Are you sure you are writing horror or just plain fiction?

Do any of you even know what horror means?

Let me get the dictionary so you can – no, that’s just wrong, but with this you get how peeved I am.

I detest reviewing horror books; especially after savage encounters with judging horror.

Don’t get me wrong, I looove horror. I am crazy about it and I have read so many, with some resting peacefully in my reading app.

I don't mean this app. 👺

Wattpad is the last place I would come to for horror.

But what gives?

On this app, I can count the number of good horror books I’ve read on my five fingers... or maybe ten.

There are even people reading this who think they are writing horror but that may not always be the case.

Something scratched the wall. When I turned, something had written on it. I looked at the window and saw a shadow behind a tree . . .

Oh, wow.

Please applaud.

That scared the hell out of me, I’m literally shitting my pants.

I think I just had a heart attack.

Holy cow, that was terrifying.

This is a really scary book.

Wow, what will happen to her next?

Haew, the monster looks so terrifying.

OMG. Is she going to die?

This is the most horrifying book I have ever read . . .

I’m sorry, but where in heaven’s name did these readers come from?

I really want to strangle the people who wrote those comments.

How on Earth was that terrifying?!

Are you on drugs that are amplifying the effect of dancing words before your eyes?

When people WANT to read horror, they want to feel the terror in the story, they want the creepy elements to be soaked into their very bones. They want something that will disturb them while reading!

How –

What the –

NANI?!

I am sick of opening a supposed horror book and seeing . . .

Oh, my.

The character moved to a new house she simply can’t leave because of the plot.

How cute.

Do you know how much you need to prepare the setting of a horror novel to transfer the terror to your readers?! I don’t want to hear anything about Stephen King because I have seen amateur readers pull this off!!!

To be honest, no book on wattpad has terrified me, but I have been disturbed by some; and I liked it! They were good, honestly. I didn’t get the excitement I was looking for, but I got the creepy feeling.

Some of them I remember are RaghavBhatia7 frecklesonhisnose Paranormal_Princess . . .

There are some other authors I remember but I cant recall their usernames 😔

If you have an interesting horror novel I am interested!

Bonus if it is really terrifying; but I don’t like ghost stories or anything too spiritistic, they are kind of dull and annoying; maybe not to my taste.

Again with creativity, must a horror story be all about ghosts?!

We have paranormal creatures, serial killers, crazy stalkers, disturbing elemental entities (man eating trees or wells or a man eating wall, think up something!) We have so many things we could use. A toilet paper for example could house a portal to another dimension where nasty things creep through.

I am yet to read of a character living under the same roof as a serial killer or a creepy tenant.

What is it with you and ghosts?!

Well, even if you fail in those aspects or are lacking in creativity, you at least have to make your reader immersed in the story.

I am sure a lot of you are familiar with the SHOW AND NOT TELL RULE?

I will discuss this confusing topic in another chapter.

And you know how much telling can dampen the horror in a story.

Some of you will write rubbish. I am sorry, and to console you, I used to write rubbish too when I didn’t know what I was doing. I think I even wrote like a toddler once . . . I can’t exactly remember, but I do remember writing a trashy story that needed holy water for purification.

I mean you might want to tear your eyes out if you read it.

I think I was eight when I wrote something like that . . . now I have no idea where it is.

Okay, horror.

Horror fans want horror not a story of a teenager who moves into a new house – why is it always a new house – and is scared of her own shadow.

Even a story like that won’t make a baby cry.

The quality of horror books on this app is even far worse than that of romance. It sucks balls that you cannot deliver what your readers want. Of course, it’s not easy, but it’s even more infuriating when such a thing is pointed out to you and you treat the reviewer like Bloody Mary.

I am not sure it’s good enough for me to tell you to read your book yourself cause some of you might be brain dead.

There are writers who don’t know how terrible their work is and when they are told, they look at you like idiots and tell you the book is perfect.

If you know it’s perfect, why apply for a review?

Reviewers and judges, please tell me that you haven’t been disappointed when going through a horror novel or two?

Also, some of you should know that there are some writers who aren’t even writing horror but have elements of it in their ordinary works, and they were exquisite.

So, please, do something about that genre.

Genres require delicacy and research when writing them. Even writing romance is not as easy as it sounds. You are writing a novel directed at seasoned readers who have been reading books of that genre for YEARS and it is without a doubt that these readers will COMPARE your work with what they’ve read in the past. If you write a trashy horror directed at a lover of horror, it pisses them off beyond reason!

Okay, that’s enough.

There are times I have researched source materials for writing horror and I have been very disturbed reading those materials. Seriously, I couldn’t sleep peacefully for a week after what I had witnessed . . . and it wasn’t even a novel.

And yet, you write about Alice in wonderland and deem it the horror genre.

Who are you deceiving?

Even if you are mediocre, your horror book is meant to at least give your readers the creeps, not make us feel like we are reading a nursery rhyme.

Also, do yourself a huge favour and read other professional horror books. Focus on what creeps you out or scares you and why it does. How did the writer paint the scenario or previous scenes to get to that disturbing moment? How was their description? Did the description focus on the atmosphere or on the gruesome details of the dismembered bodies being torn into by the rotten teeth of the crooked figure hanging above them?

Here is a helpful link; I’ll write it in this inline comment so you are just a tap away.

The best I recommend is to start from the classics. By classics, I mean all those old books. The likes of The Grimm brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, Shirley Jackson, Henry James, before moving on to  Andrew Neiderman, R. L. Stein, Stephen King, Thomas Harris, and so many others. Also, do check out Mary and The Hollow Girl by Hillary Monahan; she is amazing!

I especially urge you to read any old horror books. Those people sure knew how to write something darn creepy from the dark ages.

By the way, hasn't anyone ever heard of Jukes Verne and H. G. Wells?

I'm so smart right now. Praise me. 👾

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Just
Kidding.

Find your muse.

Find your creepiness, or whatever.