Well, it's that time of year again: April 1st has come and gone, and April 30 will be exactly 6 months between Halloweens. So, just like every year, as part of my annual "Halloween in April" festivities, I'm setting up yet another edition of the annual horror-write off...

Nightmare Night in April, 2022!

The Horror Write-Off where you can write your horror-story 6 months early! (or late, however you want to look at it)

I'm doing another "Nightmare Night in April" writing event. Last year had about a dozen entries, but let's see if we can get a lot more this year. (Note: I don't do this as a contest anymore, just for fun. Feel free to cross-post with other events!)

Rules...

Stories that you submit must meet the following criteria to be part of the event...

• Must be Horror - If it doesn't have the Horror tag, or SHOULDN'T have the horror tag, it doesn't belong here. Soft-horror, where the horror isn't in your face or the main focus, is fine.
• Under 15,000 words - These should be short-stories, readable in a single sitting. You don't have enough time to write an epic anyway.
• NOT part of an ongoing series - I want you to start a story from scratch, and shouldn't have to read prequels for context. It's fine if you just mark it as a "spiritual sequel" or intend to do more later, but don't have something that relies on a previous fan work to make sense.
• I am removing the standalone short-story requirement for this year! - If you have an existing horror story that you need to get back to (like I do), or if you've got a longer horror story you want to start, feel free to write a chapter and submit that!
  --- NOTE: Pre-existing settings are allowed, as long as they can be picked up as a standalone: when you write in an existing setting like that, you really shouldn't assume and just give enough information for the reader to get what's happening.
• Make sure it's Readable - Your Spelling, Grammar, and Organization need to be of the quality people can read. Please do a proofreading pass, or maybe even get someone else to do so. It doesn't have to be amazing, just readable.
• You MUST link the write-off folder - Part of how these work is that the bulk of them get packaged as a group, meaning the other stories get exposure from them.
• Submit your story HERE by the deadline of May 1st - Incomplete stories are fine as long as the horror plot is built up and you are nearing a conclusion.

What makes a good horror story?

Remember, Horror doesn't have to be scary, it just has to be morbid! A good Horror story has...

• Disturbing Premise - This is the meat of original horror is when you get something that seems awful to think about.
• Tension - Keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, in one way or another.
• Originality - The point is to create original horror stories. If you can't do something new, at least do a big enough twist on something old that it feels original.
• Believability - Obviously, most of these won't be realistic, but a good horror story makes you question... "could this actually happen?"
• Lingering Feels - A good Horror Story should leave you with that lingering sense of morbid curiosity, dread, or dark satisfaction.
• Philosophical Interest - This is important: good horror makes us ask uncomfortable questions about our world. That's the greatest value of horror.

How this Ends...

The deadline is the morning of May 1st. I will close the folder on that date.

Need Help?

Remember that I have a set of blogs with writing advice, and I'll try to update it this month, so if you want advice, that's a good place to go. Also, I did a seminar at an online con a few years ago, which you can watch on YouTube at this link: it's a good source of ideas and inspiration! You can also ask in this thread, and I or another writer will respond.

Scootaloo’s First Flight

“Sweetie Belle, it’s time we face the facts,” Scootaloo broke the silence. “Nopony will find us in this abandoned well and we won’t be able to save ourselves as we are. I can’t lift all my weight with my small wings and you don’t know any spell that could get us out.”

“How’s rubbing it in going to help us?” Sweetie Belle sighed.

Scootaloo played with Sweetie Belle legs, “I never though pony’s legs are so heavy.”

“How’s calling me fat going to help us?”

“And everypony has four of them…”

Sweetie Belle scoffed, “I guess that makes you fat as well.”

Scootaloo noded. “Remember that time at Twilight’s time when she taught you that horn-laser cutting spell? You managed to cut down a whole tree.”

“I can’t cut through rocks if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Not through rocks… Through bone!”

Sweetie Belle’s ears shot up, “Whaa?”

