Wicked Wednesday - giving your readers the creepy-crawlies

Giving your readers the chills is a tough thing to do. There's only one Stephen King. As for the rest of us, we have to use all the tricks at our disposal.

- When I think creepy atmosphere, I think setting. Graveyards, haunted houses, empty streets. Just placing your characters in an ill-lit room will help immensely. Yet it doesn't have to be a horror stereotype. If you're good, you can make any setting spooky. The reader is going to expect something out of the ordinary even if you place the scene in the ladies' restroom or a wig shop.

- It's in the details. Don't over do it with lavish descriptions of dusty cobwebs, the wind blowing the drapes, and something lurking in the shadows. Drop a chilly detail here and there. Something that might be normal but isn't quite. Something that will make the reader wonder. A writer's best tool in creating a spooky scene is the reader's imagination. The reader will always imagine something horrible and help to give themselves goosebumps.

- Part of the creepiness of a story is in creating suspense and tension. You want the reader on the edge of their seat. An effective way of doing this is through the characters' reactions. Don't let your text be filled with too much thinking. Describe what they're seeing, hearing, smelling. Use all the senses. Write their physical reactions. Spooky stories are about showing rather than telling.

- Even with paranormal tales where things are out of the ordinary, try to keep things as realistic as possible. What scares people the most is if they start thinking something like that is possible. Hit on the things that frighten people the most and use them to help build up the tension.

What tricks do you use for creating a spooky atmosphere in your stories?

(Note: I've been a little busy lately. So these tips are reposted from a post I did in 2011. I've been doing Wicked Wednesdays that long? Wow.)

Click on over to the spooky Untethered Realms and find yourself an enchanted drink. We have the recipes! Even one from Jezebel.

Mini Reviews For Stories That Wowed Me

(Any excuse to use this picture of Dean Winchester!)

I've been reading a lot great books lately, and I want to share them all with you. But how to do that without a super long post? Mini reviews. Let's hope I can do these awesome tales justice with a few sentences.

"Dragon's Destiny" by Alex J. Cavanaugh

This short story is the sequel to Alex's latest fantastic space opera novel, Dragon of the Stars. I loved seeing what happened with Aden and the Kargrandes. The drama was in the emotions of the characters rather than big action sequences, and Alex pulled it off beautifully. You can get this tale free from Alex as a gift to his fans.

Black Magic & Mojitos by A.A. Chamberlynn

A kick-ass teaser novella for Alexia's upcoming urban fantasy novel. It's fast-paced, dark, hilarious, and full of action. It features a supernatural bounty hunter, Zyan Star who is now one of my new favorite UF heroines!

 

Ghost of Death by Chrys Fey

A marvelous short paranormal tale that grabbed me right from the beginning. The tension is tight throughout and everyone is a suspect. Such fun in that Jolie hates being a ghost and the detective working her murder case is the only one who can see her.

Beyond: Space Opera  by Milo James Fowler, Siobhan Gallagher, Anne E. Johnson, Simon Kewin, Devin Miller, and Deborah Walker.

This is a fantastic collection of science-fiction short stories. We have the humorous and horrific, the awe-inspiring and the monstrous. A little something for everyone and then some. "Captain Clone" was my favorite of the tales. Wait until you meet Grey Cut!

 

Double Negative by C. Lee McKenzie

A wonderfully inspiring YA contemporary that really pulled at my heartstrings. It's narrated by Hutch, a teen trapped in a dysfunctional family and feeling that he has no way to escape. Nothing is sugarcoated, dismal as reality can be, but there was still a light of hope.

 

My upcoming reads...

 

River Fairchild recently released another hilarious novella about Death and Chronos, Just Another Day in Purgatory. I can't wait to read more of their adventures!

 

My family and I went to the library yesterday, and I picked up a couple of thick novels. Stephen King's Finders Keepers and L.K. Hamilton's Dead Ice. I've been reading on my Kindle so much lately, I hope my wrists can handle these books!

 

I'll be co-hosting IWSG this week.

I'm eager to find out what their mega surprise is!

See you on Wednesday. 

Teaser Tuesday with Doctor Sleep

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is one worth reading just for the journey alone. DOCTOR SLEEP is the sequel to THE SHINING. Have you ever wondered what happened to Dan Torrance? Find out. So far, it's classic Stephen King.

Here's your teaser:
Abra thought she might be the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Also, she realized at once, and without a shadow of a doubt, she was insane. (page 220)

* * * * *

Join me over at the Untethered Realms blog

for a post about setting your writing goals for 2014.

Do you have any tips about how to stick with your goals that you want to share?

Teaser Tuesday with Joyland

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

JOYLAND is Stephen King's newest book. I was lucky to nab it off the express book shelf at the library and didn't have to wait for 55 other people to read it first. It's very King-ish. Lots of nostalgia. Not very creepy yet, but the characters are fascinating.

