How to Write Weird Fiction

Weird fiction stories often contain a variety of macabre elements and supernatural components. Follow these steps to write your work of weird fiction:

1. Start with a mood. In the short essay “Notes on Writing Weird Fiction,” H.P. Lovecraft directs weird fiction writers to begin with a mood when they start building the world of their story. Brainstorm all of the concrete imagery, landscapes, and words that would best embody that particular feeling. Keep these pictures in mind as you assemble the elements of your narrative, like setting, characters, or conflicts.
2. Build your narrative. Before you start writing your weird fiction piece, outline all of the elements of your story. What is the plot? Who are the characters? Where do they live? What does their world look like, and how is it different from yours? Weird fiction involves blending tropes and crossing genre boundaries, but you don’t want to overload your story with too many fantastical components because it might overwhelm the reader. Structure your story and build the atmosphere first before adding action and lore. Outline all of the major events in your story—first in the chronological order they happen, and then in the narrative order.
3. Eschew the tropes. Weird fiction subverts the traditional stories of vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, or other supernatural creatures. This genre is about finding new and refreshing ways to shake up the classic arcs and tropes. Avoid clichés that don’t bring anything new to the table.
4. Find a deeper, darker meaning. Weird fiction dives deep into the darker and more troubling components of human emotion and experience. In these stories, magical or mystical forces are always tethered to some truth about the human condition—like a fear of the unknown. If you incorporate supernatural or symbolic elements into your story, give them a message that goes beyond the surface level. Give your fantastical elements a deeper meaning that speaks to the overall theme of your narrative.
5. Write and revise. Write out your narrative, making room for dramatic suspense, twists, and other compelling events. If the writing feels cliché, take the story in an even weirder direction. Weird fiction is all about breaking convention, so feel free to switch and swap elements, so it feels fresh and thrilling to you.

 

Buy Weird Tales Magazines at Amazon