Hi Reader,
I love this time of year. We’re in full Halloween mode!
Pumpkins are out. Horror movies are everywhere. Stores are full of fake skeletons, rubber spiders, and things that scream when you walk past them. What's not to love?
So I thought, what better time to talk about something I’ve believed for a long time - every writer should try writing horror at least once.
And no, that doesn't mean I'm saying you have to become a full-time horror writer. But if you haven't tried it yet as a creative outlet, horror might just test your writing in ways other genres haven't.
Think about it, you can take fear, grief, anger, loneliness, family problems, obsession, guilt, or anxiety and turn them into something visual and dramatic.
A ghost, a monster, a curse. Heck, even just a door that should never be opened.
That’s part of what makes horror so much fun. It lets you take something real and push the limits of fear and fantasy.
Horror forces characters to act
One of my favorite things about horror is that it puts people under pressure - and as any good writer knows, pressure reveals character.
It’s easy for a character to seem brave when everything is going well. It’s much more interesting when the lights go out, someone disappears, and danger is around every corner. Now the character has to decide who to trust, what do to next and how to stay alive. All those choices tell us who they really are.
That's useful for any writer (and even for any genre). Put the character under extreme pressure and see what they do.
The beautiful thing about horror is that it allows you to place your characters into those kinds of situations quickly and believably (even if the situation itself seems far-fetched).
You can write almost anything inside horror
Another reason I love the genre is the almost endless variety. You can write supernatural horror, psychological horror, creature features, slashers, folk horror, sci-fi horror, horror-comedy, weird westerns, apocalyptic horror, cosmic horror, or dozens of other kinds of terror you can imagine.
You can even take a genre you already love and mix horror into it.
Say you love romance. Well, think about movies like Obsession or Fatal Attraction - they're great examples of love gone wrong in a horrific way.
Love science fiction? Put something horrible on the spaceship and turn an otherwise mundane story about space travel into a haunted house among the stars. Alien and Event Horizon did just that, and in very different ways.
What about comedy? Take the beats of a straight-up horror, but add in slapstick, witty dialogue, and curveballs that make the audience laugh out loud. Army of Darkness and Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil are just two examples of many that succeeded.
The same goes for any other genre pairing. That kind of freedom is hard to beat, and this time of year is the perfect time to get into the mindset to do it.
But horror isn't only for October
Sure, Halloween makes horror easier to think about right now, but honestly, horror works all year-round.
I mean, fear doesn't have a season. Neither does grief. Or loneliness, anxiety, or the need to survive.
Bottom line, the stories we tell in horror are really stories about people.
The way I see it is, the supernatural part is what gets our attention. The human part is what keeps us glued to the page or screen.
That’s what I talk about in my latest YouTube video, where I break down the full five reasons every writer should try horror and why the genre can help you build better characters, stronger conflict, and more memorable stories.
🎥 Watch the full video here: Why Writing Horror Can Make You a Better Writer
And if you want help with your screenplay - horror or otherwise - on a human level, and from an experienced writer and story coach, then click one of the links below:
👉 My coaching calls - great for brainstorming, outlining, character work, and solving story problems early: Book Your Session today!
👉 My coverage packages - a great next step if you need meaningful developmental feedback before diving back into the draft: Click here!
👉 Rewrite to Greenlight - my ongoing developmental editing program for taking a script from almost there to funding or production-ready: Click here!
So yes, October might be a great excuse to start writing something scary, but don’t put the monsters away on November 1st. You may find that you have more to say with them than you think!
Until next time - keep writing, and stay creative!
Neil
P.S. Check out my feature film, Spin the Wheel - out now on Tubi!
Click here to watch for FREE: https://tubitv.com/movies/100030151/spin-the-wheel
And see my latest feature, Contamination, now on Fawesome, Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango, and Hoopla!
Learn more about storytelling, screenwriting, and filmmaking: www.neilchasefilm.com.
Looking for in-depth help with your script, story or film? Check out my one-on-one coaching services here.
Check out my Gothic horror-western novel, Iron Dogs, available in eBook, print, and audiobook.
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