You turn your head and see someone a few blocks away, with a gray hoodie pulled over his head, following you with his hands in his pockets. You think very little of it at first, another person walking home from a shift surely. But then you turn right onto a side street and you hear him turn to follow you. Now it’s starting to feel like you’re being followed. You pull out your keys and place one between your fingers. You pull out your phone and pretend to make a phone call. As you fake a conversation, your breathing starts to pick up but you control your pace so as not to alert him. If he makes the next turn with you you’re going to start running.

Fear is a very instinctual and powerful emotion that heightens the stakes of your story. Here are some ways that you can write a scene where your character is experiencing fear by showing the reader rather than telling them.

1) Mannerisms

As with any time you’re trying to show rather than tell the reader something, you’ll want to start by looking at your character’s mannerisms. Fear is a very primal and extreme emotion so it will be a more obvious reaction than certain others. For example, having a character scream or shake or walk slowly. They could also be biting their nails or even full out running in certain scenarios. But how a character reacts when faced with fear can say a lot about them, so think about how your character would react when faced with the fearful scenario in which you’re writing them.

2) Observations

Being from the POV of your protagonist, seeing them observe certain things can also show that they’re in a fearful state. For example, let’s say your character is walking down a boardwalk at night. As opposed to noticing a cute couple walking hand in hand or the way the ocean reflects the lights of the buildings so beautifully, your character instead notices a man sitting in a dark corner who is eating a sandwich and staring angrily after him. The fact that your character focuses on anything that could possibly be suspicious as opposed to the wholesome parts of the walk can show that they’re in a heightened state of unease.

3) Atmosphere

The atmosphere surrounding your character can be another way to show fear. Describing the dark night, a cold wind that creeps up your spine, trees looming over you, animals rustling around in bushes, a howl in the distance… all of these visuals create an eerie and spooky tone. Since we’re viewing the story through the lens of your protagonist, your readers know that how the scene is being described directly connects to how the character is feeling. So if you’re scaring your readers by how you’re describing the scene, you’re showing them your protagonist is scared too.

4) Action

How your character is acting is another excellent way to display how they’re feeling- especially when it drastically differs from how they would normally act. Think of horror movies and the choices the characters make along the way. Do they go through the woods or through the city? Do they go to hide in the house or in the shed? In most cases yes it’s frustrating because they seemingly make very stupid choices, but in some cases, it makes sense that characters panic and just run for the first thing they see. Whether or not they go back for their friends or how they choose to hide or what choices they make all depend on the situation and who they are as a character.

5) Character Clues

In addition to your protagonist, using supporting characters can also be a helpful way to show fear. They could point out that your character is acting strangely through dialogue. Or the way that they act in fear could provide a contrast to how your protagonist is handling the situation. This is also another thing that your character could observe and that could add to their heightened state of fear as well. It’s one thing to find yourself afraid, but once you see others around you are scared too that can often increase one’s sense of panic.

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Stories are all about stakes and the stakes are never more obvious than they are in a horror film. It’s all about what you have to gain and lose throughout a story and in a horror movie what hangs in the balance is obvious: your life. This can make a horror film the perfect setting to explore some of the base aspects of your character’s nature and how they make decisions. Would they value self-preservation over the lives of their friends? Are they intuitive and immediately able to sense the danger they’re in? Or would they be the optimist that attempts to convince themselves the scenario is innocent until it’s far too late? If they’re being chased by ‘the monster’ of the movie, would they attempt the long run home or try to lose him through the shortcut through the woods? Putting your character in a life or death scenario can reveal a lot about who they are, while also allowing you to try your hand at something gory and suspenseful.

Writing Prompt: Take a character from your manuscript and put them in the middle of a horror movie. It could be loosely based on your favorite horror film or you can come up with your own creative scenario. Either way, set the spooky scene. If you want to increase the stakes, have them in the scenario with close friends or family members from your book as well. Then, similarly to a horror film, allow them to be presented with life or death choices? Do they go into the house or hide in the barn? Do we go back for their friend or keep running? Walk them through the beats, see what choices they make, and apply what you learn about them to your manuscript.

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Regardless of whether you view them in a positive or negative light, there’s no denying that New Year’s resolutions say a lot about who we are. For example, you’ve likely made some kind of writing-related resolution, am I write? Whether it be to finally finish a book you’ve been working on or to be more active with your writing, this resolution shows that writing is important to you. And whether or not you stick to it also tells us a lot about you- whether you’re more disciplined/organized or more spontaneous/disorganized (we’re not judging… well, maybe a little).

But we’re not here to talk about your resolutions, we’re here to talk about your character’s! New Year’s resolutions are a great way to reveal character. Start by thinking of a character you’ve written or are in the process of writing- whether they be from a book you’re working on or a short story idea you have. What would this character’s New Year’s resolution be? As you know, what drives character action is their desires or what they want, how could this be boiled down into a resolution?

Next, create obstacles for your character. Let’s say your character resolved to ‘be open to romance’ or something along those lines, let’s say their first date since making the resolution is the complete antithesis of everything they want in a romantic partner. They chew with their mouth open, their favorite band is Drake, they’re unemployed- everything that could go wrong, will go wrong. Will your protagonist stick it out through the date? Will they go on a second date to try to remain open? Think of a few obstacles that could happen within the first few months of the year to test your protagonist’s resolve.

Finally, consider your protagonist- this character you already know or are just beginning to know. What reveals character the most is their choices throughout a story. Will your protagonist make the right choices at every turn? Will they make some right and some wrong- if so, why? Will they end up sticking to their resolution or giving up? And be honest about them too, we won’t like them any less for giving up if that makes more sense for their character.

Writing Prompt: Now that you have a general outline, let these scenes play out. Write the scenes necessary to show us your protagonist’s resolution playing out, how they handle each obstacle, and finally whether or not they choose to give up or stick it out. This exercise will not only be a fun way to flex your writing muscles, but also a great exercise in the different ways that character actions and choices can reveal things about who they are.

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