Karen Woodward

Time 2021-06-11 22:16:55

Web Name: Karen Woodward

WebSite: http://blog.karenwoodward.org

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Setting and HorrorCertain things are true for all settings. If you want a sense of claustrophobic threat then small enclosed dark spaces are the way to go: caves, basements, dungeons. I talk more about setting inHow to Write a Genre Story: Setting and Character (Part 3). Here I want to concentrate on settings specific to a horror, so let's talk about isolation.Setting and IsolationIn a horror story, it is good if the setting isolates the protagonists. But there are different kinds of isolation. For example, isolation can be physical (a remote location) or social/psychological.Let s look at a few examples.In Cabin in the Woods (2011) the isolation is physical. College kids go off into the wild to spend a vacation together by a remote lake.The Others (2001). In this movie, isolation was both physical and psychological. The children and their mother were isolated because the children had an unusual medical condition that prevented the curtains from being opened, as a result the house and its occupants were kept in perpetual twilight. This established and explained the dark mood of the movie and, at least in part, was a reason (though not an excuse) for the tragedy that occurred.The Exorcist (1973). The protagonist in The Exorcist (Chris MacNeil) was not physically isolated from the rest of the world. Here the isolation is social/psychological. Chris is isolated by her daughter, Regan's, bizarre behavior and her belief that Regan may be possessed. Chris is isolated even though she lives in a beautiful home in the midst of a busy city.Setting and the impossibility of escape or rescueOn the topic of isolated settings, it is important to eliminate any implication that there is a possibility of escape or rescue. This is the case whether the protagonist and her allies are physically isolated or psychologically/socially isolated.As I will discuss in the second part of this article, after the protagonist has her reality shattered and she realizes that, yes, monsters do exist, then she will either not be able to escape, or will try to escape and fail. But at some point between the midpoint and the end of the story the protagonist usually has a chance to escape. Perhaps not a very good chance, but a chance. If she doesn t make it then she will lose everything.I think a classic progression is that, at around the All Hope is Lost point right before Act Two closes the protagonist either tries and fails to escape, or tries and fails to kill the monster. Which brings us to the very last scene, the most intense part of the story: the Climax.There are as many different kinds of horror movies as there are writers, but I think what their final goal is tells a lot about a character. Is it to escape (and killing the monster is an optional extra) or is it to sacrifice themselves to kill the monster so their friends and loved ones will be safe?Of course, just because the protagonist decides to sacrifice herself doesn t mean she will die. I know that Edge of Tomorrow isn t a horror (it s more action, science fiction and adventure) but in that movie the protagonist, Cage, is convinced that if he tries to take out the Big Bad that he will die regardless of whether he succeeds. But, of course (spoiler!) he lives and, to their credit, the writers make sure that ending is plausible.Setting and Jump ScaresA jump scare is: ...a technique often used in horror films and video games, intended to scare the audience by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, frightening sound. (Wikipedia)Jump scares are unique to the horror genre. And, although they are a bit cheesy, I think they can be done to good effect.It s sometimes a good idea to throw in a fake out scene around the time when the audience expects the first monster attack but just before that happens. This is where things are tense, we re expecting a monster to attack but instead a black cat jumps out of the darkness, hisses at her and runs away. (Granted, it is much easier to do a jump scare on a screen than on the printed page!)I ve watched more than one horror movie that employed a scene like this to great effect, at least judging from my reaction. Usually it occurred right before the first violent episode of the film. It was a fake out and then, almost before I finished laughing and feeling silly, something nasty happened to one of the characters and I wasn t prepared. Jump scares are effective.Have an Endearing Scene Early OnI've left the most important thing till last. In a horror story the likelihood that your protagonist is going to fail in her quest and die horribly is quite high.Often, the protagonist is given a mini-story in the beginning, one that reveals her true nature. This mini-story can be spread over the first 25% of the story (Act One, The Ordinary World). We, the readers, identify with and (ideally) are charmed by the protagonist as we watch how she lives her life.In the first 10% or so of the movie the protagonist and her friends and allies often have some sort of good-natured rivalry, there is some minor conflict that lays bare the group dynamic. We find out who is crazy, who is intelligent, who has a heart of gold, who is willing to take advantage of the person with the heart of gold, and so on.That's it for today! Thanks for reading. And, as always, good writing!Where you can find me on the web:Twitter:@WoodwardKarenPinterest:@karenjwoodwardInstagram:@KarenWoodwardWriterYouTube:The Writer's CraftSubstack:Karen WoodwardBlog posts you might like:How to write a blog postHow to write a 'Choose your own adventure story'6 scenes any love story must haveI ve been thinking about horror stories, about what elements are common to the genre. I had intended to do this all in one post, but it has grown quite long so I ve divided the material into a few parts. Today I m going over how the protagonist in a horror story is different from, say, a protagonist in an action-adventure. In future posts I will write about the antagonist/monster, the setting, the stakes, and so on. Finally, I will discuss a general structure that many horror stories follow.The Structure of Horror StoriesOne reason it took longer for me to write this post than I had anticipated was that, although I realized the structure of a horror story is a bit different from the general pattern of the hero s journey, at first I couldn t put my finger on where exactly the difference lay.In other kinds of stories it is common for the protagonist to start out in a less than ideal state, go through the crucible of the story world and come out changed for the better. Because of this growth, this transformation, the protagonist is able to best the antagonist and save the day. Or not. The protagonist can fail, but that s the general pattern.Horror stories are different. [1]In the beginning of a horror story the protagonist, if I may put it this way, is as good as he s going to get. He