Write a piece about something that takes a year to build being destroyed in a minute.
to try to include in your next poem/story
Accollé - in heraldry: entwined about the neck; also: collared, gorged
Bacciferous - bearing berries
Commorient - one of two or a number of persons perishing at the same time by the same calamity
Dreikanter - a three-faced pebble faceted by wind-blown sand
Estaminet - a small café
Frondescence - the condition or period of unfolding of leaves; foliage
Graveolent - having a rank smell
Hwyl - fervor, excitement
Ichnite - a fossil footprint
Jardiniere - an ornamental stand for plants or flowers
Knop - a usually ornamental knob
Lacustrine - of, relating to, formed in, living in, or growing in lakes
Mucedinous - having the nature of or resembling mold or mildew
Nomistic - based on or conforming to moral law
Oblivescence - an act or the process of forgetting
Pabulum - intellectual sustenance
Quodlibet - a whimsical combination of familiar melodies or texts
Risorgimento - a time of renewal or renaissance; revival
Saeculum - a period of long duration
Trouvaille - a lucky find
More: Lists of Beautiful Words ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
how to write creepy stories
over describe things
under describe things
short sentences in rapid succession build tension
single sentence paragraphs build dread
uncanny valley = things that aren't normal almost getting it right
third person limited view
limited expressions
rot, mold, damage, age, static, flickering, espsecially in places it shouldn't be
limited sights for your mc - blindness, darkness, fog
being alone - the more people there are, the less scary it is
intimate knowledge, but only on one side
your reader's imagination will scare them more than anything you could ever write. you don't have to offer a perfectly concrete explanation for everything at the end. in fact, doing so may detract from your story.
September 1913, William Butler Yeats
The Imprint of September Second, Ethan Gilsdorf
September, Joanne Kyger
Drowning in September, Eric Pfeiffer
September, H Stuart
September Tomatoes, Karina Borowicz
One September Night, Franco Fortini
September Sunday, Lucille Broderson
September, 1918, Amy Lowell
September Midnight, Sara Teasdale
Monday, September 25, 2006, Susan Schultz
One September Afternoon, Leo Dangel
A vampire, turned against their will, despises the idea of feeding on humans, and so makes a hard living out of hunting game for blood instead. After decades of this, while hunting for deer, they come across a pair of human vampire hunters who've never met one like them before.
Bandaging scrapes after falling off of a bike. The first time without training wheels.
A broken toy ends up with everyone in tears and a first heart-felt apology.
A birthmark/scar they were embarrassed about until the other said it looked cool.
Sleeping together on the couch after a full day at the pool. They smell like chlorine and sunscreen.
Copying each other’s homework and doing their best not to make it too obvious.
One is upset and says they don’t want to be friends anymore… They didn’t really mean it, but it’s too late to take it back.
A rib-crushing hug before leaving for Summer vacation.
A spot in the neighborhood that only they know about.
Parents start packing extra lunch so they can share with each other at school.
A secret whispered behind a cupped hand, and a pinky promise to never tell.
Decades later, reminiscing and wishing things could go back to being so simple.
“I was already a hedonistic creature, but with you around I can barely tear myself from this bed.”
when a powerful figure is reduced to kneeling. when the lord is forced to bow. when the exile stumbles into an unwelcoming bar. when the “beast” is chained by their horns. when a god is dragged behind their enemy’s chariot, a captive and trophy. when the loyal “guard dog” character is muzzled and the silver-tongued thief falls silent in horror.
that’s the shit
it’s about the contrapasso. the reversal of roles and the sudden, plunging terror of being unable to hide.
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