I once heard the difference between these three facets of the horror genre described thusly: “Fear is knowing that a werewolf is hunting you. Terror is when you see it and it charges at you. Horror is realizing that your feet are stuck to the floor.” Obviously, good horror manages to spread a mixture of…
Anyone familiar with the improv show Whose Line is it Anway? is familiar with a vast number of improvisational games that actors can play to create a scene. But did you know that some of these games can also be used in the context of creative writing? One such game is “Two-Line Vocabulary.” It involves…
A garret, or small attic room–commonly defined alongside words like “dismal,” and “wretched”–is a space dedicated to lonely artists and young people reflecting on their lives. It is a room of boxes stuffed with memories; things we’ve outgrown, but haven’t had the heart to say goodbye to. Write a poem in the style of Jo…
In our Word Nerd “Tips and Tricks” post, we talk about Kaelin Witt’s Word Nerd Dictionary of Obscure & Enchanting Words, and how you can use this or a similarly structured book to help spark a story idea. Turn to a random page in any kind of dictionary you have available: the first word you see is…
A clown, a hobo, a ballet dancer, a bagpiper, and an army major wake up in a large, metal cylinder. No, this is not the start of a complex joke. It’s the opening to a fairly popular episode of the original Twilight Zone series, first aired in 1961. These vastly unrelated characters all have one…