Anyone who reads or writes horror fiction or consumes it in video form understands what it is. Horror is a feeling of intense terror, dread, or EEK! Horror fiction needs to cause that, or it’s probably something else (or just bad).

Of course, not everyone is afraid of the same thing. One person squirming uncomfortably over the gruesome ranks of shambling corpses may not care if you dangle giant radioactive spiders over her head. Someone for whom that spider is the stuff of nightmares may yawn at a gothic mansion populated by the ghosts of long-dead murder victims intent on revenge.

Writers can’t possibly cater to everyone’s fears. They choose one (often one they struggle with themselves) and write about it with the intent to scare other people. But how?

Sitting down, perhaps in the dead of night when a storm is clattering tree branches against the house, with intent to write a story that scares people presents several challenges. First, you need all the stuff that normally goes into quality fiction: setting, characters, conflict, etc. Then you need to use all of those things to create that feeling of dread or disquiet. Jump scares, popular in horror games, TV shows, and movies are almost impossible to pull off in written work.

First of all, nothing says you have to avoid certain genres or tropes just because a lot of other people wrote using them in the past. Yes, there are tons of zombie stories out there. They have been around for decades and have showed up in a huge variety of incarnations from aggressive, speedy monsters to shambling masses of relatively easily killed zerglings.

Two schools of thought exist when it comes to writing something that many people have already done. You either have to spin the trope and do something completely new or lean into the expected but focus on something else. These tips for writing zombie fiction all fall into these two categories.

Create a New Type of Zombies

Good luck. Like I mentioned above, these reanimated corpses have already shown up in books and movies with a huge variety of characteristics. You do not want to fall into the “sparkly vampire” problem, however. If you can come up with something unique that does not become a joke, more power to you. Sometimes subtle changes are enough to make an intriguing difference.

Make the World Different

Zombies in space? Undead hordes in the wild west? Walking corpses in fantasyland? When the threat is recognizable and basically the same, you have to make something else different to grab a reader’s attention. The days of relying on shock value of a corpse walking around and trying to eat people’s brains are long gone.

Focus on the Other Characters

People did not watch “The Walking Dead” for so many seasons because the zombies were interesting in some way. They watched to see what Rick and Carl would do or who would show up next to cause drama. Every book no matter what the genre or conflict needs compelling characters that create a sense of empathy in the reader. Stretch outside the ordinary to keep things interesting.

Lean Into Your Story Purpose

Are you more interested in the interplay of human emotions and relationships within a group trying to survive, or do you want blood and gore on every page? The purpose of your story limits your audience but gives them more of what they want. Just make sure you use an appropriate book cover and market to your target readers effectively. Someone who wants to see rotting flesh and ripped out jugulars may not appreciate a romantic subplot between two survivors traveling the countryside.

The best way to demonstrate what I mean is with examples.

Western Romance – Drama at the Ranch

If the main conflict of the story is a woman who inherits a horse ranch fighting to save it from an evil land developer, and the overall plot involves a romance with a hired hand who not only fulfills all of her personal dreams but also helps her save the property, all the plot points should focus on these things (and whatever subplots you create).

Some options that makes sense may include the evil land developer trespassing on the property to get information, some type of sabotage or stealing, another employee paid off by the developer to cause problems, other financial issues like broken equipment or medical bills from a work injury, and relationship issues like an ex showing up or some secret that threatens their burgeoning love. These things fit into the main story.

Problems arise when the writer picks conflicts that seem to make sense for the setting or the characters but do not meld with the overall plot. These can be dramatic instances, but they end up feeling pasted on instead of woven into the rest of the story.

Let me explain what I mean.

A barn catches on fire. If the barn catches on fire because the employee the land developer paid off commits arson as part of a threat process to get the land, it makes sense to the overall plot. If the barn catches fire because it was hit by lightning during a freak summer storm, it can provide high drama, but it does not fit. Luck (bad or good), coincidence, and random events do not serve stories as effectively as purposeful action.

