This lesson is part of the Freaky Flash collection with Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya — check out all the workshops HERE and take part in our scary story sprint!
Hi Scary Story Sprinters!
Do you ever write something that just feels off but you can’t place your finger on why? I find that nine times out of ten, that indiscernible off feeling has to do with pacing. Pacing is a crucial element of craft, especially in horror. Today we’re talking about time and how to use time to heighten and tighten horror flash stories.
Right Here, Right Now: Real Time Horror
When writing flash, you likely aren’t going to cover a ton of time in the limited space of your piece. Sure, I’ve read (and written!) flash that hops through time despite its short length, but I do find a lot of the most effective and haunting horror flash tends to stick to real-time horror.
Horror that doesn’t allow the reader to look away…