Writing a good scare!

Hey guys!

Ah the month of Halloween is upon us! In just 21 days all the spooky and creepy will hit our doorsteps and homes. And I, for one, couldn’t be more excited. This is hands down my favorite holiday of the year. The haunting atmosphere connects with my eerie little W.I.P. So, I wanted to look at some fundamental elements that I think should be in a “good scare” book (just to be clear: this is only my ramblings, no one else’s. Also, I’m talking spooky, not full on horror – though some elements might overlap).

All right, let’s get to it.

When it comes to eerie, one of the first thing I think of is pacing. A spooky book isn’t going to be a languid walk in the park. It’s got to be fast and unpredictable at times, and then at others there needs to be a slow, but ever-increasing tension buildup. This can’t be just your average building of tension. This needs to build a particular atmosphere. It needs to be an increasing “heart in your mouth” feeling. Think about those old horror movies where the girl goes creeping around the house. Cheesy, yes. Effective? Also, yes. Most of us will still hold our breath, even though we know what’s going to happen. It’s human nature. Now, I’m not saying write an old-fashioned cheesy horror (but you can if you want!). What I’m getting at is the variation in pacing should go between these two. You need to build up, then be quick and unpredictable.

So, here’s where I want to build on atmosphere aside from it building your tension. Atmosphere is crucial for a spooky book. You need to decide what kind of atmosphere you want (and I do recommend either doing this before you write your first draft, or doing an entire edit pass focusing on just this aspect.) Are you looking for eerie and peculiar (ala THE ACCIDENT SEASON by Moira Fowley-Doyle) or are you looking for something off-kilter and uncomfortable (ala CORALINE by Neil Gaiman)? Perhaps you’re going for an old-style Goosebumps book, or what about something like ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake? Whatever your choice, you need to think ahead – what makes an eerie tone as opposed to a “hold your breath” tone? Word choice, word choice, word choice. Sentence structure. Choice of details. Be careful in your choices.

Then, of course, there’re characters to talk about. You can have a cast of completely normal characters, of course, but you can up the spook by having odd characters, too. Think about HOW TO HANG A WITCH by Andriana Mather. The Descendants are plain unusual – descended from the witches from the Salem witch trials, all dressed in black, and giving fierce looks, and a closed circle kind of feel.

Plot – well, this one goes without saying. But just a reminder: twists, turns…the unexpected, and the guessing game of who is going to do what. And then you have the “this is weird…what the heck is going on?” And the “is there going to be something terrifying in there?” Choose whatever plot you want, but make sure it keeps the creepy factor throughout!

All right. So, there are many, many more things that can make a novel spooky, but if I try and write them all here, I’ll end up with a book (and I’m not writing non-fiction lol), and there will be plenty that I miss. So this is just my little nook in the web to tell you the main things I look at on my first edit pass when it comes to spooky!

Happy Halloween to come, you guys!!!

GUESTOPIA: Multi-published author Karen King

Karen King

It's Guestopia time for July and our first guest this month comes in the form a prolific and talented author. Please meet Karen King.

Karen King is the author of over 120 children's books and has had two YAs published, Perfect Summer and Sapphire Blue. Perfect Summer was runner up in the Red Telephone Books YA novel competition in 2011 and has just been republished by Accent Press.

Karen is also the author of two romance novels, and has been contracted for three chick lit novels by Accent Press. The first, I do?... or do I? was published in 2016 and the second, The Cornish Hotel by the Sea, has just been released. In addition, Karen has written several short stories for women’s magazine and worked for many years on children’s magazines such as Thomas the Tank Engine and Winnie the Pooh as well as the iconic Jackie magazine.

When she isn’t writing, Karen likes travelling, watching the ‘soaps’ and reading. Give her a good book and a box of chocolates and she thinks she’s in Heaven.

And here's the interview...

Is this your first published book?

No, I’ve had about 120 children’s books published, two YA, two romance novels, two chicklits and there’s another chicklit in the process of publication.

What’s it called?

Perfect Summer

Which genre?

