How to Write a Great Horror Story

You Are a Writer!

'The greatest technique available to a writer, is simply to believe.'

Before we talk about technique, I want to address the elephant in the room: What it takes to be a writer.

First thing's first, you need to start thinking of yourself as a writer. You need to believe in yourself to have conviction in your own words. A reader will always eye an author suspiciously who seems insincere or unconvincing.

Do you have much to learn? Sure! But then that could be said of us all, young or old, expert or novice. Approach writing from a humble perspective, but never allow anyone to tell you that you cannot achieve your goals, or that you are not cut out to be a writer.

If you pursue any 'unusual' aspiration, especially if it is in the creative fields, then you will meet many people who will believe it to be a fools errand, but you cannot afford to let that cloud your belief. Remember, all humans are born equal, if one person can achieve something, so can you, no matter what others say!

So, repeat after me: 'I am a Writer!'

Good, now don't let anyone else ever tell you any different. There are a lot of detractors out there, but you possess the courage and the commitment to make things happen!

Learning to be a Writer

There are many approaches to learning anything, but one myth can both encourage and dissuade anyone from following their ambitions. That myth is that 'you're either born with it, or you're not'. This idea that if you do not possess great talent from birth, that you will never cultivate it within yourself is absolute nonsense.

For those who do seem to have a natural flair for storytelling or the written word this may seem like a comfort. You may think 'hey I'm gifted!'. Well, remove that thought from your mind right this second, because it will only do you harm. If you believe that you are naturally bound to be a writer then you may believe that your work is already done, that you don't need to learn anything, and as a result you will neither work hard nor increase your skills. Ego is your enemy and if you recognise that, you can develop your talents and become a wonderful writer!

For those who find it difficult, such a thought as 'others are gifted, but I am not' can be crushing. Take heart! In my experience those who have to work harder in the beginning often become superb writers, because they develop a work ethic from day one, which encourages them to constantly hone and develop their skills. The trick is to never give up!

As someone who has taught people of all groups and ages over the past decade, I can tell you right now that there are three basic attributes which anyone can have, which will allow them to achieve any goal:

Desire: You have to want it bad enough to make it happen!

Effort: Work hard and the rewards are yours! Be lazy and you'll be going nowhere fast!

Endurance: There will be dark times, there will be periods of doubt, but those who never give up and who possess the ability to dust themselves off and carry on after a stumble, will achieve excellence.

If you want to succeed at being a writer you have to realise that it will take time, and it will take hard work. If you are just in love with the idea of being a 'tortured artist' wishing to impress people by saying 'I am a writer', then you can forget it.

You have to want to write to be a writer.

It may seem like such an obvious statement to make, but I have met many people who claimed to be writers, but very few who actually loved to commit their words to the page.

Now that we've established that you are indeed a writer, a teller of tales, and an architect of entire worlds, we can really get started!