Articles

From The Writer Archive: Fiction techniques that terrify

Tap into readers’ fears for an emotionally rich story
By John Edward Ames
Published: April 7, 2010
“If it sends a cold shiver down one’s spine,” Edith Wharton said of the horror tale, “it has done its job and done it well.” For centuries, savvy horror writers have passed this visceral test by relying on proven techniques that elicit shuddering, bristling and terror. But horror writers do not claim eminent domain over the realm of fear, an emotion integral to every genre. Some conventions of dark fantasy offer a rich mother lode of fear-inducing techniques valuable to all fiction writers. Here are five such techniques.
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