February Craft Tip: Building Dread in Your Book

As an author who writes in —and along the edge ­—of the horror genre, I constantly struggle with how to write the antagonist in a way that keeps the reader turning the page, despite their fear. It’s not as easy as splashing some blood on a scene.

What I have learned is, nothing keeps the pages turning more than a hearty dose of dread.

On the one hand, you want to show how terrifying the bad guy/gal is, but on the other hand, you don’t want to give away too much. I spent a lot of time studying the greats, Dean Koontz, Stephen King, etc. How did they make me uncomfortable? What did they show and what did they do to make me feel anxious? I realized something in my research. They often wait until it's almost too late to show you, their monster.

Who remembers the movie, Jaws? The shark isn’t shown every time (primarily because the mechanical shark didn’t work) but that doesn’t mean you don’t know it’s there. Instead, Steven Spielberg relied heavily on the ominous, two-note theme (composed by John Williams), the yellow barrels, and the shark-eye-view camera- angle from beneath the water. These sudden, intense, unseen attacks created a paralyzing fear that still has me terrified to go in the water.

So, how can writers accomplish the same thing?  Here’s a few of the tricks I find helpful:

• Instead of describing the monster, I focus on the physiological effects of terror in my characters—the sudden chill, the gasping for air, or the uncontrollable trembling. Too often, my characters or narrative only refer to the monster as that thing, something so horrible they can’t find the right words in their paradigm to describe it.  Seeing a relatable character’s panic makes the threat feel real and imminent. 

• Play on all the senses. Writers can use sound and smell to create audio-visual clues for the reader—the rhythmic thumping against a hull, or the miasma of rain in the air, or the rustle of something lurking just out of sight.

• Make sure your characters are someone your readers care about. Readers might actually end up cheering if you put a character they don’t like in danger. That’s not at all what we hope to accomplish here. Readers tend to like characters that are relatable, vulnerable, and human. They don’t have to be perfect, instead, readers can better relate to a character who’s flawed because we all are.

• Symbolism can speak volumes.  In the movie Jaws, the yellow barrels signaled the shark’s presence. (Yellow is a color that creates a warning. If you see it in a book or film, keep an eye on it.) Then there’s the iconic, Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. It's just two notes, E and F. They’re as close together as notes can get. And it shows us that the shark is just this single-minded creature. “All this creature does is swim and eat...”

  Using these kinds of symbolic cues carry a weight that require the reader to interpret their significance within the context of the story. It’s the questions that readers want to answer that keep them turning the page. You don't have the luxury of getting theme music to go with a book, but utilizing all the senses and symbolism can get the job done in a book.

• Build suspense by slowing down time. In thrillers, we tend to write in short sentences to drive the action. However, when the danger is real, I like to use long, complex sentences to drag out moments of anticipation, then switch to short, punchy sentences when the unseen threat finally strikes.

• Make good use of red herrings. As a reader, I hate a red herring when it’s not done well or is too ‘tropey’. However, as a writer, I try to create several red herring moments where the reader expects a dangerous twist that turns out to be something more innocuous. This conditions the reader to remain on edge, making the actual encounter much more impactful.

• Fear is heightened when there is no escape. I like to create anticipation by leaving my characters alone, where help cannot reach them. Keeping them away from their source of protection—but also mentally and emotionally isolating them by creating conflict between characters—can have an impact on the reader.

• Let the reader in on what’s happening before the characters know.  I like to let the reader know the danger is there while leaving the character in the dark (pun intended). This creates a sensation that amplifies the audience’s dread. This became the primary method of storytelling in the movie Jaws because it was such a powerful way to get the audience engaged. When we saw it in the theater when I was a kid, I remember people shouting at the screen, “There’s the shark! It’s the shark! Look out!” (Did I mention I was 7 years old when I saw that movie for the first time? I still remember how the audience reacted.)

• Make the usual unsettling. There’s nothing more dangerous than the familiar behaving strangely. A perfectly normal object in the wrong place. A neighbor out watering their garden at 3:33 am. Power tools coming on when they aren’t even plugged in. Author Monique Snyman puts it best, “Dread lives in the spaces between certainty and confusion.”

Gore is easy. Dread is hard.

By writing around the monster rather than showing it, you can tap into that universal fear of the unknown. Dread should be a slow burn that starts with a whisper in the dark. It’s a truth your character isn’t ready to acknowledge. It doesn’t rely on shock or gore; it plays on the imagination and genuine emotion. Go for the heart and let the reader squirm. Dread isn’t what you show. It’s what you don’t.

Be the first to know when my next book is available! Follow me and all your favorite authors at www.bookbub.com/authors/betsey-kulakowski to get an alert whenever I have a new release, preorder, or discount!  Check out my Amazon Author's Page here: Amazon.com: Betsey Kulakowski: books, biography, latest updates. You can also follow me on Instagram, Threads, Twitter and TikTok @AuthorBetseyK , or my author's Facebook Page at www.authorbetseykulakowski.com. (Links to all my social media are on my main page.) Did you know I keep a Pinterest board for every one of my books? You can find inspos, recipes, and everything that inspired the books on my boards! Go check them out! (The Sultan's Stone Pinterest board is now available!)

Don't forget to check out the Unfreakingbelievable Podcast at www.ufbpodcast.com! Season 3 is underway! New episodes air on the 11th & 27th of each month! If you have an Unfreakingbelievable story, fill out the Google Doc on our website. We want to hear your story, too.