How Do You Build a Monster We Haven’t Seen Before?

Have we run out of original monsters? Learn how to create one from scratch, or reinvent a classic, with a five-part horror writing framework called the Monster Chain. When every vampire, ghost, alien, and killer clown reminds you of something else, it can feel like all the best monsters already belong to somebody else. But an original monster doesn’t have to appear fully formed. You can build one. In this creative writing and storytelling video, we’ll deconstruct famous monsters, uncover the choices that make them work, and use those choices to create a new monster called The Blur. Along the way, you’ll learn: 👁️ How to find the surface fear and deeper fear beneath your monster 🕯️ How to create an origin and decide how much the audience discovers 🩸 How want, prey, approach, and treatment shape its hunt ⚙️ How powers, limits, and weaknesses create suspense 🖤 How to build a creature’s appearance from everything inside it 🧟 How to reinvent a familiar monster by changing the choices underneath its appearance Because you don’t have to wait for the perfect monster to appear in your head. You can build it. 🧩 THE MONSTER CHAIN — WRITING QUICK REFERENCE 🔵 1. THE FEAR FACTOR Find the two levels of fear. The surface fear is the immediate thing coming for us. The deeper fear is the human worry underneath it, connected to your story’s theme. For your writing: “On the surface, my monster is the fear of ________. But underneath, it’s really about the fear of ________.” 🔵 2. THE ORIGIN Decide what made your monster monstrous and how much the audience learns. Its origin might remain unknowable, become a mystery, or unfold as the story itself. For your writing: What made this monster what it is? What did that change? How much will your audience discover? 🔵 3. THE HUNGER Give your monster a distinct way of threatening people through four choices: Want — What is it after? Prey — Who does it choose, and why? Approach — How does it close in? Treatment — What does it do once it has you? For your writing: What does my monster want, who does it pursue, how does it hunt, and what happens when it catches someone? 🔵 4. MONSTER MECHANICS Build the rules your monster must obey: Powers — What can it do? Limits — When are your characters safe? Weakness — How can it be stopped, defeated, or escaped? For your writing: How does each rule change what my characters can try, how they might survive, and what scenes become possible? 🔵 5. CREATURE FEATURE Let the monster’s internal build shape its external design. Personify the Fear Factor. Give its Origin a scar. Build a body that helps satisfy its Hunger. Let its Mechanics enable its powers or create its limits. For your writing: How does each link physically appear in my monster? 🎭 IN THIS VIDEO We break down monsters and storytelling from Jaws, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Babadook, Alien, Signs, Nope, Halloween, It Follows, The Ring, Frankenstein, The Shining, Candyman, IT, Terrifier, A Quiet Place, and Gremlins. We also travel through monster history and folklore with Medusa, the Minotaur, the banshee, the kappa, La Llorona, Godzilla, Slender Man, Freddy Fazbear, and more. ⚠️ This video contains story details and clips from some of the films, shows, books, and games discussed. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 — 👁️ Have We Run Out of Original Monsters? 0:52 — 👻 Why We Keep Making Monsters 2:27 — ⛓️ The Monster Chain 3:01 — 😨 Link 1: The Fear Factor 6:01 — 🕯️ Link 2: The Origin 8:50 — 🩸 Link 3: The Hunger 12:16 — ⚙️ Link 4: Monster Mechanics 14:26 — 🖤 Link 5: Creature Feature 16:38 — 🧟 Build Your Own Monster Challenge 17:00 — 🔦 Something We Haven’t Seen Before 👹 THE MONSTER CHAIN COMMUNITY CHALLENGE Build a monster using all five links and share it in the comments. You can create something original or reinvent a classic, but make it yours. I’ll highlight my favorite and give its creator a shout-out here on the channel! 🎥 WELCOME TO PLOT LUCK Well, all right, Plot Heads! I’m Brian. I’ve worked on a number of horror movies and spent more than a decade in Hollywood creative development, reading thousands of scripts and helping more than 600 writers develop stories across film, television, and games. Plot Luck is a workshop and masterclass for serious storytellers. We make complicated ideas around storytelling, character development, story structure, and creative writing clear, practical, and fun to use. If you want to write better characters, stronger relationships, deeper worlds, and stories that stay with people, pull up a chair and subscribe. Let’s stir the plot together. #storytelling #howtowritehorror #monsterdesign #authortube #creativewriting #writingtips #writingmonsters #screenwriting #characterdevelopment #novelwriting #worldbuilding #writingadvice #writerscommunity #horrorstories #creaturedesign