Hellooo, everybody! It's official, we're in a new studio, in a new house, if you couldn't tell.
We're still working out some kinks with this studio, so just bear with us, okay? It takes a while.
In the meantime, today we're talking about one of my favorite kinds of fiction.
Dark fiction!
Dark fiction is a broad term, encompassing any kind of fiction that contains horrific elements.
This usually means fear, dread, evil and death. It often exposes some of the more harmful or ominous aspects of humanity.
Lots of genres and subgenres qualify as dark fiction.
Typically horror novels are considered the darkest of dark fiction. But some paranormal novels can be considered dark fiction.
Of course, dark fantasy is dark fiction. And there are sci-fi novels out
there that could be considered dark fiction. Dark fiction is particularly popular among writers,
because content qualifying as 'dark' is really enticing to write. Stories require conflict,
and what's more high stakes than evil or death. But just because we love to write dark fiction,
doesn't mean we're doin' it right. And that's where I come in. I'm breaking down the ten
best tips for writing dark fiction that is compelling, engaging, and raw.
My personal favorite points are numbers six and nine. However,
I saved the hardest pill to swallow for last. Cuz I'm a bitch.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Before we get started, I have a couple of announcements, and one of them is
huge. First off, in case you missed it, my number one best selling dark fantasy romance novel The
Savior’s Sister will be celebrating it's one year book birthday next week on Wednesday. And in order
to celebrate this, I will be hosting a live stream. We will have games, I will be answering
your questions, I also have some secret special guests. So if you wanna get in on the action,
mark your calendars. It's Wednesday next week, be there. Second and most importantly,
if you are a dark fiction lover like myself, I've got some super exciting news for you. Right now
a ton of dark fiction novels by amazing, talented, best selling authors are on sale for 99 cents. And
we've got a massive range of dark fiction. Do you like paranormal? We got it. Do you like horror?
We got it. Do you like dark fantasy? We definitely got it. There's young adult novels. There's adult
novels. There's monsters, magic, steampunk, and of course there's death. If you are interested in
stockpiling your dark fiction library, now is the time to do it. We've got books by horror
mastermind Daniel Wilcox, the rebel queen herself Sacha Black, and of course, we are booked by
yours truly. Not only can you get my dark fantasy romance novel, The Savior's Champion for 99 cents,
you can also get its companion novel The Savior’s Sister for 99 cents. The Savior’s Sister has
never been on sale before, and who knows when it'll go on sale again. If you're interested in
picking up a bunch of incredible books for super cheap, I have the link listed below. Get on it,
because the sale is only going down for a limited time. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I
post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell.
Is it still on this side of the page? This is a new studio, so now, now I don't know which side
is which. We'll just go with it. With that said, here are my ten best tips for writing deliciously
dark fantasy. Number One (1): One size doesn't fit all. Dark fiction is a broad concept, it covers
so many genres within speculative fiction. It can be linked to subgenres within fantasy and sci-fi,
you've also got horror, thriller, and paranormal fiction. We could list dark fiction genres all
day, and there will still be people who think dark fiction is this highly niche label that is
dependent on killing off a ton of characters. You don't need a ton of death and destruction,
there is no specific body count to aim for. The dark qualifier relies heavily on tone. Is there
a sinister feeling to your story? Think of the literal idea of darkness when it's the middle of
the night. It's easy to be frightened. Not because you're being chased by a demon, but because
you can't see what's around you. You have no idea what's lurking in the shadows. It's the fear of
the unknown, the dread of what could potentially be hiding. Yes, you can absolutely murder a
crap ton of characters in your dark fiction, but remember, that tone is the qualifier. And you can
achieve that tone in a variety of ways. Number Two (2): establish a purpose. Darkness for the sake
of darkness isn't entertaining. It's gimmicky. It's really common for newbies to boast of how
dark their fiction is. They kill characters left and right. People think they're crazy. They're
not a regular writer, they're a cool writer. The fact is, death is commonplace in fiction.
