2025-05-07

If used with intention and restraint, symbols become anchors that transform stories from flat to layered, giving your narrative a deeper pulse. But the trick isn’t using symbols; it’s planting them early and subtly enough that readers won’t recognize them until it matters. Let me be clear: heavy-handed symbolism is the literary equivalent of a…

How to build dread without gore
2025-04-24

Blood is easy. Dread takes skill. Anyone can toss a bucket of red paint at a scene and call it horror, but building that stomach-knotting, can’t-look-away tension, the kind that keeps readers flipping pages and checking their locks at night, requires a different approach. You don’t need mutilation to make people squirm. You need atmosphere,…