5 Tips for Writing Paranormal Fiction
Like most “Tips!” or “How-to” lists, you might read this and immediately say to yourself, “Nope. Nuh-uh, that’s not how it works.” And you might be right!
(21 Popular Horror Tropes for Writers.)
Every story is different and has different needs and goals, so some of this may not apply to you. But if you’re venturing into the world of paranormal fiction and you’re looking for a couple of well-intended pointers, here’s some good news: I’ve got 5 of them!
Take a trope and flip it
You’ve probably read a billion vampire stories and seen all the haunted house movies, so you’re no stranger to the tropes (those recurring plot devices that pop up over and over). Tropes are great because they’re familiar and help the audience feel comfortable. But when your story is stuffed full of the same tropes as every other novel, short story, and movie, it can feel stale and recycled.
So instead, take one trope, big or small, and come at it from a different angle. If the trope says, “a magical creature is always like this,” ask yourself, “but what if it was like that instead?”
My novel, The Ghost Rules, flips the trope of a ghost story by asking the question, “What if ghosts aren’t scary at all, but are annoying, goofy, and funny?”
Develop the rules of your world…and stick to them
Here’s the great thing: It’s your story, so you can do whatever you want! Do you want to write a short story about werewolves that only transform after eating broccoli during a full moon? Sure, why not. What about a novel where demons are all named Gary and hang out near water fountains? OK, that’s a little weird, but go for it. You do you!
Whatever rules you come up with for the world of your story, just make sure they’re consistent throughout. This can be brutal if you come up with a great plot twist that has to be tossed because it doesn’t fit within the overall rules of your story. Or if a careful review of your 10th draft points out a rule diversion and you have to disassemble half of it after months of work.
So be careful to stick to those rules once you establish them.
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Make the paranormal parts as visual as possible, as soon as possible
What color are your ghosts? How do they move?
How big is the monster? What does its lair look like?
You don’t have to spell out everything all at once, especially if a slow reveal is part of the story. But the more you can help your reader establish a baseline, the easier it is for them to take over and imagine the rest on their own. And that’s where it gets really fun.
Specifics bring a sense of universality and make characters more memorable
Don’t be afraid to be specific when describing characters, especially the minor ones. There will always be a temptation to lean on what the audience already knows about fantastical creatures and skip ahead to the more exciting parts of your story. But don’t ever lose an opportunity to make something fun or memorable.
For example, you could reference, “the ghost of a woman who died on Halloween.” Or you could say, “the ghost of a woman who died in a freak boating accident while dressed in a giant bumble bee costume.” Which one is more memorable?
Ground your story
You can cram as many bizarro, magical characters and locations as you want into a story as long as there’s something to connect the audience to them in a believable, relatable way. Sometimes it’s as simple as describing the experience of a human character in a magical world or grounding a paranormal character with genuine human emotions.
The Ghost Rules is full of silly, obnoxious ghosts. So to ground my story and keep it believable, I told it through the eyes of a boy who lives a very normal life in a small Tennessee town and just happens to discover that he can see ghosts for the first time. The audience gets to experience everything through his eyes.
If you can make your fantastical story feel believable, even if it’s small and seemingly insignificant, the reader will follow wherever you lead them.
Check out Adam Rosenbaum’s The Ghost Rules here:
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