster, the killer now are the realization. Everything wasa cosmic trap. Why never already. You imagine it is usually here where we can see it best. There are now. There are two main types of climates. The suspense ones on the surprise one the 1st 1 needs noticed. It is a combination of everything that came before it. We as readers been expecting it because the story, because their letters knew in a way that we were going to find just that. Of course it doesn't. It can't still include a few surprises or twist here and there. But such surprises usually not the point. The whole journey have prepared us for these type of climates. There's a price one, however relaxed completely on pulling the rock off your readers fit. It is the point in which they spill their coffee all over your work and open their mountings. Believe it is also the moment in which to be funny. If you wanted to be surprise goes a long way, and sometimes this type of time access station reader's mind for way longer than the other one in our story and especially insured or stories, the climates is usually also the resolution. It is the ending, another forest stories. And when the character realized the whole or everything that was set up for them, this is harder to do in longer works. But for short stories, he usually works. Wonders, however, do not get caught in the trap that everything is about the climax. Everything is about this possible resolution or ending. The journey is sometimes a lot more important that the that the ending, everything you made the real feel up to this point, the way you trap them in with the hook and to start on all the way through the whole story , a conflict, these resolution off the conflict. This climax, this higher point doesn't have to be everything in the story that I have to be like. The most important part, despite a lot of people saying or thinking that it is again, really depends on what table story you wanted to ride on. What type of store you are right, Which just a society note. What type of store you're writing doesn't mean what story you are writing. You can write a the same idea, the same concept in many different ways. In the end, these sort of were writing and hunted. A family moved into a hunted house can be, and I'm pretty sure that it will be really differently by everyone. So don't so keep in mind that the journey sometimes it is just more more important now this is said share for us in the parade section, your whole story up to the climate's. If your story has an ending, just be with me for a moment. Don't finish it yet before watching the next video list. But share with us. We will be glad to be able to read this. That's all for there's one and see you in the next one 11. The End: after the climates, there comes the resolution. I'm finally the ending If you have decided to have an ending. This is the moment where the sun comes out for stories with happy endings. All the moment your characters realize they're still being eating in the darker ones. Keep in mind, the ending usually has to be completely a turned to the rest of the stories move or rather , the story mood will usually deter mined the ending, just like the conflict. The ending has also to connect with the opening. Everything has to flow. Everything has to make sense within this story's universe. The ending also has to be a resolution to the whole story. It has to feel right, answering most, or at least the most important questions that presented themselves over this story. It doesn't you risk the possibility of the reader filling the story. Waas pointless. They are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but for the time being, it's whether it is way on. Don't forget that the climate, what's already the highest point of your story everything afterwards is just not that impressive. Which is why, and especially in short oral stories, most writers decided the climax will be the Indy as the leader readers in the highest, however, and forgive me for saying this again. It will depend on what type of over a story you are writing as a final suggestion. I'd say to be really, really careful with us here. No, because you can't write them here. Like I say that at the very beginning there's always a way. But because writing a cliche ending exactly shame yourself. Everything from the main character was there all along, or the characters your main character interacted with were that all along poor? There has not been house there for over 15 years. Exubera. They are being told many, many times before, and it packs no punch at all. Unless again you can give it a twist. You can call them out or you make a party out of them. Otherwise, don't use any of these places as an extra table. Recommend giving an ending to your shot or a story when you can give a surprise ending something like something that will change everything before it. But keep in mind the cliches about also, if you're writing for Children or teenagers, do write an ending either one with a lighter tongue for Children or one with a bit darker finale for teenagers. Do you want some examples? Our old Stein is really, really good at this for this part of the brake. Sure we does your whole story, including the ending. Have. If you didn't have unending for your story, right on that video. What happened next? What happened a few days after after your stories are climax ending? That's all for today. And see you next one. 12. Congratulations!: Well, congratulations. You call along. You're now a proper over writer and your first or stories there to prove it. Now, don't forget, this does was just a start. I'm not really playing a few ideas for new classes to improve upon the things we've seen here. But if there's anything you want me to talk land, please do let me know what? Remember, I'll be there reviewing your projects, helping you along the way. What's answering your questions and comments? Think you're so much for joining me in this first class off or economy. Don't forget to share. I'm all the way. If you want to know what Thanks. See you then.