Dystopian

Which age group?

12+ there’s some gritty scenes!

Is it a series or standalone?

It’s a standalone

Are you an agented author?

No – although I have had agents in the past and may again in the future.

What created/what were you doing or watching when the first idea for this book sneaked up on you?

I’ve been concerned for a long time about the pressure society puts on people to have perfect looks then I read a magazine article about girls as young as four or five worrying that they were too fat or too ugly. I thought that was really sad. I started wondering what would happen if people got so obsessed with physical perfection that it became a ‘crime’ to be different in any way. Another concern of mine is how disabled people are treated, so both these concerns sowed the seeds of this story.

How long did you plot/plan until you started writing it?

I always plan a bit first. I write character profiles to make sure I really know my characters well and don’t change their eye or hair colour halfway through the story. Then I work out a plot outline so I know roughly where the story is going, and then I start writing it up.

Once you started, did the story flow naturally or did you have to step in and wrestle it into submission?

I started writing the story in third person at first but I felt that it wasn’t flowing right so I changed to the first person and I was away.

Has the book changed dramatically since the first draft?

Not dramatically, the basis of the story is the same. It’s more refined I guess. I rarely change the plot when I’ve revising, but I do change some phrases that I think aren’t flowing right, or make scenes more dramatic/concise.

What part of writing do you find the easiest?

Getting the initial idea. I have notebooks full of ideas.

What part do you find hardest?

Finding the time to write up the ideas. Then getting the story out of your head and onto the screen/page!

Do you push through writing barriers or walk away?

It depends. If I’m on a deadline I’ll write through them. If I’m not I’ll turn to something else for a while then I go back with a fresh mind and can usually find that the story flows okay again.

How many projects do you have on the go at the same time?

Three or four. I like a variety, and it helps stave off writer’s block if you have another project to turn to.

Do you think you’re born with the talent to write or do you think it can be learned?

That’s a difficult one. I’m a writing tutor and basically believe that writing is a skill, so like all skills it can be learned or improved – especially article and feature writing. Story writing, however, is different. You need that spark of imagination, that kernel of tale-spinning inside you, the ability to make a story out of thin air. If someone has that they can be helped to improve how they write their story down but that basic storytelling kernel of imagination can’t be taught.

How many future novels do you have planned?

I’m working on three at the moment, and also a couple of short stories.

Do you write other things, such as short stories, articles, blogs, etc?

Yes, I write short stories and blog posts. I also run a blog called The Writer’s Surgery, where I post articles and tips to help new writers.

What’s the highlight of being published so far?

Signing a three book contract for chicklits with Accent Press, two of the books, I do?...or do I? and The Cornish Hotel by the Sea are now out. The third will be out next year.

Give me one writing tip that work for you.

Just write. Get your first draft down then go back and revise it afterwards.

And one that doesn't.

Write drunk, edit sober – a famous tip by Ernest Hemingway

What question have you always wanted to be asked but never have? What would the answer be?

Can we make your book into a film? The answer would be yes!

Excellent! I imagine most authors want to be asked this, and I expect their answers would be the same too! Thank you so much for joining YAtopia today, Karen. We wish you all the best with your chick lit and YA novels.

Here's a little about Karen's latest YA, with some links to help...

Set in a society obsessed with perfection, 15-year-old Morgan is best friends with the seemingly perfect Summer. But when Morgan’s brother, Josh, who has Down’s syndrome, is kidnapped, they uncover a sinister plot and find themselves in terrible danger.

Can they find Josh before it’s too late? And is Summer’s life as perfect as it seems?

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mMXTzI 

Trailer: https://youtu.be/yL0gA_q0dag

And if you would like to find out more about Karen and her work, these links might help as well!

Website: http://www.karenking.net/

Twitter: @karen_king

Facebook: Karen King Young Adult Books

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/karenkingauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenkingauthor/?hl=en

Changing Things Up

Welcome to 2017! 

I love beginnings. New days, new weeks, new months. Yes, I am someone who actually loves Mondays. On Monday, the week always holds possibility and the chance for something better than last week. I also love mornings for the same reason, and because of coffee. Mornings = Coffee, so how can they be bad?

