What do you do if you scare yourself writing a murder mystery? lol

[Andreya]

Just wondering... :)

I tried to get a few facts straight online, & googled a few things, & actually started to scare myself with it all!! lol

It didn't help it was the middle of the night, but it helped I wasn't alone in the house. lol

Also, do we post mystery/research-related questions here or in the 'expert' sub-forum/threads?

Happy writing (& reading ;)) to all!!

[Disa]

Oh boy, I would just make sure the DH was near and my big black dog was by my feet. Then I'd turn on every light in every room until the DH came into the room with me to go to sleep. Oh- and I'd probably sleep with the TV on, too. I can see this happening to me. I really can :) Stay safe :)

[stormie]

Well, first of all, I scare easily. Yet my best writing--esp. the scary stuff--is at night. Atmosphere, I guess. I only type by the light of my computer screen, and the shades are up, and I can see the branches of the trees swaying outside and a shadow, slowly, slowly, moving....

Anyway, post your questions on the experts board. You're apt to get more answers.

[roncouch]

I remember Stephen King being quoted as saying his book, "Pet Semetary," actually scared him. Could have been a publicity stunt. If your material really frightened you, it might just frighten others. That could be a good thing, I suppose. I don't write to scare others (or myself) but do pen some words that tend to shock some readers. Good luck!

[Clair Dickson]

I sleep with a nightlight. Good thing Hubby doesn't mind...

I've never scared myself writing mystery/crime related stuff, though I have come up with some really good ways if I ever decide to get rid of Hubby. After all, he's worth $100k. ;-) Though all the incriminating files and bookmarks would make it hard to enjoy my money.

Find something that makes you feel safe. I turn on my music so I can't hear any axe-weilding maniacs until it's too late. Plus I have my nightlight.

[mario_c]

If you're trying to write scary, say a mystery or other kind of thriller or horror, then seek out what scares you. At least it will keep pushing the bar up for what you are trying to accomplish.

[Andreya]

lol I had to chuckle through (most of) your postings!! :)

Thanks!! :)

Well, I live in the attic, with lots of creeky noises (sometimes) - & I write best at night too... ;) Heck, I do everything best at night, even living!! :) I guess I am just a night owl. :)
Can't wait to finish the short I started last night though!! Kept chuckling all along while I was writing it!! :) /& yes it is a mystery, sort of, so the scaredy-cat part is fitting.. :)/

I'm glad Stephen King said Pet Cemetary scared him. It scared me too. I couldn't even read whole of it. Just read a few extracts in a newspaper & was terrified. Didn't help that I was only a teen. I thought he was somewhat superhuman before, for writing such scary books & not getting scared!!

Stormie, your post scared me :) I scare easily too.. lol
I think I don't need to particularly seek what scares me, cause I scare so easily, lol.... But I love putting it into fiction, lol... :)

Thanks for telling me where to ask... I will :)
/found a nightbulb but it's very tiny... what if it fails? OoO... more story for a short story... lol :)/

[Captain Howdy]

It's kind of interesting that this thread is on the MTS boards and not the horror boards. With that in mind, even though Twisted Oaks is (to me, at least) a horror novel, it has never scared me (which may be a big clue that it's NOT a horror novel!)

However, it frequently depresses me. One day I was writing along and the mere thought projection of where I was headed made me tear up considerably and I had to stop writing and go do something else. Recently I wrote a 9000 word chapter which was basically a character study, knowing full well that the character was going to die a horrible, grisly death at the end. My original concept was that she was not a pleasant person to begin with, but I felt obliged to sketch her fully enough that the reader could see why "others" would find her unpleasant. I felt bad about the things that happened to her, but at the same time I knocked out those 9000 words in ten days and it is something of the best writing I've done in a long while so I think I really trusted my instincts on that one.

Once, long ago, I was writing a short piece about Jack the Ripper. THAT scared me.

[Andreya]

lol, well, I was writing a MYSTERY short story (& researching MYSTERY-related things) when it happened, so I put it in a MYSTERY section :)

I don't write horror (much) - except from the only short that sorta got published internationally, in a forum e-zine in a forum Halloween contest :) It was mock-up comedy horror & lots of fun. (I did scare myself a bit when writing it too, as I was home alone some of the time & there was wind howlin' in the cracketty trees..) Maybe that's the Universe's way of trying to tell me something? :)
I could claim myself to be award-winning horror writer. lol Now that would really scare myself!! :)

hm, maybe the horror people would have better tips to protect oneself from getting scared when writing? so maybe it would be a good idea to ask... but I'm thinking, hey, they're the more resilient type! (or they would start with ghost talk & protection against that, & such!) - & besides, I'm scared to. ;)
/&I do already eat a lot of garlic :)/

Great to hear you managed to punch out some great writing recently!
I sorta finished the short today, though I'm not still completely satisfied with it. I aimed for 5,000 and it turned out close to 6,000 words. Now I have no idea where to find a market for chick-lit comedy mystery?!! (Any ideas? :)) *paying* markets preferred lol

[RJK]

For you scardy cats out there, they tell me that male mosquitoes buzz and females don't. And females bite and males don't. Or is it the other way around.

Anyway, it's what you don't hear coming that gets you.

[stormie]

Anyway, it's what you don't hear coming that gets you.
I'm right behind you. :D

[kopperhead]

Oh, I don't scare easily I thought, as I jumped from my cozy chair and ran into the bedroom, jumping on top of my husband and waking him from a sound sleep.
"What's the matter?" he said.
"There's something outside. It keeps brushing at the windows." I was frantic.
"Yes, dear, that's the lawn sprinklers."

True story.

[Grrarrgh]

Oh, I don't scare easily I thought, as I jumped from my cozy chair and ran into the bedroom, jumping on top of my husband and waking him from a sound sleep.
"What's the matter?" he said.
"There's something outside. It keeps brushing at the windows." I was frantic.
"Yes, dear, that's the lawn sprinklers."

True story.

:roll:

That sounds exactly like something I would do. My husband makes fun of me all the time because I constantly watch those true crime shows and then get paranoid at every shadow and noise.

[Andreya]

LOL!!!!!!! :)

Kopperhead - that deserves to be in a novel!!! :) Or a newspaper's joke section or something!!

Well, my neighbours thought there was a thief outside, & they discovered - two hedgehogs 'doing it'!! lol True story!!!!! :)

As for the buzz... Here in Slovenia, mosquitos buzz & bite!! lol - at least if one gets into my room, it does!!
There's a whole 'science' behind it though!
If I start airing the room soon enough, they stay away, & only enter if I open the window really late in the 3 or 4am or such..
Then, if I keep the light on /& windows closed/, I'm 'safe'! :) So strange but true!!
/Not sure if it's only true in my room - *twilight zone*? - or elsewhere too...?/

[Sam Stephens]

I'd embrace it!

I remember one of my earlier versions of my novel I brushed over a few events because they were a little sickening to write (though imperative to the storyline). A friend read it and said it was pretty tame.

Because I felt the strong emotion when I wrote it, I pulled back on the reigns a little, and while it was obvious in my mind, since it was the PG version, it created no emotion in the reader.

So if your writing is really affecting you, embrace it and keep writing until your forehead is dripping with sweat and your fingertips bleeding. That's a golden time to write!

cheers
Sam

[Carmy]

I've scared myself a few times, but I have a BIG, scary dog. If she catches my vibes, she runs around the house investigating every room. I can't tell if she gets goosebumps, but her hair does stand on end at such times.

Think of it this way -- if you can't scare yourself, you won't scare the reader.