Abandoned places! Final girl! Ghostly hitchhickers! Horror fans and writers-to-be can build their own worlds, craft their own characters, and spin their own gripping stories with these engaging and thought-provoking writing prompts, making writing your own horror story easier—and more thrilling—than ever!

Ideal for writers at all experience levels, this workbook offers an abundance of helpful tips and a variety of prompts that will inspire writers to create their perfect horror story!

Write a Horror Novel guides writers through the tropes and themes that exist within the horror genre, then provides prompts that will not only engage the writer’s creativity, but also aid in beating writer’s block, spark creativity for uncharted possibilities, and offer fresh perspectives on outdated storytelling techniques.

First, writers will find an interesting plot or setting for their characters, then they’re given brainstorming and writing instructions. They may also find some interesting twists with asks about adding additional elements (like a joke or a lie), giving things an extra horror spin, or working in a callback. For instance…

SCENARIO

A doll has come to life and it’s wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting community. Decide what kind of doll it is (anything from a stuffed animal to a baby doll to an action figure, and so on), then think about how your protagonist is connected to this once-inanimate object. At this point in your story, the doll has done a lot of damage. Your protagonist has been hurt by this doll, in more ways than one.

BRAINSTORM

What does the doll want? Do a deep dive into the doll’s psychology. How did it come to life, what powers does it possess, what rules does it have to follow, and how can it be defeated?

WRITE

Your protagonist hates this damned doll and will do anything in her power to destroy it. Write a series of scenes where your protagonist tries to get rid of the doll, but everything she does fails. Is the doll indestructible? What’s your protagonist missing? What does she need to do to finally break herself out of the doll’s damaging orbit?

OPTIONAL ELEMENTS TO INCLUDE

An incantation that doesn’t work.

The doll impersonates one of your protagonist’s dead loved ones.

A broken bone.

HORROR TWIST

The doll is possessed by a demon. What if this demon knew a dark secret your protagonist has been trying to keep hidden. How might this demonic doll use this misbegotten information to harm your protagonist?

CALLBACKS

What if the doll came with a set of instructions? Could the answer to the doll’s destruction be hidden somewhere in the fine print?