A sudden medical expense. Since financial issues are a main part of the plot, it makes sense that a sudden expense would make things more dramatic and potentially interesting. If the medical expense arises from an injury caused by failing equipment on the old ranch, it suits the overall plot. If the new stable hand gets whiplash from a minor car accident in town, it can make it difficult for him to work, but it is so far removed from the plot that it seems like conflict for conflict’s sake.

Relationship breakdown of the couple. Since the growing romantic relationship is the main plot point of a romance genre story, a lot of the conflict needs to revolve around how the two people feel about each other. This makes things like miscommunication, misunderstanding, and second thoughts expected and potentially interesting plot points for the middle of the story. If the landowner finds a message from the evil developer to their new beloved that seems to implicate them, the conflict that arises plot. If the landowner runs into their ex from high school and they remember how much fun they had prom, it may cause conflict, but it has nothing to do the story you were trying to tell.

Do not tack on conflict randomly just because you need something to bolster a squishy middle. Craft main plots and subplots strong and interesting enough to weave together into the type of tale that grabs readers and will not let them go.

First of all, what is a vanity publisher or vanity press?

ANY SO-CALLED PUBLISHER WHO WANTS MONEY FROM YOU.

That’s it. If they ask you for any money to publish your book, they are a bunch of lying, cheating, preying scum.***

How Vanity Publishers Snag Writers

I am a member of probably far too many social media writers groups and fiction writing forums. Amid the help, great networking opportunities, and playful banter with other writers, I frequently find evidence of one of the deadliest writers sins out there: vanity.

It comes in various forms, but one of the most insidious and damaging is the belief in vanity presses as a viable way to get your book published. It all starts with a seemingly innocuous approach. Someone calling themselves a publisher wants to make your book available to the masses. It sounds amazing. Not only are you good enough to publish, but you are so impressive that a company actually approached you out of the blue with an offer to make all your dreams come true.

(Cue a video clip of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer cavorting through the snow yelling, “She likes me. She really likes me!”)

A Publisher Only Likes Your Book if It Makes Them Money

It may sound horribly commercial and consumerish, but that’s the plain truth of any industry. It’s about money. You may want to share your unique vision with readers, but you do that by publishing and selling your book. That’s just how it works.

REAL publishers (traditional or trade publishers) pay you for your book-writing efforts because they know they will make more money off it in the long run. They think your book is marketable and readers will spend money on it.

VANITY publishers don’t care if your book sells at all because they already got their money directly from you. They have NO incentive to offer, marketing, or even produce your book well because they already have what they want: your money.

How Much Does It Cost to Get Published?

NOTHING.

Whether you submit to traditional publishers, small presses, or self-publish, actually publishing costs NOTHING. If you self-publish, you will have to pay for editing, cover design, etc. Publishing the book, however, is 100% free.

Vanity publishers have been around for a very long time. They have made TONS of money off unsuspecting or arrogant writers who think paying is some kind of short cut to success. The vast majority of them lost money and barely sold any books. Every week in writer’s groups I see another sad story about a writer getting cheated out of thousands of dollars. Don’t make the same mistake.

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*** Please note that editors, book formatters, cover designers, and some book coaches etc. are NOT lying, cheating scum. They are professionals who provide valuable services that help you publish successfully. The difference is paying for a valuable service vs. paying to get published. Big difference.

How to Write More a Day – Create More Time

An excellent way to do more of anything in an already busy day is to it create more time for yourself to do it in. Of course, you can’t actually make the day longer. If you want to write more a day you will need to give up something else that you do such as playing a game, watching TV, chatting on the phone, or sleeping. Schedule specific times to write, or make a goal to write in 10 minute bursts throughout the day.

How to Write More a Day – Focus on the Goals

Many people complain of writer’s block or waste time trying to come up with topics for stories to write about. If you want to write more each day, you must focus on the goals you are trying to achieve. Making a word count goal, or striving for a specific number of articles each day is a good way to force yourself to write more. Achieving these goals every day should be celebrated.

