Halloween for Writers

Halloween for Writers

Inspiring, frightening, or fattening?

I love Halloween. I love autumn. We dress up our kids, ourselves, decorate our yards, and we buy candy for the trick-or-treaters.

For us writers? All the hoopla, history, and sights of Halloween, inspire our creativity. And this is true not only for those writers whose genre fits in with horror, mystery, or suspense. What memoir doesn’t have a story or two to tell about the best and worst Halloween experiences? What romance or mystery plot isn’t spiced up by an in-costume scene? Halloween and autumn scenery are excellent backdrops, no matter the genre.

            Lurking behind all that good stuff is the truly horrifying  Halloween monster—candy cravings. Who is more susceptible to them than someone chained to a desk?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but we still buy Halloween candy even though the grandkids live hundreds of miles away, and trick-or-treaters never show up this far from town!

            Halloween tips for writers:

1)   Tap into your heightened creativity! Write a short story, a flash fiction piece, or incorporate a Halloween scene into your novel or novella. Describe a fall scene in your latest work.

2)   When buying candy for the kids, buy something you’re less likely to dip into, i.e., forget the candy bars and stick with hard candy, apples, or bubble gum.

3)   If your kids come home with a haul, have them hide it from you. They’ll love the challenge!

4)   If you just have to have some candy, ask someone in the family to hide a bag of mini-Snicker’s bars for you (or whatever you can’t resist) and only dole out two at a time to you, after dinner.

5)   Wear a costume for the trick-or-treaters.

6)   Do something fun! Find a party, volunteer at a church celebration for kids, invite some friends over. Make the most of the holiday.

Dear Readers,

Here’s wishing you a fun Halloween. There’s a spooky story waiting for you under my “short story” tab, if you want to get in the mood. (It’s very short, I promise, but not flash-fiction!) Enjoy!

Marla