It's not new, it's not original, and killing off a ton of characters isn't going to make your writing
impactful. In fact, it might do the opposite. If you're murdering your cast, there needs to
be a purpose to it. Every death and scare needs to affect your plot in some way. Death and scare
tactics can establish the villain, the conflict, or the threat. They can motivate, discourage,
or break the main character. They can hinder, obscure, or completely change the direction of
the plot. But nowhere on this list did I say death and scare tactics should exist for shock value.
Yes, they can be shocking as a byproduct, but that should not be their sole purpose. Pay attention to
the purpose your darker elements serve in the story. If they don't got a purpose, delete ‘em.
Number Three (3): Emotion over blood. There is absolutely a place for blood in dark fiction. I
mean hello, dark fiction is about death. But the bloodshed and violence should never overshadow
the emotional impact. The point of dangerous elements like torture, fighting, and suffering
are to evoke emotion in the characters, and thus in the readers. Your character may be scared for
their life and your reader is anxious to figure out whether or not they're going to survive.
This is what your focus needs to be, on the emotion you're evoking through the scene.
For example, say you just kill the character in a horrific way. If the character is a stranger to
the MC you can potentially focus on the horrific nature of their death: their blood and end trails,
the way their corpse disgusts and terrifies the MC. But if this character is your MCs best friend,
going into lengthy details over the gorefest and nothing else is only going to lessen the
emotional impact. This is your MCs best friend, how does this loss feel for them? They should be
experiencing despair. Always remember what emotion you're going for and lean into it. On a similar
note, Number Four (4): Darkness and gore are not synonymous. There's a time and place for gore.
Sometimes it's effective, other times it's corny. Finding the right balance relies on three key
points. First is quantity. If you've got maggot covered corpses on every other page, it loses its
effect. Too much gore numbs the reader; they become conditioned to expect it. Utilize gore
sparingly, and only in moments when it can really pack a punch. Second is believability. The gore
needs to make sense with the world you've created. If a masked murderer is pulling out every kind of
weapon imaginable from their backpack, readers are gonna roll their eyes. Make sure the gore fits the
era, story, and capabilities of your character. And last as we've already covered is emotion, be
honest about whether or not gore will enhance the emotional impact of the scene. It's not about what
you want to write. It's about how your point of view character should be feeling in that scene. If
gore will enhance the main character's emotional point of view, have at it. If not, for the love
of God resist. On a related note to, Number Five (5): Live a little. I know I just said resist, but
if the moment requires some twisted writing, don't hold back. A lot of writers say they're nervous to
write a scene. It's necessary but they're afraid it'll be too much. Bitch, if someone picked up
a horror novel, they probably knew what they were getting themselves into. Sometimes a torture scene
is required. Sometimes you have to describe the slow agony of a dull blade sawing through flesh,
Do it! It’s dark fiction for a reason, because it's dark. It's like choosing to write erotica,
but then holding off on the sex Why are you even here? Now is not the time to get shy, if you need
to douse your character in blood, bring out the hose. Number Six (6): Psychology is your friend.
One of the biggest elements of dark fiction is exploring the more ominous elements of the human
experience. This is where understanding the human mind comes into play. No, I'm not talking about
making all of your characters psychopaths. I mean paying close attention to the human experience,
to nature versus nurture. Being realistic about how your characters would react to the
specific situations that you have created. Say you've created a morally great character with a
troubled past, who does what they need to do to survive. In that case when faced with a life or
death situation, they're probably going to be more likely to resort to sinister tactics in
order to stay alive. But if you've created another character with a higher moral code,
they probably won’t resort to sinister tactics, or if they do, they may feel extremely guilty
about it. Dive deep into your character's mind. You are probably going to be putting them in
really shitty situations. So you need to have a good idea of how they would respond and react to
them. Number Seven (7): Moral grayness or bust. Dark fiction is where the morally gray come out
to play. A morally gray character, more or less, is a character that behaves in both good and bad
ways and has both good and bad motivations. And they thrive in dark fiction. Think about it, if
you're trying to create a sinister tone, it's not gonna land if all of your characters or do gooders
with the most wholesome of intentions. Likewise if your characters are evil for the sake of it,
that doesn't have the most depth or believability. That's not to say that none of your characters can
be inherently good or evil, but putting them in situations that test their morality or wickedness,
makes for a very compelling read. Don't be afraid to let the good guy be a little bad,
so long as you're staying true to the character and the situations presented,
moral ambiguity will keep the readers on their toes. Number Eight (8): Emotions vary. I've
repeated ad nauseum that the emotion you evoke is going to be the most important part of the story.
