Just prior to NaNoWriMo / The Rough Draft Challenge in November, I thought it would be good to go and sit down with a bunch of writers and feed off their energy in preparation for writing a rough novel draft throughout November (and bleeding into December hopefully). So I signed up to Margot McGovern’s workshop.
This workshop was 3 hours of story plotting last Saturday and the goal was to explore the unique aspects of the horror genre and how to apply it to your writing. Margot writes that “Horror is not just about scaring readers. It is about creating a sense of foreboding, building tension, and creating characters that readers care about. It’s about exploring the darkest corners of the human mind and unleashing the things that make us truly afraid.”
She explains that “Through guided group discussions and writing exercises, you will explore what makes a story frightening by dissecting horror tropes and discovering how to use tension, foreshadowing, sensory descriptions, narrative voice and the art of the reveal to create spine-chilling stories. This workshop is for writers of all genres—whether you are a seasoned horror author or looking to add an atmosphere of darkness to your writing, this event is for you!”
I have to agree, it was lots of fun. Margot did an excellent job at talking about the unique aspects of the horror genre and helped with story plotting. The three hours passed very quickly and I was able to use the time to help deepen the plot for my “Dark Voices” novel, that I’ve highlighted above in the book cover I developed using Canva.
For more information about Margot visit her web page https://margotmcgovern.com/about-margot/ or find her on instagram https://www.instagram.com/margot.mcgovern/