How to Write More a Day – Increase Speed

Another excellent way to write more a day is to increase the speed of getting the words into the computer word processing file. Take typing classes or play typing games to increase your speed on the keyboard. Speech recognition programs, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking or the free version that comes with Windows Vista, to greatly increase your speed at writing. While speech recognition software can take a while to get used to, it is an excellent tool in being able to write more today.

How to Write More a Day – Get Organized

Not only should you organize your daily to give yourself plenty of writing time, you should also organize what you are going to write. Every story, article, or other piece of writing can be outlined or organized by starting with the key points. Instead of sitting down in front of a blank screen, starting at the beginning and charging through until the end, consider writing a quick outline first. Once you have an outline for the main points down for each piece of writing you will do, it becomes quicker and easier to complete. Organizing your writing can help you write more a day.

When it comes down to it, the primary reason people do not write as much as they want is a lack of dedication or laziness. If you want to write more today, structuring your time, organizing your writing, and increasing the mechanicals beaded of getting words into a file can all help.

Chapters are Based on Scenes

A chapter should be a self-contained scene, or group of scenes, that performs a specific function within the novel. Most often, that function is to further the goal or introduce a conflict to one of the main characters. Each chapter should have a character goal in it. If there is nothing your character wants, then there is no story.

Every Chapter Has a Goal

Of course, the main thing that your character wants will be answered by the outcome of the entire piece of fiction writing. But there must be things along the way that he or she also wants. There are usually steps in the path to the ultimate goal. Each chapter should include at least one of these steps. The length of the chapter depends upon how quickly the writer introduces the desire of the character and how quickly it is either accomplished or thwarted.

Average Chapter Word Counts

Looking back on the novels I have written, I can find an average word count for the chapters in all of the books. After checking several of them, my average word count length of a chapter is about 3500 words. However, some of the chapters are only a few hundred words, while others approached 10,000 words. Yet, hopefully, each one will give the reader a mini story arc that is both interesting and informative in the scope of the novel itself.

When deciding how long should a chapter be, the writer needs to decide how much information and description is required for this scene or scenes in the chapter. A general rule of fiction writing is to not include anything that does not further the aims of the story. Avoid info dumps of scene setting or backstory. Both of these things will inflate chapter length but will do nothing for the story itself.

It’s All Very Flexible and Story-Specific

Just as you would not cut a 5-foot piece of string when you only need to tie a small knot, you should not feel obligated to create a chapter of a particular length. In fiction writing, longer is not always better. In fact, concise writing that still includes all necessary information and asked action is preferred. How long should a chapter be? The simple answer is: as long as it needs to be to get the job done.

So, how do you create a fictional fantasy world different enough to be interesting, but ‘real’ enough to be believed? These five steps will help you create your fantasy world.

The Map Outline

Drawing the outline of your map can be done in many different ways. There are some complicated mapping software programs out there that will create random map patterns based on fractal geometry that you could use. Or you could just draw a squiggly line depicting the rough coastline. There is even a fun method of using an orange peel, flattened, to come up with the outline of your landmasses.

Whatever method you use to create your world’s map outline is fine. If you know your people are seafaring, make a lot of water and inlets. If you plan on writing about travels across a desert, you don’t have to worry much about the coastal edges. Just have fun.

Land, Nature, and Geography

Once you have the outline of your fantasy fiction world, you have to fill in the basic geometry of your landmasses. First, create a key or map legend and assign symbols to each type of environment: little triangles for mountains, fluffy cloud shapes for forest, dots for sandy deserts. Then, just plunk them down on your map.

It is important to remember in this step, the natural order of the world. For example, the tops of mountains are usually colder than the surrounding lands, and rivers often cut canyons through the plains.