And today is not only a Monday, it’s the first Monday of 2017. A new year, fresh and open to possibilities. A chance to change things up to meet goals.

Okay, I confess, I didn’t wait until the first of the year to change things. I started last Monday. I’m impatient like that. But since I made changes a week ago, I’m now an authority, so I can give advice.

The last couple of months, writing has been a struggle. Really, for the last year. I did complete a manuscript in 2016, but that happened because I took a week off from life and wrote like a fiend. Truthfully, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to work writing into my everyday life. My other responsibilities feel more important: homeschooling five children, feeding those same five children (even though they do a lot of the cooking, I still have to do the grocery shopping, some assisting, and fix a few meals), driving those children to activities, spending time with my husband, exercising. Yes, those responsibilities are all important, and I honestly enjoy them all too. (Except the tenth grocery store visit in a week. That I do not enjoy.) But I was giving these activities priority, which left me too tired to do the writing thing. I had the time to write, but not the mental energy. Sandwiching writing after homeschooling and exercising and before driving and feeding left me too drained. Those two to three hours became my downtime, NOT my writing time. So I decided something had to change.

A few years ago, I started making sure homeschooling happened first because it was the top priority, and for several years, that worked. Then that schedule stopped working. But because I had drilled into myself that I wasn’t motivated enough to succeed at homeschooling when it came second in my day, I took a really long time to address this problem and recognize that I needed to—and could—make a change. Not only that, but life had changed. My kids are older. Our school day isn’t filled with phonics and addition and crafts. I don’t need to be my freshest, most patient self because the subjects no longer try my patience (most days anyway). Writing can take the first of my day when I’m freshest and school the second half, when all I really need to do is check assignments, read, and ask questions.

So if you’re finding writing (or any other important task) not fitting into your life, here are a few tips to try changing things up.

1. Reevaluate Those Things In the Past That Didn’t Work: So you tried once a month cooking five years ago to give you a couple more hours in the evenings to write, but you ended up eating out too often because you consistently forgot to thaw the meals. Or you attempted to write during your child’s music lessons but you were constantly distracted by the teacher’s teaching and couldn’t focus. Just because these things didn’t work before doesn’t mean they can’t work now. Maybe you can tweak the idea to fit your life better, such as once a week cooking, so you can prep ingredients but keep them thawed in the fridge, or write in the car during music lessons since your child is older now. Don’t continue rejecting an idea simply because you tried it once and failed. You’ve changed. Your life has changed. So try again.
2. Think Outside the Box: For a while, I took a long nap in the afternoons. I got up in time to help with dinner, spend time with the family, and after the kids went to bed around 8ish, I wrote until midnight. Then I’d sleep until five-thirty, go to the gym, homeschool, and after lunch, nap again. It was like living two days every twenty-four hours. Day one was gym and homeschooling, Day two was family time and writing. And it worked. So try arranging your schedule unconventionally.
3. Don’t Give Up Too Soon . . . : When implementing a change in your life, don’t quit before giving it a realistic chance. If you’re getting up an hour earlier to write first thing in the morning, and by day three the newness has worn off and there isn’t enough coffee in the world to wake you up, don’t give up on the experiment. Keep setting your alarm. Keep programming your coffee pot. Keep making the change.
4. . . . But Don’t Be Stubborn About What Isn’t Working: If after a month of waking up early you’ve actually written LESS than before you tried writing in the mornings, reevaluate. Obviously, writing early in the day isn’t working. But maybe it’s only the writing muse that sleeps in while you actually find yourself awake and not hating the solitude of the quiet pre-life hours. If so, what could you do during that time that doesn’t require creative brain cells but would free up time later in the day when the words start flowing? 

Most of us are fitting writing into our lives around family and job and other obligations, and sometimes, the pieces stop fitting together. When that happens, don’t give up on a piece that isn’t fitting. Make a change instead. Try fitting those pieces together in a different way, build a new picture, and make a new beginning.