Should Your Book Have FEAR...Even If You're Not Writing Horror?

The first season of my forthcoming fiction podcast is a horror story. So I've had spooky stuff on the brain for a while now. But it got me wondering: Should ALL books have fear, even the ones that will never eventually live on a horror shelf? The answer is yes. Absolutely. In fact, I'd argue that if your book has zero fear in it, it's probably missing one of two fundamental things. In the video, I discuss what those two things are and offer a few techniques for inserting fear into your book. 0:00 Should your book have fear in it? 0:35 Why fear has been on my mind (+ fiction podcast preview) 1:17 Problem #1: Stakes Aren't High Enough 2:15 Increasing Stakes Technique #1: Make It Personal 2:34 Increasing Stakes Technique #2: Remove the Easy Way Out 2:51 Increasing Stakes Technique #3: Make Failure Irreversible 3:08 Increasing Stakes Technique #4: Impossible Choices 3:29 Problem #2: Fear Isn't Expressed 3:47 Expressing Fear Technique #1: Physical Sensations 4:20 Expressing Fear Technique #2: Intrusive Thoughts 4:40 Expressing Fear Technique #3: The Gap 5:19 Expressing Fear Technique #4: Tunnel Vision 5:56 The Story Lab #writing #writingcommunity #writinglife #horrornovel #storytelling #writingemotion #writingfear #storytelling The Story Lab:   / hollyschindler