Becoming A Horror Writer

I recently had the privilege of publishing my first short story, "Saiya" in an anthology called Women of the Woods. Inside this anthology, you'll find a collection of stories that vary from mysterious, to dark and terrifying. The stories explore themes of darkness, solitude, facing our demons within and lore from bygone eras.

I had never written a story before aside from the assignments we had long ago in high school. "Saiya" was originally a short film script that I adapted into a short story. The tale was largely inspired by my husky Trek who passed away this past July. He always seemed to be dancing the line between our world and another one. In this short story, Saiya and her two dogs venture out into the woods to be away from the populated cities when a pandemic strikes. All seems well, until, Saiya is forced to question whether she is losing her mind slowly or if she's actually encountering another person.

The process for writing a short story came easy to me, however the editing was something else. We went back and forth between several proofreaders and I think we finally nailed it. As someone who has not had anything published before, I found this process to be a great learning experience. If you are considering writing as a profession try looking for anthologies as your first go-to. This is a great way to get a taste of the editing and publishing process. It's also a great way to see how well you can handle critiques!

Things to remember if you're looking into getting your horror or suspense writing noticed:

- Captivate the audience with a compelling intro

- Build the character in a way that the audience relates to him/her

- Keep your tenses in mind (Past, Present, Future)

- Spellcheck, spellcheck, spellcheck!

- Use sites like Grammarly

- Ask a friend or two or three to read your story over and provide suggestions and edits BEFORE submitting for review

- Don't take critiques personally - they are there to help you grow into a better writer

- Use hashtags to get your story noticed. Here are some good examples if you use Instagram: #newauthor #writerscommunity #writersofinstagram #horrorwriter #horrorbook

- Use Twitter and Instagram to create some buzz. Instagram is a great space for Authors, but Twitter is an amazing space for both publishers and authors and I have heard many success stories of new authors getting discovered on Twitter

- Look for #anthologysubmissions or similar submission calls and submit your work. A lot of submissions are actually paid!

These are just a few of the tips and tricks that helped me with publishing my first short story. If you aren't ready to get your writing noticed yet and just want to practice writing, sites like Reddit have forums or subs where you can submit your story and people will comment their thoughts on it. Creepypastas are a good starting point for inspiration. Participating in communities like this is also a great way to gain some notoriety in the writing world as well.

Remember, as a horror writer it is your duty to keep others awake at night. Especially in the spooktacular month of October. So what are you waiting for? We're all just dying to read your tale.