“I’ve already lost some weight while we’ve been stuck down here. I’m still too heavy to fly, but I can lose more. A lot more.”

“I don’t like where this is going, Scoots. Please stop talking.”

Scootaloo pressed her head against Sweetie Belle’s, looking at her straight in her eyes, “Remember when I said I’d give anything to fly?”

“You said that a million times…”

“Exactly.” Scootallo lowered Sweetie Belle’s head and brought closer her own hind leg to match it with the horn. “Make my wish come true, Sweetie Belle. Allow me to fly.”

7672493
Well, damn. That's a doozy right there.

....and if you wrote about 750 words of context before it, it'd be long enough to post as a story.

Would like to add in... Holy shit! Wonder if it'll work?

7672212 So this is an old story, however I thought I would ask and see if a story like this one (if I were to write one) would qualify for such a tale or not.

TDon't Lose Your Head...

• MLP: FiM
• Comedy
• Drama
• Mystery

After picking up a cute little outfit for Irisa from Rarity's shop you make your way home to discover that your maid might still have a few untold secrets up her hooves.

• Alt. Universe
• Second Person
• Applejack
• Rarity
• Trixie
• OC
• Filthy Rich

Robipony · 24k words  ·  77  4 · 1.3k views

Just curious.

7673110
I didn't take the time to actually sit down and read it, but upon cursory glance, it looks like it would qualify. Stories about "monsters" which actually delve into said monster are still technically a horror trope.

Is this event a writeoff like https://www.fimfiction.net/group/200535/the-writeoff-association , with voting and judging and such, or is this just "Hey! Let's a bunch of people write stories with a theme in common and link this folder to promote the event!"

7672212
Well, this challenge intrigued me enough to try writing something for it, but now it's getting closer to the deadline, and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to finish out of what I had planned. (Also, I'm cutting into my writing time by writing this comment! Aaaah!)

My story will have five chapters. I planned to write three and publish that as a unit for this weekend. But now I'm faced with three options: 1. Only publish with two chapters, which may be stretching the "nearing a conclusion" requirement; 2. Rush to finish three chapters in probably sub-optimal quality; and 3. Forget about the submission deadline and just take the time I need to do this properly.

I guess I'm asking for general advice on the matter, but I am currently leaning towards option 1, finishing and publishing two chapters, because I think this challenge is worth submitting to. So my specific question is, how important is the "nearing a conclusion" requirement? Would two out of five chapters be considered complete enough? And, to be clear, the horror elements are evident by the second chapter.

7680062
It's just a random event where I try to get people to write horror, no contest.

7680776
Oh crap, I meant to respond to you when I saw that.

Option 1 is fine, just go ahead and submit it and I'll take it, and try to get the last few chapters out soon.

7681767
Whoops! In the intervening time I've decided that it would work best if I released it with 3 chapters, and I haven't started revising the first two. So it's a bit unfortunate, but I'll be missing the deadline.

If you end up reading it when it goes up, hopefully you'll see what I mean!

7681832
I mean, if you get the first one up before, say, tomorrow night, I'll take it. :V

7681835
I will publish the first three chapters when they're all finished! Probably in a few weeks! Sorry!!!

7681889
7681835

Well...

It happened! 6 months late, but it did happen.

[Adult story embed hidden]

Sorry for necroing a thread that was supposed to be done in April, but I kinda wanted to fulfill that promise of eventually publishing the story. Also, I wanted to thank you for the inspiration to write it in the first place. If it wasn't for this write-off, the story wouldn't exist. Thanks!

7758510
Wow, that looks like a crazy story! Glad you finished it! I'll go ahead and add it to the group folder for posterity. :3

7760557 Is there a chance well be seeing another fest like this in 2023?

7760563
I am posting such a post right now.
Get ready to enter it!

7760563
Here's the 2023 version of this event...
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/214288/the-cult-of-raccoon/thread/514527/nightmare-night-in-april-2023-the-annual-horror-writing-event-continues