Tuesday, October 23, 2012

How to Write The Spooky: Use Strippers

You might be wondering what the hell Sparkles, Trixie, and Holly have to do with writing a scary story. If it were the screenplay for a B-Flick, you'd know they're there for the T&A and to die early.


As charming and cellulite-free as those ladies are, T&A do not make your story scary any more than they make it a romance.

Stripping makes the story scary.

What you are stripping away are the veils of normalcy and safety -- slowly, thin layer, by thin layer. The Glitter Club will tell you the values of tension and anticipation are how you get $20s instead of $1s.

Example: Stephen King's Misery. Author engages in a seemingly normal celebration of writing "The End" of his first non-romance book. First veil of safety to go? He gets shit-faced. (At first blush, it seems harmless because "everybody gets drunk sometimes.")  First layer of normalcy to be removed? The impulse choice to to break his routine and not go back to NYC but to go celebrate in LA. (OCD folks are already screaming, "Noooo, not the plan! Don't deviate from the the plaaaan!) What does King take away next? Nope not the snowstorm. Not yet. Paul gets behind the wheel. That layer of safety?  Fwhoomp. Gone. (Already the audience raised on the mantra of "Don't Drink and Drive" is cringing.) Now Paul is isolated. Then there's the snowstorm, the accident ... and, well, Annie.

King is very adept at tugging the threads of a seemingly normal life until everything unravels. He starts with plausible everyday scenarios. He keeps the audience wincing, cringing, and screaming "don't do it" by starting slowly and letting his characters make decisions many of his readers could make. The escalation of tension is result of the facades of normalcy and safety being stripped away until the reader is certain there is only one plausible result left for the protagonist.

The wonderful thing about this approach is that it works for novels, novellas, and shorts. Start with the common then take away the supports on which everyone relies.

Strip.

Would you, dear reader, describe for us the most memorable stripper scene from your favorite spooky story?

7 comments:

  1. Great analogy! Love this approach. I suppose I'd have to pick the classic Silence of the Lambs, where the heroine (Claire? Clarice?) gradually deviates from the Rules. ~waves hands frantically in warning~

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    1. Ooh, yes - Clarice in Silence was definitely a perfect example. (That end scene? How many people shout at her when that hand reaches out???) *shudders*

      I've been thinking about this - I sorta feel like rules are often what makes up horror - I mean, how many slasher flicks have you seen where the virgin survives and the "slut" gets it? As soon the the virgin gives it up, you know she's going to die - movies like Scream and Cabin in the Woods are perfect examples of this. They make fun of the tropes while playing homage to them brilliantly.

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    2. ooo, naughty Clariiiice.

      Yes! Flashing the neon sign over the tropes is one of the reasons I love the "Scary Movie" parodies.

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  2. LOVE THIS KAK!
    For me, one of my favorite scary movies is EVIL DEAD.
    Yeah, I know. It's hokey now. But when I first saw it was probably about 13. I played in the woos behind my house every day. The SOUND of the evil chasing the characters through the woods totally creeped me out. Kept me outta the woods for a while like JAWS kept folks outta the water. Granted my suspension of disbelief is savvier now, but people going into the woods seemed normal. Finding an old book was odd, but harmless. FInding an old book that had a face in it and creepy writing...getting scary. They stripped my shields down little by little. :-)

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    1. These days, I watch Evil Dead for Bruce Campbell ~brow waggle,~ but YES -- the soundtracks (not the songs but the actual sounds) on movies are the ultimate in setting the scene. Writing "the rattle and roar of Ash's chainsaw..." is close, but not quite the same as actually hearing it.

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  3. Great post! My creepiest story is still "The Monkey's Paw". I read it as a child and it still makes me shiver just thinking about. Super short so the normal unravels quickly. If you haven't read it... http://www.americanliterature.com/Jacobs/SS/TheMonkeysPaw.html

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    1. Thanks, Eleri! The Monkey's Paw is a great creepy story. When the son knocks on the door ... there is something about that simple sound that works well as a hide-under-the-covers moment.

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