s the happiest and best adjusted he is ever going to be. So this is not going to be a tale of improvement. At BEST, it will be a tale of survival.That is, horror stories are less about how to become a better person through character transformation than they are about surviving hell. In a horror story, you might be a half dead psychopath by the end but if you make it through alive, then it goes in the win column.The protagonistIn a horror the protagonist--and by protagonist I mean the main viewpoint character--is, as in any story, the one who is most active, she is the one who changes and, because of these changes, gets through all the insanity that is thrown at her. By saying that I don t mean to imply that she will survive, only that she usually makes it to the Climax of the story.Imbalance of PowerSomething unique to horror stories is that there is an unusually large difference in power between the antagonist and protagonist, and this imbalance is present right from the very beginning. After all, if Jane is facing down the devil, it s not like he s going to get MORE evil as the story progresses!Because the antagonist is so much more powerful than the protagonist, the protagonist's motivation needs to be clear, it needs to be compelling, and it needs to be readily understandable to your audience. It doesn t matter if the protagonist s motivation to pit herself against the monster is selfish (she doesn t want to die) or selfless (she doesn t want her daughter to die), but it does have to be clear and convincing.I think this is one reason why a mother can make a wonderfully compelling protagonist in a horror movie. A writer does not have to do much to convince his audience that a mother would give her life for her child. Conversely, though--and for the same reason--a mother can make an equally powerful antagonist.(Spoiler Warning) For example, in the movie Hereditary (2018) a mother ends up hurting her child. This proved to be a good way of demonstrating the power of whatever darkness had her in its thrall.(Before I leave the topic of the protagonist, I would like to pass on a tip I received from someone whose name I unfortunately have forgotten. Give both the antagonist and protagonist as many allies as you reasonably can because you will need characters for both the antagonist and protagonist to kill.)Notes:1. Noir fiction may be an exception to this rule-of-thumb.Photo:Photo by Max Kleinen on Unsplash(As you can see, I altered this photo.)Where you can find me on the web:Twitter:@WoodwardKarenPinterest:@karenjwoodwardInstagram:@KarenWoodwardWriterYouTube:The Writer's CraftSubstack: Karen WoodwardBlog posts you might like:How to write a blog postHow to write a 'Choose your own adventure story'6 scenes any love story must haveI ve been on a journey of sorts over the past decade. I wanted to understand--intellectually, but also on a blood and bone level--the elements of a good story. Why am I unable to put one book down while another is a cure for insomnia?I've talked quite a lot about the structure of Story write large, but in this article I muse about the structure of genre stories.To read more about this, here is a link to my article over on my substack: The Structure of Genre.Let s talk about strong story openings.I ve been writing a series of blog posts on Lester Dent s Short Story Structureand realized that I had more to say about story openings than would fit in there. So!Lester Dent on Strong Story OpeningsHere s what Dent wrote about what made a story opening strong: 1--First line, or as near thereto as possible, introduce the hero and swat him with a fistful of trouble. Hint at a mystery, a menace or a problem to be solved--something the hero has to cope with [1]This, then, is Dent's advice for how to hook a reader:1. Put the protagonist in trouble,2. hint at a mystery or some sort of problem that needs to be solved, and3. make it clear that the protagonist must solve it.That s fine, but how does one do this in practise?An ExampleWhat do you think of this opening? I'd never given much thought to how I would die though I'd had reason enough in the last few months but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. That s the first line of the prologue from Twilight, Book 1. I know you may dislike Stephenie Meyer s books, and fair enough. They aren t everyone s cup of tea. But that opening clearly satisfies (1), it puts the protagonist in a LOT of trouble, so much that she feels her death is inevitable.The prologue is a flash-forward. And, yes, a flash-forward can be tricky, but I think Meyer pulled this one off. Because of it we know what the end stakes are, we know where she is headed. And we care about her more since she would willingly die in the place of someone she cared about.But what about Dent s (2) and (3)?The OpeningHere's a quick summary of the first few paragraphs of Twilight: Bella, a teenager, is going to live with her dad in a town she detests. But, of course, there s a twist. She is going willingly. My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka. In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead. It was to Forks that I now exiled myself an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks. (Twilight, Stephenie Meyer)We see the protagonist, Bella, travelling into exile to live with her father who she thinks of not as dad but as Charlie. Rather than her parents dragging her off to live somewhere she detests, she is going voluntarily because she loves her Mom and she realizes that she and her new husband need to be alone for a bit. She sacrifices herself. This is Dent s (3). Only Bella can make this sacrifice.Not only is Bella s sacrifice unusual--one generally doesn t expect this unselfishness from a teenager--but it is admirable. And we re curious. Why? Why are you doing this? Sure it is admirable--but why are you doing it? I wanted to know more about this Bella person. That s Dent s (2). We are handed a mystery. Perhaps a smallish mystery compared to those that are introduced later, but it is enough to get us reading the next sentence. And the next, and the next (and so on).A ChallengeI challenge you to read the first few paragraphs of one of your favorite stories. What is it about those paragraphs that made you care about the characters? Are Dent s criteria met? Is the protagonist put in some kind of trouble? Is a mystery raised? Must the protagonist be the one to solve it?Sometimes it also helps to note the point of view. Is the story written from the first person perspective? The second? Third? Each of these has its peculiar strengths and weaknesses.I will resume my Lester Dent series soon. It has been taking me longer than expected because I am using it to write an action-adventure (at first I tried writing a cozy mystery, but Dent s structure just wasn t made for that). I ll publish the next installment of the series next week.In the meantime, have a great week! I ll see you again next week and, as always, good writing.

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