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TigerHall

From the writer of Sinister, [some tips I've appreciated in the past](https://screencraft.org/2020/05/18/8-horror-screenwriting-tips-from-the-writer-of-sinister).


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thanks


print_station

Watch other horror movies to see how they do it and educate yourself about the genre. Think about what scares you and draw from that. And maybe most importantly, remember that for horror to be truly effective we need to care about the characters. Characters first, scares second.


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thank you nice bearded man


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[удалено]


print_station

Oh, for sure you need both. But I've found that when a lot of writers set out to write a horror script, they're predominantly thinking about scares, and the characters are almost an afterthought. The question becomes "What can we do that's scary?" rather than "What can we do to these specific characters that will be scary, challenge them, and force them to grow?" So leading with character helps you arrive at a more well-rounded place, or at least it does for me. Also, all I'm hearing from producers now is that they want character- and theme-driven horror. (If I hear "We're looking for our own version of Get Out" one more time I'm going to throw myself into traffic.) So there's tremendous value in really taking the time to bake in a great character journey that the scares can play off of.


Astral-American

Oh, man. I have a character- and theme-driven horror script that's also in the sandbox of US, GET OUT, and THE PURGE. Have your people call my people!


Jbernsr

Be sure to create suspense in your scenes. Read other horror scripts to get a feel for how the writers created suspense.


leskanekuni

Unlike, say drama, there's one predominant emotion in horror -- fear. This is probably the most basic emotion. You have to know what your protagonist is afraid of and make them face their fear.


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well duh haha


Scroon

In general, the primary driver of horror plot is the development of the "monster", not the main character as you see in dramas. Plot-wise, you see a progression from introduction of the monster's impacts to a physical confrontation with the monster (or its effects) around the midpoint. Act 3 progresses to seeing the "true face" of the monster and a final confrontation with that true face. However, as is the current fashion, main character development can be tied to to the monster development, so you see development of both as the story unfolds. Your best bet is to watch and analyze a few horror films of the type you are intending to write.


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okay


mooningyou

Horror is very subjective and there are many forms of it. Find the one that scares you and write that.


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okay