[ OT ] Hey all ! New guy here , can i get some advice on how to write in a certain genre ?

Hey! Happy to hear that you like my stuff. 
 
 Here's some advice that I can give you. Some of it has already been said, but it bears repeating again. 
 
 1. To date, some of the best horror movies are older ones. Despite their lack of graphics, movies like The Omen are still chilling. However, many new horror movies with incredible graphics come across as cheesy or miss their mark. The reason behind this is that a person's imagination will almost always generate something scarier than you can create ( trying to fill the void in the unknown ). Guide a person's imagination in the right direction, lead them to think from a certain perspective, but be very careful not to shatter this illusion by telling it to them outright. For instance, in many of my stories involving ghosts, skeletons, etc, I never actually say that they exist- I only insinuate it and leave it up to the reader to fill the gaps. This rule is also known a Show, Do n't Tell, and took me forever to start getting it right. After you get used to it, you can start bending the rules, and using Tell for emphasis. Remember- readers get more of a rush at `` figuring out'' what you are trying to say, as opposed to spoiling the punch line and telling them. 
 
 2. Write using `` extremes''. When writing, you always want to capture the exact nature of something. For instance, when describing characters or anything else, describe it in a way that set's it apart from the norm. Example: `` Mary is a pretty, brunette girl who I have a crush on'' versus `` Mary stood in the doorway, the wind blowing wisps of brunette hair across her face, and my heart stuttered when I saw her smile.'' If you want something to be dark, make it the most dark possible. If someone is skinny, pronounce that feature. If someone is average, explain exactly *why* and *what* makes them so average. 
 
 3. For horror, think about what scares you. Then think about *why* that scares you, and pronounce that in you're story. For instance- I do n't like shallow water. Why? Because I ca n't see what's down there, and it feels like something could be lurking underneath. Then think, what could be the most horrifying thing you could find? - BAM, there's your story. Another example is that twins can be creepy- find out why they are creepy, think about how you can make it creepier along that same reasoning, and use that to generate your story. 
 
 Take risks. Do n't be discouraged by a lack of upvotes. Also, timing during posting is everything. For nosleep, post on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays around noon Eastern Time for maximum hits. Check and make sure that no other story is dominating the page or else it will detract from readers. On here, catch a story on the rising page that has over ~10 upvotes in the hour since it's creation. I cheat a little bit, and wrote a program that texts me with the prompt whenever this happens. 
 
 Best of luck. And practice, practice, practice. Write what excites you! 
 
 Feel free to pm me your story and I'll take a look.