Political Boundaries

After you have all of the natural boundaries in place, you can start to put in the political boundaries for your countries or kingdoms. You should remember that, in the real world, environmental boundaries often help to determine country or city limits: rivers, mountain ranges, etc. It should also be noted that towns often sprang up around rivers or other useful paths of trade and travel.

Believability and Realism

Even though you are designing a make-believe world for a piece of fantasy fiction, you should concentrate on making it realistic and believable. If people cannot recognize the natural order of the world in your fantasy world, they may become confused. If you do play with the natural order of things, you must be sure to explain WHY things are the way they are in your fantasy world as opposed to the real world. For example, if the tops of your mountains are hot and desert-like, there must be a reason for it that the reader will believe and accept.

Creating a fantasy world is one of the best parts of writing fantasy fiction. Imagination can take flight in structuring the world map, the landscapes, countries or kingdoms, and the inhabitants. It is often said that the world of a fantasy story becomes another one of its characters. This is very true. And just like characters in a piece of fiction, the fantasy world must be interesting yet completely believable at the same time.

If you have read other stuff from me about the topic of writer’s block, you may know that I don’t believe in it as a definitive concept. In other words, I think what many people call writer’s block is really something different. Barring serious psychological or emotional difficulties that can, indeed, stop you from all forward progress, writer’s block is usually uncertainty, fear, poor self-confidence, and lack of effort. This isn’t a judgment call. All suffer from these things once in a while. However, they are more like rough roads or temporary obstacles and true blocks.

No matter what you call it or how you define it, you can get back to writing more quickly with these 99% effective tips for beating writer’s block.

Make Writing a Priority – Any Writing

When you sit down in front of your computer to write, remain firm in your dedication to write anything. I see many people so focused on writing the next chapter in your book or the next 500 words of the short story that, if they aren’t quite sure where the plot goes or character development isn’t quite enough yet, they simply write nothing.

If it’s writing time, write something, and don’t feel bad it’s not what you plan to write. Some options include:

• A brand-new or existing other story
• Outlining notes for future chapters
• Exploratory writing for your character
• A blog post for your writer’s website
• Journal entry to brainstorm ideas

Prepare Well to Stop Writer’s Block

Some pantsers insist that any planning is bad and they will never do it. However, if you get stuck in your story, it may be time to abandon this ideal and do some plot preparation. Taking notes, outlining, or using a beat sheet is no less creative than some plea spewing words onto the page. Many successful authors suggest preparation to fuel your creative mind.

Also, if your story requires research, doing that first can also help you destroy writer’s block. One explored concept or discovered fact may spark your brain to life once again.

Turn to Writing Prompts and Random Generators

If writer’s block stops you from working on an existing story, or you simply want to write something but have no ideas, consider one of the many writing prompts or generators on the Internet. Some varieties include:

• Photo writing prompts
• Five-word inclusions
• Random first lines
• Generated plot points
• Character descriptions

Not only can prompts help get past your block, they may trigger an exciting new idea for a complete story. I personally use writing prompts to practice technique and create more content to share on this blog and the one over at MLoriMotley.com

Rewrite or Retype Content to Get In the Flow

When all else fails, force yourself back into the flow of writing through muscle memory. Actually retype the last chapter with few pages of your story and see if your brain kicks in to continue once you get to the end. You do not need to rewrite anything in a new way if you use this method, although you can if you find something that needs it.

If you don’t have an existing story you want to work on, consider typing someone else’s story to see if imagination takes over. This does not have to be fanfiction, and of course you cannot use another person story to post on your blog or when you publish. However, the simple act of typing out fiction as your brain follows along can sometimes force it past the writer’s block through action.

I would ask if you ever suffered from writer’s block, but most writers have in some form or another. This depends on your definition. I personally don’t call temporary indecision about plot points a true block. Nor do I label my imposter syndrome or fear about not being good enough this way. I haven’t run out of ideas yet, which is why I have so many unfinished projects.

How do you define writer’s block for yourself, and what methods you use to get past it?