And we've already discussed feelings like fear, or dread, or horror. But just because these feelings
are prevalent in dark fiction, doesn't mean they should be all encompassing. Just like constant
gore will make the reader numb, a constant state of fear or terror can be very tiring.
You can only keep the readers on the edge of their seat for so long before they fall right off. This
is in part why it's common to see dark fiction represented in subgenres or multi genre work.
For example, dark fantasy has elements of darkness alongside elements of magic. This
allows you to play with more than just the evil and unknown. This doesn't mean you have to write
multi-genre fiction, in order to write good dark fiction. It just means that you can't rely on fear
alone throughout the entire book. Think of your story as a roller coaster with highs and lows,
points of tension, and points of levity or calm. Fast paced scenes, interspersed with slow pace
scenes. This helps keep readers on their toes, and makes the shocking scenes all the more unexpected.
Number Nine (9): Tap into your fears. Well I don't encourage you to use your book as a means of self
diagnosis, I do encourage you to look within. If you want to evoke fear, what frightens you? What
would be a horrible, worst-case scenario in your opinion? This is a great way to establish darker
elements, because you know for a fact that someone is scared of them. You bitch. There is no way
that you are the only person on the planet who's scared of clowns, or who would hate being stuck
in a broken down elevator. I'm personally terrified of deep sea life. So, when I was
writing The Savior's Champion I created a scene involving deep sea creatures when I was trying to
create tension, fear, and terror. If you're struggling to evoke emotion, tapping into your
own fears can be a great source of inspiration. And last but not least, Number Ten (10): It is
not about you. If there's one thing you've learned today I hope that it's this shit ain't about you,
and what you wanna write. Yes, you should be writing your passion project. Yes, you absolutely
should be telling the story you want to read. But there's a difference between writing what
you love, and being completely self indulgent. The latter is when you include content because
it's fun, because you wanna write it whether or not it serves the plot. If you're writing fanfic,
or if you're a hobby writer, and this content will never see the light of day, then you can do what
you want because it's a hobby, and hobby is all about self indulgence. But if you are planning
on publishing this story and putting it out there for readers to spend money on and consume,
then you need to understand that your whims come second to the quality and clarity of the story
itself. Before you carve out your character’s innards and splatter them across the wall,
be honest with yourself. Are you doing it for you, or for the benefit and forward movement of your
plot? It better be the latter, or I'm coming for you. So that's all I got for you today.
Friendly Reminder, a bunch of amazing dark fiction novels are on sale now for 99 cents. We've got
so many amazing authors. Like Iona Wayland, Caitlin Duncan, and of course yours truly.
So be sure to check them out. The sale is lasting for a limited time only, and it's linked below.
Go pick up your copies right now. There's a bunch of ‘em. And like I said, this is
the first time The Savior’s Sister has been on sale. And who knows when it'll be on sale again,
so you haven't read it yet, get to it. Go, right now. Don't forget to subscribe to my
channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell, or that bell. I don't know, I don't know what side it's on anymore guys. I hav-I'm, I'm
all messed up, I'll figure it out. And be sure to follow me on social media. I'm on Instagram,
Tumblr, Facebook, BookBub and of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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