Write a Dark or Sad Story

Do you want to give your story or writing project a dark or tragic turn? Are you unsatisfied with your ability to write anything but happy stories? With practice and planning, you can write a story that will chill and/or depress even your most light-hearted readers.

Steps

Sample Stories

Doc:Short Gothic Story,Modern Gothic Excerpt,The Cask of Amontillado

Writing Your Own Story

  1. Get an outline. List the events of the story, and figure out the plot line. It's best to know what you're writing about so you won't have to worry about it when you're trying to form the words. As your character goes through the bad events, come up with detailed images in your head. Using your creativity, form words to go along with that image.
  2. Wait for a day when there is heavy rain. Once the raindrops start hitting the streets, go outside and walk around. This way, you'll achieve a sense of seriousness, a dramatic feeling, or inspiration.
    • If you would prefer not to get wet, carry an umbrella with you.
  3. Read some dark literature. Sometimes, seeing how other authors wrote their stories may help you write yours. Don't be afraid to try out their writing style, but make sure you aren't plagiarizing.
  4. Get a feel going. Play a very sad or depressing song. Often, music will unlock a feeling inside of you that cannot be brought out in any other way. You could also construct a playlist of depressing, sad songs so that you have a continuous loop of them playing.
  5. Write in a place where you're all by yourself. Distractions often can divert your attention from writing the story. A loud, noisy environment where you cannot concentrate makes it harder for the words to come out, and you'll only end up with frustration. A quiet room is what you'll need in order to properly think.
  6. Try to get the feel of what you're writing about. If your main character is a patient with terminal cancer, then go visit someone who has terminal cancer. If you can't find one, go online and look up some journals.
  7. Dim the lights when you write. You don't want any light to blind your sight into the words of your mind. This will also create a dark atmosphere in which you'll truly feel depressed.
  8. Write as if you're taking all the sadness, desires, hate, frustration, and hurt in you and turning them into words. This can be immensely cathartic. Use a thesaurus if necessary in order to come up with heart-touching words.
  9. Use good punctuation. Full stops at the end of sentences. If you're not sure about the commas, have someone with the eye of an eagle and the heart of a grammar Nazi look it over for you. Don't overuse ellipses.
  10. If you are taking in all the sadness of the world, you will be mocked beyond your comprehension. This act takes over your life. If you really want to save the world, of give the world resources to do such, ignore the world's mockery and resentment and write to the best of your ability.

Tips

  • Imagine if you were in the characters shoes, how would you feel?
  • Be sure that your work makes sense... read it a hundred times over if you must.
  • Don't get distracted.
  • Try to surprise yourself, not just the reader.
  • You don't have to be a serious person to be a serious writer.
  • And you don't have to write on paper. With a typewriter or with a computer is just fine.
  • Give your readers an idea of what you're writing.
  • Have a trusted other person read your story and give you their reaction as you go along. Keep in mind that revising isn't just making sure you did everything grammatically correctly-- it can mean changing elements of your story, even main components.
  • Try to put yourself in the character's shoes, it helps in a lot of different ways. It will help you decide the thoughts and actions better.

Warnings

  • Don't copy other people's work.
  • Don't mock your own work.
  • Don't use excessive detail where it isn't necessary; be judicious.

Things You'll Need

  • Story.
  • Outline.
  • Emotions.
  • Dictionary.
  • Thesaurus.
  • And yourself...

Related Articles

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Write_a_Dark_or_Sad_Story&oldid=268676"