Here's your teaser:
"What's a self-respecting amusement park without a ghost? Maybe you'll see her yourself." (page 29)

Review for Passing Time

Passing Time: Nine Short Tales of the Strange and Macabre

Nine dark fiction stories that may just give you nightmares.

A man lives to regret Passing Time. A father will do anything to save his son in Expiration Date. An author finds out her worst nightmare is back in The Devil’s Song. A woman gets more than the claim fee when she takes out vampire insurance in Luna Black.

In Dining in Hell, the Death Valley Diner becomes the wrong place to stop.

A serial killer wants to add another file to his collection in The Vegas Screamer. In Eating Mr. Bone, an undertaker could meet an unfortunate end. A con man meets his first ghost in Land of the Free. And will truth finally be set free in The Letter?

 

My review:

Passing Time is a wonderfully written collection of dark and eerie tales. Each story has its own way of gripping your soul. Some are short and intense, and others lure you down a long twisted path. You're left wondering about your own mortality, what you would do for love, and what terrifies you the most. As a writer, I was particularly paralyzed by "The Devil's Song."

My two favorite stories were "Expiration Date" and "The Vegas Screamer." The first takes place in a future where cloning is possible. You never have to lose someone you love. The second frightening tale is about a serial killer that has a chilling collection. Though each story has a strong and unique voice, this one stood out with its Stephen King feel.

I can't wait to read more from Ellie Garratt.

Book Links

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Facebook

Meet Ellie Garratt

A life-long addiction to reading science fiction and horror, meant writing was the logical outlet for Ellie Garratt’s passions. She is a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online. Passing Time is her first eBook collection and contains nine previously published stories. Her science fiction collection Taking Time will be published later this year.

Great stalking places:

Website | Amazon | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

Teaser Tuesday with The Wind Through The Keyhole

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

A new addition to Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I was a little worried about it, but I slipped easily into the world again. It's a story within a story within a story. When you read it, it makes sense!

Here's your teaser:
"The new plug's a lot deeper than the old ones, and everyone knows there are demons in the earth. Mayhap one of the miners struck on one, wakened it, and was done a mischief by it." (page 64)

In NaNoWriMo news:

Writing Quotes from the Master of Horror

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."

 

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” 

 

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”

 

“A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.”

 

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”

“Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy."

What was your childhood monster?

First, a reminder that I'm over at Aubrie Dionne's blog today. We had a fun talk! Please stop by and say hello.

My monster came a little later in my childhood. From a really young age, I've always had a fascination with the supernatural. I was never afraid of ghosts or the dark. I never needed a nightlight. I grew up beside a cemetery and it was my favorite playground. When I was a teenager, I'd sleep with my window wide open - even in the winter - with the hope that a vampire would fly in from the graveyard and bite me!

I had a captain's bed growing up, so there was never room for a monster to hide under it. I never thought about closet monsters until I was ten and picked up Stephen King's Cujo. I've always been mature for my age. This was the first King book I picked up, and he nabbed me within the first few pages.

No, it wasn't the dog that scared me. I actually felt sorry for Cujo. It was the monster in Tad's closet that chilled me to the bone. It wasn't the stereotypical growl and drool I'm-going-to-eat monster. It talked, and it was intelligent. That made it super creepy. To top it off, I was home alone after school when I started to read the book. I was sitting in the living room in the big chair, one of my favorite reading spots. As I read about this monster, the basement door slowly creaked open. Logically, I knew it was probably because I didn't shut it properly when I put in the laundry downstairs. But all I could think about was this monster. A smart and evil beast. Dumb ones I might be able to trick, but this was no ordinary creature. I sat in the chair frozen, unable to move, until my father and brother came home about twenty minutes later.

I couldn't sleep that night. My room was tiny, only six by eight. The foot of my captain's bed was very near the closet. I piled my stuffed animals around me and kept the lamp on all night. I swear I could hear the monster chuckling from behind the closed sliding doors of my closet.

Of course, though the monster was smart, I was a clever kid. The next morning, I removed my closet doors. No closet, no monster. The remedy was as simple as that.

I guess my idea inspired other children in the neighborhood as well. My little brother removed his closet doors that week and so did half a dozen other neighbor kids. Closet doors are good for building forts!

Stephen King remains one of my biggest inspirations.

Don't forget to spread the word about FEARLESS! And Tawa wants to know what was your childhood monster?

First Adult Book Read Blogfest

This Blogfest is hosted by Heroines with Hearts. All you have to do is fess up on the first adult book you picked up and read: whether a classic, a racy novel or that of unusual content, then post your entry on own blog July 24th/25th.

 

I was always a mature reader. I started reading Stephen King when I was ten years old. I can't recall if I read Cujo or Carrie first. Yet I do remember when I started to read Cujo, I was home alone after school. At the beginning of the book, a little boy is being terrorized by a monster in his closet. As I read it, our basement door slowly opened on its own. Someone probably didn't latch it properly, but I was in the proper mood to be startled. I went up to my room to sit on my bed and read. Then something fell down in my closet. I removed the doors to my closet after that thus making sure my room didn't have a closet for a monster to hide!